Enhancing Communicative Skills and Critical Thinking through Oxford Style Debates in English Teaching for Year 11 Students

Resumen

This paper presents a classroom experience in the subject of English Extension with 1st-year Bachillerato students, using Oxford-style debates to enhance communicative skills, foster critical thinking, anddevelop information-seeking competencies. The study involved 27 students divided into four groups. Theresults indicated significant progress in communicative competence, the formulation of coherent and persuasive arguments, and critical thinking. The implementation of Oxford-style debates proved to be an effectivepedagogical approach for promoting active engagement, collaborative learning, and language proficiency development. The students’ feedback highlighted the enriching nature of the experience, despite the challengesassociated with public speaking and expressing thoughts in a coherent manner. Additionally, the inclusion ofauthentic debates and the emphasis on information research were positively received by the students. Thesefindings suggest the potential of incorporating Oxford-style debates in English language teaching to enhancestudents’ communication skills, critical thinking abilities, and information literacy. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term impact of this pedagogical approach and its applicability in other educationalcontexts.