～にもかかわらず

The sentence structure X + ～にもかかわらず + Y can be used to express "Y, in spite of X." It's used to state that Y is the case, even though it is generally not expected because of X. It can be translated as "in spite of", "despite", "although", or "even though."

彼女は外国人にもかかわらず、日本人より日本の文化を愛している。
Although she's a foreigner, she loves Japanese culture more than Japanese people.

アヤトはビーチが嫌いにもかかわらず、うれしくならせるのために私と行ってたんだ。
Even though Ayato hates the beach, he went with me to make me happy.

オオカミ少年の言ったことは本当だったにもかかわらず、その前に何回もうそをついていたので、誰も少年の言うことを信じなかった。
Even though what the wolf boy said was truthful, nobody believed him because he had told lies a number of times before.

リーさんは優しい人にもかかわらず、今日は会いたくないんだよ。
Although though Lee-san's a nice person, I don't want to see him today.

限り

The word 限り is used to refer to something that is the case, or something that holds true as long as the condition X holds true. It's also used to indicate the extent to which someone can do something. Translations include "as long as", "as far as", "while", "until", "unless", and "as much as."

私の知っている限り、外国人が使いやすい日本語の辞書はないんですよ。
As far as I know, there is no Japanese dictionary that is easy for foreigners to use.

コックである限り、美味しい料理を料理しなくてはいけないんだよ。
As long as you are a chef, you must make delicious food.

プレイスメンとテストに合格しない限り、上のレベルのクラスには入れません。
Until I pass the placement test, I can't get into the higher level class.

明日までにこのレポートを翻訳するのは結構大変ですが、できる限り頑張ってみます。
Translating this report by tomorrow will be pretty difficult, but I'll do my best, as much as I can.

に対して

The phrase に対して can be used with either nouns or full sentences to contrast two actions, situations, etc. It generally translates as "whereas", "on the other hand", or "in contrast."

日本語は文法が難しいのに対して、中国語は発音が難しい。
In Japanese the grammar is difficult, whereas in Chinese it's the pronunciation that's difficult.

学校は数学はつまらないのに対して、文学は面白いよね。
In school, math is boring, while on the other hand, literature is interesting.

Ｂ型の性格は楽天的なのに対して、Ａ型はまじめな性格だと言われている。
They say that type B personalities are optimistic, whereas Type A personalities are serious.

リーさんの料理は美味しいのに対して、アリスの料理はまずいんだな。
Lee-san's cooking is good, whereas Alice's cooking is bad.

という理由で

The phrase という理由で, which can literally read as "for the reason of/that", is generally used in writing to present the reason for a state, event, or action. It simply means "because."

登録した学生が少ないという理由で、その授業はキャンセルされてしまいました。
Because not many students registered, that class has unfortunately been cancelled.

リーさんは雨が嫌いだったという理由で、うちに行って部屋で泣いたんだ。
Because Lee-san hated the rain, he went home and cried in his room.

このゲーム機は、安くて使いやすいという理由で、よく売れているそうだ。
I hear that because this game console is inexpensive and easy to use, it's selling well.

アルバイトで忙しいという理由で、学校を休む学生がいます。
There are students who skip school because they are busy at work.

決して～ない

The word 決して, when used with the negative form of a verb, adjective, etc. expresses strong negation of an idea or situation. It often translates as "never", "by no means", or "not in the least."

今日の試験は決してやさしくありませんでしたが、みんなよくできていました。
Today's test was not easy by any means, but everyone was able to do well on it.

カナトは決して嫌いじゃないんだけど、時々ちょっと怒らせる傾向があるんだな。
I don't hate Kanato in the least, but sometimes he has a tendency to make me a little angry.

彼は決して悪い人間ではない。ちょっとわがままなだけだ。
He's definitely not a bad person. He's just a little selfish.

リーさんはあの銀行を決してかすめなかったんだ、バカ。
You idiot, Lee-san never robbed that bank.

以外

The word 以外 can be used after nouns to express "except for [noun]" or "besides [noun]." Pretty simple, huh?

このクラスは、田中さん以外は、誰も外国に行ったことがないそうだ。
I hear that no one in this class besides Tanaka-san has been to a foreign country.

マイク以外、この部屋に人の中で皆さんが好き。
I like everyone in this room except for Mike.

週末は、勉強以外に、テニスをしたり映画を見たりします。
Over the weekend, other than studying, I'm going to do things like play tennis and watch a movie.

子持ち甘藍以外は、何でも食べられるんだよ。
I can eat anything except for brussels sprouts.

そこで

そこで can be used at the beginning of a sentence before expressing an action that will be taken because of the aforementioned situation. It's similar to それで, except そこで can only be used in situations where the person has control (so not for things like weather). It's generally translated as "because of that", "therefore", or "so."

学生達は、先生とだけでなく、一般の日本人とも日本語で話したいはずです。そこで、日本人の留学生のグループとパーティーをすることにしました。
Students are supposed to want to speak in Japanese with not only teachers, but also with Japanese people in general. Because of that, I've decided to have a party with a group of Japanese exchange students.

私は新入生だから、人々に会いたいんだ。そこで、寮でパーティーをすることにした。
I'm a new student, so I want to meet people. So I decided to throw a party in my dorm.

将来、小学校の先生になりたいと思っています。そこで、ボランティアで子供達を教えてみることにしました。
In the future, I think I want to become an elementary school teacher. So, I've decided to try teaching kids by volunteering.

男の子は弟を打ってしまった。そこで、お父さんは部屋に行かせたんだ。
The boy hit his little brother. Because of that, the father made him go to his room.