The political scene in Tunisia has drastically changed since the 2011 revolution. It has paved the way for free expression to become an essential component applicable to everyday life. It was thus fundamental to introduce competitive debating as a tool necessary to mediate and organize free speech inside educational practices. Although debating is not officially integrated into the Tunisian national curriculum, it has been adopted by ESL teachers because it has the power to radically transform English language instruction and reception. Indeed, debating has become an absolute necessity in building analytical and reflective learners who are also socially and politically conscious. While a plethora of anecdotal evidence exists on the importance of debating, no previous work has closely examined the role of competitive debating in Tunisia in creating better-skilled and more knowledgeable ESL learners. First, this paper investigates a case study of 18 Tunisian ESL learners aged 15-18 who participated in a local school tournament in December 2017. This one-day tournament consisted of two rounds before the finale where debaters spoke for 8 minutes and received feedback from 6 adjudicators. This research is based on empirical evidence to showcase the efficacy of competitive debating, as a pedagogical tool, in supporting students in acquiring the methodology that would enable them, as speakers, to better formulate arguments and express opinions. Second, a survey was used to gather data from a larger group of 56 Tunisian ESL learners aged 14-25 who attended debate training sessions and/or partook in local and/or national competitions. This paper tackles the importance of debate in bolstering learners' confidence as non-native speakers, enhancing their critical thinking skills and widening their knowledge. Among others, the results reveal that there is a significant improvement in the aforementioned areas, especially among more experienced debaters.