Critical Thinking in Language Education

Abstract

In this essay, I propose that EFL teachers within a collegiate setting possess a two-fold mandate: Most obviously, they must present language lessons throughout the course of the term that are appropriate for the level of their students. But if student experience in their English courses is limited to language training exercises, then they have missed a valuable opportunity to cultivate their capacities for critical and independent thinking.A most predictable retort would be that students can hardly be expected to display critical thinking prowess in a language in which they have attained only rudimentary facility. Indeed, in English departments throughout Japan, there is a widely held assumption among both students and teachers that many students, particularly at the lower levels, will gain little or no facility in using practical, day-to-day English, much less academic English.This argument rests on the assumption that students, within the context of the English classroom, lose their facility for addressing their own confusion through formulating questions, drawing inferences, and stating hypotheses because of a limited grasp of English. Given the larger mandate of the university, it is most appropriate that students enhance their abilities to think critically as a result of how they are being asked to train in their new language, regardless of their demonstrated ability, and regardless of the extent to which they depend upon Japanese for understanding the full breadth of their classroom experience.A key assumption of the argument being put forth is that critical thinking is a pragmatic set of behaviors connected to or arising out of specific contexts. Making systematic and strategic attempts to inch toward the completion of a goal might serve as a succinct description of what critical thinkers do, and one might therefore isolate and describe what counts as critical thinking in any given context. We might say that in every context of scholastic endeavor there exists both a goal that the student pursues as well as a range of possible strategies for pursuing it. Critical thinking, in this sense, is comparative. This of course implies that it would hardly be appropriate to say that at 17 some levels of study students are engaged in activities befitting critical thought and that at other levels they are not.It ought not to be assumed that critical thinking is relegated to so-called "higher" functions, such as those at work in the synthesizing of large amounts of complex data according to what would be seen as a daring and original hypothesis. Arguably, most critical thinking activities, the ones we most rely upon for organizing our lives, are quite mundane. Within a scholastic context, such activities consist of major study skills, which include responding to instructor cues, planning daily tasks, and managing data flow within the contexts of both single and multiple assignments.When students possess very minimal abilities in their chosen language subject, some aspects of study skills management become less easy t...

Pensamiento crítico y comprensión de la lectura en un curso de inglés como lengua extranjera

“…En cuanto a las estrategias de enseñanza, algunos autores sugieren utilizar el debate, la técnica de la pregunta; escribir antes, durante y después de leer; actividades con dos momentos, uno para aclarar el significado y otro para su evaluación crítica; las tareas basadas en la resolución de problemas y estudios de caso, la autoevaluación y la coevaluación (véanse Rezaei, Derakhshan y Bagherkazemi, 2011;Mehta y Al-Mahrougi, 2015;Taglieber, 2008). Este tipo de actividades no son comunes en muchos cursos de lectura en ILE y, a juzgar por los resultados, este parece ser el caso del curso ID1113.…”

A cross-contextual analysis of Iranian EFL teachers' attitudes and perceptions of critical thinking

“…It means that they have put too much emphasis on what to think rather than how to think; they are too conscientious in giving the correct answers and students are not given too much room for free discussion. Involving students dynamically in critical thinking practices through the operative use of teacher-initiated questions, discussion, and reflection in a in a supportive atmosphere can pave the way the critical thinking skills and their critical attitudes (Rezaei et al, 2011). Along the same line of inquiry, Bourdillon and Storey (2002) notified that a mistake teachers frequently make in devising and asking questions is that students are not given sufficient time to ponder on challenging questions and appraise possible responses.…”

The Concept and Practice of Critical Thinking in EFL Classes in Benin: Prospects and Challenges—Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Republic of Benin

“…The advocates of such shifts in education have recognized that critical thinking skills can be taught in EFL/ESL context (Davidson, 1994(Davidson, , 1995Chamot, 1995;Carrell, 1987;Rezaei, Derakhshand, & Bagherkazemi, 2011;Pineda, 2004). Chamot has strongly argued that EFL/ESL classrooms should be a community of thinkers.…”