Abstract Summary
This study investigates university EFL teachers’ perceptions of CT and how two teachers integrated CT into language teaching. Findings indicate that CT should be an integral part of EFL curriculum, and that the opportunities for teachers to research into their practices helped their language teaching to develop students’ critical thinking.
Abstract :
Over the past four decades, foreign language teaching has expanded its goals from a mainly linguistic focus (knowing how to communicate in the target language fluently and accurately) towards a fuller attainment of communicative competence which integrates critical thinking (CT). Language and critical thinking integrated approach to language teaching, which helps language learners to develop skills they need to communicate effectively with others, has gained relevance in various contexts because of its potential to contribute to overarching educational objectives and prepare learners for global citizenship. In fact, CT and the development of CT abilities have been recently incorporated into national curricula and other documents that inform teaching and learning, including in US, Singapore and China. Consequently, language teachers in these contexts are now expected to foster learners’ CT through their teaching. This study investigates Chinese university EFL teachers’ perceptions of CT and how two teachers of languages integrated CT into language teaching. Taking a mixed-methods approach, I collected data from a questionnaire survey, follow-up interviews, classroom observations, and debriefing conversations. This paper shows that EFL teachers in China strongly agree that CT should be an integral part of EFL curriculum and classroom teaching; however, they lack professional knowledge of CT and how to implement CT in their classes. In addition, they are faced with various challenges and need further support with their CT teaching. Findings also indicate that the opportunities for teachers to carry out research into their own practices helped these teachers’ approaches to language teaching to accommodate a curriculum expectation to develop students’ critical thinking abilities. The study offers valuable insights for teacher education into the ways teachers’ research can support teachers’ responses to curricular change, and calls for more customized professional development on the integration of CT with English language curriculum, material development and pedagogical practice.
