Speaker
Description
Debate has become increasingly popular among Vietnamese middle and high schoolers in and outside schools. There are more debate clubs, extra- classes for professional training and debate tournaments where debaters are coached to work in teams and engage themselves in debating over global issues. They use English or Vietnamese, logic and knowledge of different fields to build a persuasive case, formulate argumentation and deliver rebuttals towards opponents to address debate motions upon the assigned sides of proposition or opposition. While there is scant research on this area, the study explores the lived experienced of Vietnamese young debaters framed by cognitive, social-emotional and behavioral dimensions of UNESCO’s Global Citizenship Education (GCED) framework. Under qualitative research paradigm, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 debaters aged from 12 to 16 with one to five years of experience. The findings indicate that these debaters’ lived experiences demonstrated key global citizenship dimensions of cultural awareness, social justice, civic engagement, and global interconnectedness. This study illustrates how debate serves as a transformative experience that prepares students to become engaged, informed, and responsible global citizens, navigating and addressing complex global challenges in an increasingly interconnected world. Therefore it is significant to embed debate as a core element in the language curricula to ensure thrive and sustainability of global citizenship education.
Biography
Dr Trinh Ngoc Anh is a researcher and lecturer at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Her research interests include internationalisation of education, curriculum development, teacher education, English language methodologies, and social-emotional learning.
