 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
On Critical Thinking Skill Cultivation in EFL Teaching
ZHAO Yunhong and JIA Xiaoqing
Full-Text PDF
XML 586 Views
DOI:10.17265/2159-5542/2023.11.002
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Critical thinking has been recognized internationally as an essential skill for high-quality talents. This article analyzes what the experimental researches on cultivating critical thinking skills in EFL teaching have achieved and identifies the three weaknesses to be addressed in the future. Firstly, there are divergences among scholars on the concept and subskills of critical thinking. Secondly, the teaching modes and methods explored by the experimental researches are more personalized than systematic, which reduces their application and guidance value. Thirdly, the reliability and validity of the experiments need to be improved, and the cultivation practices tend to improve the critical thinking skills of some students, without considering the differences among students, especially the students with relatively poor language proficiency.
EFL, critical thinking skill cultivation, teaching experiment, achievements, weaknesses
Psychology Research, November 2023, Vol. 13, No. 11, 522-526
Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay.
Breen, M. (1989). The evaluation cycle for language learning tasks. In R. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum (pp. 187-206). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chen, M. R. A., & Hwang, G. J. (2020). Effects of a concept mapping-based flipped learning approach on EFL students’ English speaking performance, critical thinking awareness and speaking anxiety. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(3), 817-834.
Chiu, Y. C. J., & Cowan, J. (2012). Helping eastern students to master western critical thinking. Asia Pacific Education Review, 13(1), 103-111.
Cohen, E. G., & Lotan, R. A. (1997). Working for Equity in heterogeneous classrooms: Sociological theory in practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Ebadi, S., Rahimi, M., & Harati, H. (2017). Exploring the impact of webquest-based flipped classroom on EFL learners’ critical thinking and academic writing skills. XVIIIth International CALL Research Conference. Berkeley: University of California.
Ellis, R. (1989). Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ennis, R. H. (1996). Critical thinking dispositions: Their nature and assessability. Informal Logic, 18(2), 165-182.
Gao, Y., & Gu, X. W. (2022). The impact of critical thinking disposition on peer review in EFL writing. Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Education, 208(6), 52-58+73+109.
Gao, H. G. (2020). “Absence of Critical Thinking” in English reading teaching: Characteristics and countermeasures. Journal of Teaching and Management, 814(21), 102-104.
Geng, F., Yu, S. L., & Wang, J. J. (2021). Investigating the effectiveness of peer feedback on students’ critical thinking ability in English argumentative writing for debating purposes. Foreign Language World, 204(3), 37-45.
Gilquin, G., & Laporte, S. (2021). The use of online writing tools by learners of English: Evidence from a process corpus. International Journal of Lexicography, 34(4), 472-492.
Halim, S. (2011). Improving EFL majors’ critical reading skills and political awareness: A proposed translation program. International Journal of Educational Research, 50(5-6), 336-348.
Hashemi, M. R., & Ghanizadeh, A. (2012). Critical discourse analysis and critical thinking: An experimental study in an EFL context. System, 40(1), 37-47.
Hu, J. H. (2017). A comparative study on the learning facilitation efficacy of EFL flipped classroom pedagogy. Foreign Language World, 183(6), 20-28.
Huai, Y. M., Wang, J. M., & Yuan, Q. F. (2013). On the motivation and effect of interaction in parliamentary English debate course: The alignment effect of role play of members of parliament on critical thinking and SLA. Foreign Languages and Literature, 29(4), 153-157.
Kim, J. (2022). Korean EFL students building and sustaining new perspectives through global literary texts. Sustainability, 14(3), 1372.
Lin, Y. (2018). The impact of peer evaluation on the evaluators in critical thinking infused English learning. Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Education, 184(6), 35-40.
Lu, D., & Xie, Y. G. (2019). The effects of a critical thinking oriented instructional pattern in a tertiary EFL argumentative writing course. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(5), 969-984.
Ma, S. (2018). Deep analyses of the root of the Chinese college students’ “Syndrome of Absence of Critical Thinking” as well as the counter-measures: Taking college English education as an example. Foreign Languages and Literature, 34(1), 140-146.
Pan, L. L., & Song, Y. (2016). Cooperative learning and the cultivation of critical thinking competency. Foreign Language Education, 287(2), 97-105+147.
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2001). Critical thinking—Tools for taking change of your learning and your life. Englewood Cliff: Prentice Hall.
Ren, Y. (2015). Path to cultivating English majors students’ critical thinking in first year language courses: A qualitative research from the perspective of hidden curriculum. Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Education, 163(3), 57-63.
Sun, M. (2018). Assessing critical thinking skills of EFL public speaking learners: Impromptu speeches vs. prepared speeches. Foreign Language World, 39(4), 51-58.
Wang, B. J. (2019). The influence of an integrated critical oral English teaching approach on argumentative writing: An empirical research based on PEM and POA. Foreign Language Education, 40(5), 51-56.
Wang, Y. S., Wang, D., & Wu, L. H. (2022). An empirical study on the content-language integrated learning model empowered by critical thinking strategies in blended FLT environment. Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Education, 205(3), 71-76+113.
Wanner, T., & Palmer, E. (2015). Personalising learning: Exploring student and teacher perceptions about flexible learning and assessment in a flipped university course. Computers & Education, 88(10), 354-369.
Wen, Q. F., Wang, J. Q., Zhao, C. R., Liu, Y. P., & Wang, H. M. (2009). Developing a conceptual framework for assessing Chinese university students’ critical thinking skills. Foreign Language World, 130(1), 37-43.
Xu, Q. (2021). Incorporating reading circles into a task-based EAP reading scheme. ELT Journal, 75(3), 314-350.
Yang, Y. C., & Jeffrey, G. (2013). Effective and practical critical thinking-enhanced EFL instruction. ELT Journal, 67(4), 398-412.
Yang, Y. F., & Hsieh, P. Y. (2015). Negotiation of meaning to comprehend hypertexts through peer questioning. Language Learning & Technology, 19(2), 69-84.
Zhang, J. L., Wang, Y., & Zhang, B. H. (2012). Introducing a new teaching model: Flipped classroom. Journal of Distance Education, 30(4), 46-51.
Zou, D., & Xie, H. (2019). Flipping an English writing class with technology-enhanced just-in-time teaching and peer instruction. Interactive Learning Environments, 27(8), 1127-1142.