Physical Education with Bilingual Socratic Inquiry to Strengthen Listening and Speaking Performance

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of a Bilingual Socratic Play-Based Inquiry (SPI) Physical Education (PE) model in enhancing upper-secondary students’ English listening and speaking skills while promoting motivation, engagement, and communicative confidence. Using a quasi-experimental mixed-methods design, two classes participated as experimental and control groups. The experimental group received an eight-week bilingual SPI-based PE intervention integrating English–Indonesian instruction, movement-based inquiry tasks, and Socratic questioning. Quantitative results showed significant improvements in listening and speaking, with mean gains of 15.4 and 18.4 points respectively (p < .001), indicating strong effects of embodied, inquiry-driven bilingual instruction on language competence. Qualitative findings from observations, questionnaires, and interviews revealed high student motivation, increased willingness to communicate, and reduced language anxiety during physically active tasks. Students perceived the activities as enjoyable, engaging, and supportive of authentic language use. Although challenges emerged, such as initial difficulty following English instructions, noise management, and increased teacher preparation, these were offset by substantial affordances including improved comprehension routines, dynamic interaction spaces, and meaningful dialogue opportunities. Overall, the bilingual SPI-based PE model demonstrates pedagogical feasibility and considerable potential for integrating language learning, physical activity, and inquiry-based social value development in secondary education.