This study evaluates how well 64 female first-grade middle school students taking an Arabic language course improve their critical listening abilities using the Schoolwide Optimum Model (SWOM). The study employed a quasi-experimental design to assess SWOM-based training in comparison to traditional teaching approaches. The results indicate statistically significant differences (p<0.01) in post-test scores for overall critical listening abilities and the sub-skills of evaluation, discrimination, understanding, and inference between the experimental and control groups. The experimental group exhibited substantial improvements from pre-test to post-test, along with notable effect sizes. These findings confirm SWOM's effectiveness in improving critical listening abilities through the incorporation of higher order thinking into the curriculum. The research underscores SWOM's capacity to enhance student engagement and motivation. Recommendations entail integrating critical listening across several disciplines, highlighting contemporary instructional frameworks such as SWOM, and offering professional development for educators. Further investigation is required to ascertain the applicability of SWOM across various educational years and disciplines. The present study offers further evidence to endorse learner-centred techniques for student success.