Teaching Debate to PhD STEM Students — with Anila Ruth Scott-Monkhouse

About this episode

Anila Ruth Scott-Monkhouse discusses the benefits of teaching debate to STEM PhD students to enhance their communication and critical thinking skills.

University lecturer Anila Ruth Scott-Monkhouse joins Laura to share how she’s using academic debate to help STEM PhD students become more confident communicators. In this episode, Anila shares how debate boosts her students’ teamwork, critical thinking, and language skills. You’ll also hear how she integrates controversial topics, intercultural collaboration, and real-world research into her EAP classes. Watch with closed captions . TALKING POINTS Why Debate? The benefits of debate for science students — from thinking on your feet to tackling tough questions at conferences. Debating the Unexpected: How students explore both sides of controversial issues, often arguing a side they don’t personally agree with. Not Just Language Practice: Why students are judged on the quality of their arguments and not their grammar. Teamwork & Mediation: What happens when physicists, chemists, and engineers work together across cultures. Winning Isn’t Everything: How structured competition builds confidence, curiosity, and deeper engagement in class. ABOUT Anila Ruth Scott-Monkhouse teaches general and academic English to undergraduate and PhD STEM students at the University of Parma, Italy…

People in this episode

Host: Laura

Guest: Anila Ruth Scott-Monkhouse

Topics covered

• academic debate
• STEM education
• communication skills
• teamwork
• critical thinking
• intercultural collaboration

Keywords

• debate
• STEM PhD
• communication
• teamwork
• critical thinking
• language skills
• EAP classes

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Parma

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