scholarly journals Critical Thinking and Argumentative Writing: Inspecting the Association among EFL Learners in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Zhengwei Pei ◽  
Chaoqun Zheng ◽  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Fangzhou Liu
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Argumentative Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Test ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Efl Writing Instruction ◽  
Chinese Undergraduates

Nurturing critical thinking (CT) has been acknowledged as a core objective of tertiary education, and drawn attention from academia of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China. The thrust of the present study was to determine the association between CT and EFL argumentative writing among Chinese undergraduates. To this end, 110 English majors across three grades at two universities were conveniently selected and given the critical thinking skills (CTS) test and EFL argumentative writing test. The results of this study indicated that undergraduate English majors in China did not possess strong CTS. Though their CTS was not found to be significantly correlated with EFL argumentative writing performance, textual analysis of typical essays showed that strong-CTS learners outperformed weak-CTS ones in relevance, clarity, logicality, profundity and flexibility of argumentative writing. The obtained results suggest a need to integrate CT into EFL writing instruction.

scholarly journals A Framework for Infusing Critical Thinking into Chinese College EFL Learners’ Argumentative Writing Process

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Chunxia Lu
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Argumentative Writing ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Written Argumentation ◽  
Critical Thinking Instruction

Written argumentation, as a language skill and a cognitive skill as well, is not easy for EFL learners. In China, related studies found that college EFL learners are weak in written argumentation due to the deficiency of critical thinking. In order to enhance Chinese college EFL learners’ argumentative writing ability, this paper reviewed the nature of argumentative writing, the relationship between critical thinking and argumentative writing and previous studies on effects of critical thinking instruction into argumentative writing, and then pointed out that it is reasonable to infuse critical thinking into argumentative writing process in Chinese EFL context. With teachers’ feedback and students’ reflection as the pedagogical tool, the author synthesized an instruction framework for infusing critical thinking skills into Chinese EFL learners’ argumentative writing process hopefully to provide reference for further research and instruction.

The Effect of Teaching Critical Thinking on Iranian EFL Learners' Essay Writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Miri ◽  
Danial Babajani Azizi
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Test ◽  
Experimental Group

The present study made an attempt to determine the effect of teaching critical thinking skills on Iranian EFL learners' essay writing ability. To do this, a sample of 60 EFL learners was selected based on their performance on Preliminary English Test (PET). The participants were randomly assigned to two equal groups of control and experimental. An essay-writing test functioning as pre-test was administered on both groups in order to ensure their homogeneity in terms of writing ability. The groups received 10 sessions of writing instruction; however, experimental group received additional instruction and practice regarding the techniques of critical thinking. Finally, both groups took an essay writing posttest in order to compare their writing achievements. Both pretest and posttest were scored by two raters using TOEFL rating scales. The results of paired and independent sample t-tests showed that critical thinking techniques significantly enhanced EFL learners writing ability.

scholarly journals Improving EFL Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills in Argumentative Writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabila Nejmaoui
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
English Language ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Argumentative Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Experimental Group

In the 21st century where information has become easily available and accessible, education has shifted its attention to teaching students how to process and think critically about the information they receive. Welcoming the changes that education constantly witnesses, the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) has embraced the integration of critical thinking. Accordingly, the present paper aims to explore the effect, if any, of integrating critical thinking on learners’ use of critical thinking skills in argumentative writing. To this end, an experimental study was conducted; 36 Moroccan EFL learners from the department of English were divided evenly into an experimental group and a control group. While the participants in the experimental group were taught writing with critical thinking skills, the others were taught writing with no reference to these skills. The participants in both groups took a pre-test and posttest to evaluate the development of their use of critical thinking skills in argumentative writing. The data which has been quantitatively analyzed indicates that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group. The students’ ability to use more credible evidence, address alternative arguments, support conclusions, and maintain the logical flow of ideas in their essays did not reach a mastery level in the posttest, yet the average level they reached is reassuring in view of the short time of the training they had. An integration of CT for longer periods may bring forth encouraging outcomes.

scholarly journals The Effect of EFL Learners’ Critical Thinking on their Skill of Interpreting Information as Reflected in their Writing

sjesr ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-36
Author(s):  
Dr. Muhammad Din ◽  
Dr. Riaz Hussain ◽  
Sana Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Critical Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Test ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Research Tools

A good thinker distinguishes his interpretations from evidence, considers alternative interpretations, and reconsiders them under following the changed conditions and new evidence. Critical thinking enables and helps students to evaluate, judge, and make choices regarding everyday information so that they may obtain, believe and use the information to take action accordingly. This quantitative study aims to know EFL learners’ attitude towards critical thinking skills of interpreting information and the effect of EFL learners’ critical thinking on their skill of interpreting information with specific reference to their critical writing. The present study also aims to explore how m and universities any universities foreign language learners reflect critical thinking ability in writing skills while interpreting information. The researcher has used three research tools to this end. These research tools include critical thinking inventory (CTI), Watson-Glazer’s (2002) critical thinking test for interpreting information (CTII), and critical writing test (CWT). The subjects of the present study are the B.Sc. (Bachelor Level) students from different colleges. The results of this study demonstrate that university students have a very positive attitude towards critical thinking skills interpreting information but their performance in reflecting critical thinking in the critical writing test does not match with the attitude towards critical thinking skills of interpreting information.  This study also makes some academic implications for the development of EFL learners’ critical thinking particularly in the context of Pakistan.

Fostering Critical Thinking Skills in European and Asian Higher Education Institutions

2021 ◽  
pp. 138-150
Author(s):  
Svetlana Antonova ◽  
Tatyana Pletyago ◽  
Anna Ostapenko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
University Education ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Professional Activities

There is a demand for transformation in higher education. Undergraduates need to be taught critical thinking, an essential skill that should be central to the mission of all educational institutions. Critical thinking is a key focus of academic interest among researchers in the field of pedagogy and methodology. Despite this, there is still a lack of sufficient information on approaches, methods, techniques, and means of incorporating critical thinking skills in the classroom environment at the tertiary education level. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the hands-on experiences of some European and Asian universities in promoting critical thinking education using a range of academic models. The review shows that critical thinking has already been integrated into many major tertiary education programmes in both European and Asian universities. Further, majority of the academic models implemented are transferable and flexible. The results confirm that in terms of content, methods, and technologies, university education is focusing on cultivating the higher order skills necessary for innovative professional activities in modern world.

The Impact of Teaching Critical Thinking Skills on Reading Comprehension of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotfollah Karimi ◽  
Farshad Veisi
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Teaching Reading ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Post Test ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

the purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of teaching critical thinking skills on reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. A sample of 50 students from Arshia Language Institute in Ilam, Iran participated in this study. They were both male and female students who were selected among 80 students based on their performances on PET. The participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. First, the two groups were exposed to the pre-test of reading comprehension in order to evaluate their knowledge on reading before the treatment. Based on scores obtained from the Pre-test, no significance differences were observed between two groups. After that the treatment was started and the experimental group was exposed to teaching critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, traditional methods of teaching reading comprehension were used for teaching reading comprehension to the control group. Finally, post-test of reading comprehension was delivered to both groups at the end of treatment to check possible differences.  To analyze the collected data, ANCOVA was run using SPSS Software Version 16. The results showed that teaching critical thinking skills positively affect reading comprehension of intermediate EFL learners, but the interaction of gender and teaching critical thinking was not significant.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Critical Thinking Skills Between English and Japanese Majors in a Normal University

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Fenglin Zhou ◽  
Yuewu Lin
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Thinking Dispositions ◽  
Critical Thinking Dispositions ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Normal University

Critical thinking is one of the core objectives of talent training in higher education. Meanwhile, the cultivation of critical thinking skills in foreign language teaching has become more and more urgent, and it has also been written into the national standards for the training of foreign language talents. A good critical thinking includes both a skill dimension (Critical Thinking Skills) and a disposition dimension (Critical Thinking Dispositions). Critical Thinking Skills include interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation and self-regulation. This study intends to explore the current situation of the critical thinking skills of undergraduates in foreign language majors (English and Japanese) in a Normal University, and then attempts to find out the similarities and differences in critical thinking skills between English majors and Japanese majors after years of study at college. The results show that a clear difference exists between English majors and Japanese majors in overall critical thinking skills. In particular, English majors are superior to Japanese majors. Another finding is that there are also differences between the two majors in the three core sub-skills of critical thinking skills, analysis, evaluation and inference.

scholarly journals Improving the Critical Thinking Skills of Accounting Students Using the Framework-Based Teaching Approach

2018 ◽  
pp. 116-121
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Inquiry Based Learning ◽  
Critical Thinking Ability ◽  
Thinking Ability

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Framework-based Teaching (FBT) approach improves the critical thinking skill among accounting students at tertiary education level. This qualitative study is conducted using the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) approach, where reflections from lecturers ‘experience in teaching and learning process are gathered. Data are collected from both accounting lecturers and students who implemented the FBT approach using the inquiry-based learning technique in the financial accounting course. Data are analysed using content analysis. The results from the study indicate that, based on lecturers’ reflection, students are pushed to think in depth in classes using the inquiry based learning of the FBT approach. This is supported by students’ feedback on their own critical thinking ability. Thus, the FBT approach improves the critical thinking skills among accounting students. The implication of this study is the practicability of the FBT approach in teaching financial accounting course at university level in encouraging critical thinking skills.

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