University Student Perceptions of the Efficacy of Debate Participation: An Empirical Investigation

Williams, David E.; McGee, Brian R.; Worth, David S.

doi:10.1080/00028533.2001.11951670

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Such real life-like situations can only be incorporated in the curriculum through the strategy of in-class debate. Williams, McGee, & Worth (2001) investigated 286 participants of competitive debate teams at 70 different universities. These learners highlighted that in-class debate polished their communication skill at maximum.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Saudi EFL Learners’ Communicative, Collaborative and Critical Thinking Skills Through the Technique of In-Class Debate

Gulnaz¹

2020

IJEL

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Diverse learning styles of the learners require instructors to utilize wide variety of instructional strategies to engage their interest and motivation. In-class debate is a systematic instructional strategy utilized to bring the dynamics of social life into the classroom to cultivate learners’ active-involvement in the content of the subject. It hones learners’ range of skills, such as; oral-communication, social-interaction, critical thinking skills and internalization of the course content. For the purposes of present study, the researcher utilized qualitative cum quantitative research tools to collect the data from the participants. An opinionnaire with 14 items was developed with closed ended questions. The instrument was designed to measure four variables, which are tabulated into four sections (See tables 3-6): (a) in-class debate inculcates learners’ collaborative, communicative and cooperative paradigms;(b) it triggers learners’ complete mastery of the course content, i.e., retention, assimilation and understanding, coupled with boosts stack of skills involved in the process; (c) it fosters EFL learners’ ability to critically evaluate and analyze everything; and (d) finally it focuses on learners’ creative and critical thinking skills and make them active and independent pursuers of knowledge. The survey was administered to 87 female EFL learners of Taif University to identify the impacts of debate on their range of academic skills. The findings of the study indicate that in-class debate effectively generates learners’ several skills since it targets their thinking skill, contemplation, reflection and ultimately stimulates their productive, receptive, analytical and critical thinking skills. Yet, more faculties can be activated and maximum results can be obtained, if this interactive strategy is implemented in a structured format with a properly designed rubric focusing on learners’ specific skills.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Saudi EFL Learners’ Communicative, Collaborative and Critical Thinking Skills Through the Technique of In-Class Debate

Gulnaz¹

2020

IJEL

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“…Akerman and Neale (2011) identified communication and argumentation skills as a key finding which includes improved English when it is not the students' first language as evidenced by the study of Inoue and Nakano (2004) in Japan. Communication and speaking skills was perceived by students as the most important benefit of competitive debate in the surveys conducted in the US (Williams, McGee, & Worth, 2001;Littlefield, 2001). As the goal of this study is to introduce debating in the classroom in the ASEAN context, Cronin's (1990) study found that 74 percent of students from six university classes in the US indicated communication skills as the top benefit of debating.…”

Section: Learners' Autonomy Developmentmentioning

confidence: 98%

Exploring Parliamentary Debate as a Pedagogical Tool to Develop English Communication Skills in EFL/ESL Classrooms

Aclan

Aziz

2014

IJALEL

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To survive in the 21 st century workplace, communication skills are extremely important. However, a mismatch between the industry requirement and the university graduates' competencies in terms of effective communication skills exists. Rote learning and lack of opportunities to practice English communication skills inside and outside the classroom are common issues in EFL/ESL contexts. Thus, this qualitative study was conducted to explore how debate as a pedagogical tool with three stages-pre-debate, actual debate and post-debate-can develop communication skills. The data were gathered through semi-structured one-on-one interview with five debate experts across from ASEAN countries and focus group interview with six ASEAN debate students. The participants of this study described the use of the pre-debate stage for the research and brainstorming tasks that engage the team members with each other, the actual debate for the arguments, POI and rebuttals that actively engage debaters with their opponents, and the postdebate stage that engage all the debaters with the adjudicators, their teammates and their opponents. This pedagogical aspect focusing on the three stages of debate which has implications for SLA and language teaching was not substantially dealt with in previous studies on debate.

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“…However, it became popular again in the United States and has been practiced over the last three decades. It has been providing a good educational experience for students in high schools and universities (Williams et al, 2001). Debates have been extended to students in all subject areas, regardless of the students' academic level.…”

Section: Classroom Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ Perceptions toward Using Classroom Debate to Develop Critical Thinking and Oral Communication Ability

Zare¹,

Othman²

2015

ASS

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The purpose of this study was to make inquiries about students' perceptions on employing classroom debate to improve critical thinking and oral communication ability. Sixteen undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a group, and took part in debates for nine sessions throughout one whole semester. Part of the data was collected through a survey questionnaire including twenty one statements using 5-point Likert scale. Students were also provided with a number of open-ended questions to write down their perceptions about the classroom debate. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a number of volunteered participants. Overall, the students believed that the classroom debate was a constructive learning activity. The respondents believed that the debates helped improve their critical thinking skills and oral communication ability. In addition, as the students claimed, other benefits of the debates included mastering the course content, boosting confidence, overcoming the stage fright, and improving team work skills.

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University Student Perceptions of the Efficacy of Debate Participation: An Empirical Investigation

Cited by 25 publications

References 5 publications

Fostering Saudi EFL Learners’ Communicative, Collaborative and Critical Thinking Skills Through the Technique of In-Class Debate

Fostering Saudi EFL Learners’ Communicative, Collaborative and Critical Thinking Skills Through the Technique of In-Class Debate

Exploring Parliamentary Debate as a Pedagogical Tool to Develop English Communication Skills in EFL/ESL Classrooms

Students’ Perceptions toward Using Classroom Debate to Develop Critical Thinking and Oral Communication Ability

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