Enhancing Students’ Critical Thinking Skills Through the Application of Debate Technique

Test analysis from previous studies indicates that students’ critical thinking skills still need to improve. This study aimed to enhance the critical thinking skills of Grade 9 students in English at one of the secondary schools in Ozamiz City during the school year 2023-2024 using the debate technique through a classroom-based action research design. Thirty-five participants were selected through purposive sampling. The study utilized qualitative and quantitative methods, including a Researcher-made test and interviews for data collection. Statistical analysis used MiniTab and HyperResearch, with tools like mean, standard deviation, t-test, and thematic analysis, to comprehensively understand the findings. The study sought to answer the following objectives: 1.) Determine the learner’s level of performance before the application of debate technique 2.) Determine the learner’s level of performance after the application of the debate technique; 3.) Determine the significant difference in learners’ performance before and after the application of the debate technique, and 4) Explore other developments observed among the learners following the use of debate. The findings revealed an outstanding improvement in the learners’ overall performance through the use of the debate technique. Therefore, the application of the debate technique proves it to be an effective tool for enhancing students’ critical thinking skills.