We explore critical thinking from the perspective of multilingual learners in EAP courses who recognize distinct academic culture of writing in a North American institution. Students are able to conceptualize their need for specific instruction. Therefore, critical inquiry must be part of writing instruction for a varied learning experience.
The term critical thinking or critical inquiry can be traced back to 1748 (Pekham, 2010). The fact that the concept has survived the test of time gives it relevance. Developing critical thinking skills is viewed as a higher-level skill. For instance, in Bloom’s (1956) original taxonomy the ability to critique is the sixth and final step in the cognitive domain correlating to synthesize(in 2001 revised to create). Glaser’s (1941) definition of critical thinking includes factors that expect a writer to utilize their range of experience to extend into creative problem solving and use methods of thoughtful inquiry. Pekham (2010), however, problematizes the construct of critical thinking as one that could trip into replacement pedagogy (Bartolome, 1998) instead of prompting learners to explore additional ways of problem solving. This presentation explores one aspect of critical thinking – the prospect of cultural assimilation when multilingual learners of English take writing composition courses. Interviews conducted with fifteen multilingual students enrolled in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program in a North American post-secondary institution reveal how they define culture of writing. Critical appraisal of the writing process in the learner’s home country is often compared to the pedagogical practices at the North American institute. One common critique that students offer is the need to understand the teacher’s expectation, which is recognized as different from the culture of writing at home. In this presentation, we not only highlight student expectations and suggest way forward, but more importantly, recognize that adult multilingual learners have already imbibed features of critical thought and action. We propose that critical thought and inquiry is part and parcel of writing instruction that must give learners the opportunity to explore alternative perspectives instead of a filtered, monolingual experience.
