Critical thinking is recognized as a vital 21st-century competency for EFL learners,
and classroom debate is considered an effective method for acquiring this ability.
While many studies support the role of debate in fostering critical thinking, limited
research explores how EFL students acquire this skill, particularly through the
Australian Parliamentary format. Most prior studies have focussed on speaking
abilities or only certain aspects of critical thinking, failing to fully focus on the six
core skills proposed by Facione in 1990. This research intends to fill that gap by
examining EFL students' perspective on acquring critical thinking skills in an
English Debate course, employing Facione’s critical thinking sub-skills as a
framework. Employing a qualitative case study approach, data were collected
through a closed-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with five
English Education students from a university in Bogor. The results showed that all
six indicators could be acquired through debate, particularly interpretation,
evaluation, and analysis, with the rebuttal stage identified as the most contributing
stage. This study concludes that debate is a positive learning method in supporting
EFL students' acquisition of critical thinking skills. However, the success of the
acquisition of these skills is highly dependent on the active participation and
awareness of individual students. The findings are expected to inform the creation
of more systematic language and learning approaches that integrate debate into
English language teaching.

Keywords: EFL Students, Critical Thinking, English Debate, and Student
Perspectives