EFL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF DEBATE AS A STRATEGY IN LEARNING SPEAKING STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF MATARAM

Abstract

The present study intended to investigate students’ perception on the use of debate as a strategy in learning speaking. 166 EFL students from English Department of UIN Mataram were involved in this research. By employing a mixed research design, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, this study seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of students' perspectives, attitudes, and experiences related to the use of debate as an instructional approach in the EFL students’ classroom. 10 informants as the purposive sampling based on the questionnaire and their experience with English debate activities in their speaking classes. The findings demonstrated that students viewed English debate as a successful strategy for enhancing their speaking skills since it allowed them to practice and strengthen their critical thinking, fluency, and accuracy. After participating in discussion events, participants reported feeling more secure and driven to talk in English. Some students, however, expressed concern about their insufficient vocabulary and grammar expertise, which hampered their performance throughout the debates. Overall, the study reveals that English debate can be a helpful and entertaining technique for improving the speaking abilities of EFL learners, but it should be supplemented with adequate training and coaching to address students' linguistic shortcomings.