The skill of argumentation in the second language (L2) is problematic for secondary school students who are deficient in expressing structurally and qualitatively appropriate arguments. Debate has been widely acclaimed as an effective pedagogical tool that can improve L2 argumentation skills of students. However, the existing evidence is anecdotal. This intervention study, which employed a pretest-posttest control group design involving eight classes at three secondary schools in The Netherlands, was conducted to investigate to what extent debate instruction in L2 affects a number of L2 structural (e.g. sub-arguments and rebuttals) and quality (e.g. elaboration and persuasiveness of arguments) aspects of argumentation. To gauge the effect of the intervention, we analyzed written and oral opinion tasks produced by the participants at the beginning and towards the end of the intervention. We used an adjusted version of Toulmin's argumentation model to undertake the structural analysis and a 5-point scale rubric to assess different aspects of reasoning quality. Multilevel analysis of the data revealed that debate instruction had a positive effect upon a number of structural components and quality aspects of the written and oral argumentation skills. These findings led us to conclude that debate constitutes a conducive pedagogy for honing argumentation skills.

第二语言 (L2) 的论证技巧对于缺乏在结构上和质量上适当的论证的中学生来说是有问题的。辩论作为一种有效的教学工具被广泛赞誉，可以提高学生的二语辩论技能。然而，现有的证据是轶事。这项干预研究采用了前测后测控制组设计，涉及荷兰三所中学的八个班级，旨在调查 L2 辩论教学在多大程度上影响 L2 结构（例如子论点和反驳）和论证的质量（例如论证的阐述和说服力）方面。为了衡量干预的效果，我们分析了参与者在干预开始和接近结束时产生的书面和口头意见任务。我们使用调整后的 Toulmin 论证模型进行结构分析，并使用 5 点量表来评估推理质量的不同方面。对数据的多层次分析表明，辩论教学对书面和口头辩论技巧的许多结构组成部分和质量方面具有积极影响。这些发现使我们得出结论，辩论构成了磨练辩论技巧的有益教学法。对数据的多层次分析表明，辩论教学对书面和口头辩论技巧的许多结构组成部分和质量方面具有积极影响。这些发现使我们得出结论，辩论构成了磨练辩论技巧的有益教学法。对数据的多层次分析表明，辩论教学对书面和口头辩论技巧的许多结构组成部分和质量方面具有积极影响。这些发现使我们得出结论，辩论构成了磨练辩论技巧的有益教学法。