ESL Students’ Perception Towards Their Level of Critical Thinking Skills

Abstract

The ability to think critically is an important skill to be acquired, especially at tertiary level. Nonetheless, it has been found that tertiary students’ level of critical thinking (CT) skills to be at the moderate level. An effective level of CT skills has been proven to be beneficial in navigating real-world challenges. Thus, this study is an attempt to answer these research questions: i) What is the perceived level of CT skill among ESL students?, ii) Is there any significant mean difference in the level of CT skills between male and female students?, iii) Is there a significant mean difference in the level of CT skills between LG240 and LG243 programmes?, and iv) Is there any significant mean difference in the level of CT skills among students with different grades?. This study employed a fully quantitative approach and cross-sectional study as its research design. A questionnaire was distributed for approximately three (3) weeks, and 107 responses were received. The data obtained showed that the students perceived their level of CT skills to be at a high level and they had positive views towards their level of CT skills. Moreover, there was no significant difference between genders and programmes, but there were significant differences between grades. Hence, it is important for educators to know their students’ level of CT skills as to prepare suitable lesson plans and materials to develop and enhance this set of skills. For future research, this study would suggest focusing on the development of materials that would assist both educators and tertiary students in developing a good set of CT skills.