Teaching IELTS Writing Module through English Debate: A Case Study in Thailand

Abstract

The study explores how effective teaching IELTS writing module through English debate can be for 20 students in their last year in high at a private school in Thailand. The school has acquired Ms Cynthia Luo, a debate coach of the school, to teach Grade 12B academic writing course and this has made it possible for the students to brainstorm, discuss and debate over IELTS oriented issues before they start working on draft 1 and draft 2 of their essays. Three follow-up student interviews and the debate teacher interview were conducted. Active students responded positively to the use of debate in their writing class while expressing their concerns about academic vocabulary and paraphrasing skills. Passive students need more support during debate activities. Additional English activities are introduced for students' accuracy and fluency. The student participants took their IELTS mock test and their scores reflect effectiveness of debate activities in classroom while some of the students need to develop their classroom learning motivation.