Improving Critical Thinking and English Communication Skills Through World Schools Debate Championship (WDSC) Training at SMA Negeri 1 Ambarawa

Abstract

Critical thinking and English communication skills are essential competencies for senior high school students, particularly those enrolled in language majors and English club, as they support academic achievement and active participation global discourse. Debate activities, especially those adopting the World Schools Debate Championship (WSDC) approach, provide a structured platform to develop argumentation, reasoning and effective oral communication in English. This community service program aimed to enhance student’s critical thinking and English communication skills through debate training based on the World Schools Debate Championship (WSDC). The program employed a service-learning method with a training and mentoring approach, actively involving lecturers and students in the implementation process. The training consisted of the introduction of fundamental debate concepts, WSDC debate mechanisms, argument construction and rebuttal strategies, followed by guided debate practice sessions. The results indicated that participants demonstrated improved critical thinking skills, greater confidence in expressing arguments and increased fluency and clarity in English communication. Overall, debate training based on the World Schools Debate Championship (WSDC) effectively contributed to the development of critical thinking and English communication skills among senior high school students in language majors and English club.