This study aimed to explore the relative effect of training English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in debates on their oral and written performance. It also investigated the effect of training on students' ideal second language (L2) self and communication apprehension. An intact class of English majors at a Saudi college (N=32) received…

Supranational and international organisations have long experienced difficulties in implementing multilingual policies, and this is, in part, due to a lack of activism on language matters by their membership (McEntee-Atalianis forthcoming; Kruse and Ammon, in: Chua (ed) Unintended language planning in a globalising world: multiple levels of…

Past research on face-to-face instructional delivery demonstrates that students' participation is positively related to their achievement in a course (Rocca, 2010), and that participation mediates the relation between attendance and achievement (Kim et al., 2019). Given that blended learning is on the rise in higher education (Johnson et al.,…

Low-income, racial/ethnic minority youth in under-resourced schools have certain opportunities to acquire cultural capital that is valued in dominant institutional contexts. I use observational data from 6 months of debate practices and competitions with two teams in the Chicago Debate League, as well as interviews with 12 debaters and 2 coaches,…

Low-income racial/ethnic-minority youth in under-resourced school contexts have certain opportunities to acquire institutionally-valued cultural capital. I use observational data from six months of debate practices and competitions with two teams in the Chicago Debate League, as well as interviews with twelve debaters and two coaches, to show that…

There are considerable bodies of research addressing the extent to which students are consuming political news messages and factors that influence student success and retention. However, there is a dearth of research addressing the relationship between these variables. Guided by Cultivation Theory and Sense of Belonging research, the present study…

Putting into question its central presupposition of 'inner freedom', this paper deconstructs the 'resistance through culture' of the Paltinis School of dissident thinkers in Romania under communism in the 1970s and 80s. The philosopher Constantin Noica, and his follower Gabriel Liiceanu, argue that resistance to authoritarian repression and…

For decades, scholars have argued that civic education practices, such as debates on controversial issues, have the capacity to enhance civic outcomes, including political knowledge, attentiveness, and interest. This study bridges the literature on political science education and political behavior by employing an experimental approach to assess…

This research sought to develop argument as a problem-solving process by adding debate to social studies instruction with three groups of fifth-grade students. This design-based research (DBR) reports on the ways that instruction was refined across three topical units to develop argumentative agency and a critical participatory literacy. Students…

Courses: This unit activity is suited for upper-level college courses on persuasion, intercultural communication, diversity, leadership, social justice, civil discourse, argumentation, debate, and political communication. Objectives: After completing this unit, learners should be able to: improve their capacity to examine arguments; enhance their…

On the 21st century scent of educational development, 'dialogism' hogs the limelight of leading academics, mapping ergo a stiff stronghold for active learning pedagogies. Regarding the field of literature more sensibly considered in English as Foreign Language (EFL) context, the plea for embracing interactive talks reverberates discernably in the…

This paper presents a case study of a competitive debate program designed for teachers-in-training at the Basic Education College in Kuwait. Stakeholders at different levels have expressed an interest in introducing more constructivist-based pedagogies into the Kuwaiti national education system, but institutional and ideological challenges have…

The moment many students begin to get excited about history is when they realize that much historical knowledge is contested, enmeshed in a productive argument that never ends and therefore endlessly fascinates. Such an epiphany might occur at any time. But a frequent catalyst is classroom debate, a formalized contest that dramatizes and vitalizes…

The Covid-19 pandemic is the reason why humanity is paying more attention to the importance of regular and rigorous handwashing. Interestingly, in the nineteenth century, regular and rigorous handwashing was a key (and controversial) solution proposed by the Hungarian obstetrician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis to cut drastically cases of puerperal…

This study shows the potential of collaborative mapping as a pedagogical tool for cultivating spatial citizenship competencies among young students from peripheral urban spaces in Ecuador. Building on theories of spatial citizenship, the study postulates that an understanding and critical collaborative analysis of socio-spatial dynamics foster…