Critical Thinking in EFL

The features of critical thinking

Critical thinking = Higher-order thinking skills

Another way of understanding critical thinking is by examining Bloom's Taxonomy of higher-order thinking skills (Image::

Task-based Learning (TBL) Lesson Activities

All critical thinking activities share similar features, or characteristics:

Critical thinking is...

• reflective: metacognitive, or thinking about one's thinking
• standards-based: holding your thinking up to criteria
• authentic: involves solving real-life problems
• reasonable: our application of thinking must be mindful

(Nosich, 2012)

SLA and the learner

The psychology of SLA

An underlying principle of Task-based Learning (TBL) is that there are six main types of activities which create "real-world" opportunities. These are listed below along with examples of each type of activity:

1. Listing tasks

Learners work in groups to create a list of ten items to have on a deserted island.

2. Sorting and ordering

Learners create a list of personality traits and order them from most to least desirable traits to have in a best friend.

3. Comparing

Learners compare living in the city versus living in the countryside.

4. Problem-solving

Learners write "Dear Abby" style letters of advice to their classmates.

5. Sharing personal experience

Learners discuss their reactions to a news article about poaching.

6. Creative tasks

Learners prepare a menu and concept design for a theme restaurant.

(Richards, p. 31-32)

Critical thinking and Bloom's Taxonomy

The evolution of SLA resulted in greater importance placed over time on the learner’s capacity to be actively involved in their own learning.

More emphasis has also been placed on the social nature of SLA, which was a foundation of the earliest SLA theorists (Saville-Troike, 2006).

Principles of Communicative Language Teaching

To draw a comparison between Scriven and Paul's definition and Bloom's Taxonomy it's best to compare terminology that occurs in both the definition and the model:

At the base of Bloom's Taxonomy is the category "remember," which involves such functions as "define," "duplicate," and "memorize." These terms deal with lower-order thinking skills and closely reflect teacher-centered, traditional methods of learning. Rote memorization of facts and duplication of learned knowledge.

As the levels go higher up the pyramid, so do the higher-order thinking skills required. "Apply," "analyze," and "evaluate" are nearer to the peak, with the skill "create" at the top. In Scriven and Paul's definition, the terms "conceptualizing," "applying," "analyzing," and "evaluating" also occur. Thus, a comparison of a definition of critical thinking with a model of higher-order thinking skills reveals a general consensus as to what aspects comprise skillful thought. The following section will evaluate the different features of critical thinking, or those features which must be present for critical thinking to happen.

Structuring a TBL Lesson

Theories concerning the mental processes developed into an influential framework known as Information Processing (IP).

There are many assumptions, but most notable for the purposes of relating SLA to critical thinking and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) are the assumptions listed below:

• Second language learning is the acquisition of a complex cognitive skill.
• Learning of a skill initially demands learners’ attention [controlled processing].
• Controlled processing requires considerable…attentional effort.
• Learners go from controlled processing to automatic processing with practice.
• …development from controlled to automatic processing [frees] learners’ controlled processing capacity for new information and higher-order skills

(Saville-Troike, 2006, pg. 73)

Outlined below are five principles surrounding CLT which are explicitly related to the correlation of CLT and engendering critical thinking:

1) Use tasks as the organizing principle

The theory underlying this is that a language is being learned so that it can be used, so teachers must create opportunities for contextualized language use (Brandl, p. 8). This principle gave rise to Task-based learning (TBL).

2) Understand that learners learn by doing

Simply put, if the learners are given a relevant, interesting, and applicable task to perform, the chances that learners will be engaged are much higher.

3) Provide rich input through authentic texts

Authentic texts, when adapted appropriately, are rich sources of materials in planning and conducting TBL lessons.

4) Make learning cooperative and collaborative

The act of working with others creates a social situation in which learners must be active, rather than passive, participants who must negotiate meaning with their peers and teacher (Brandl, p. 14).

5) Give effective error correction and feedback

These stages of the lesson must accomplish two goals: Error correction and feedback must be reflective and they must result in learner-generated knowledge.

The structure of a TBL lesson typically involves the following stages:

1. Pre-task or lead-in

a. The teacher introduces the task/problem/context and engages the learners’ interest in the topic.

2. Task cycle

a. Task: The learners perform the task

b. Planning: Learners prepare their report in detail and rehearse if necessary.

c. Report and reading: Learners present their reports and assess their performance. This may involve checking against a suggested response to the task.

3. Language focus

a. Analysis: Learners are drawn to read a text/listen to a text associated with the task and analyze the text for target language elements (i.e. vocabulary, syntax, grammatical structures).

b. Practice: Learners are set practice activities (Harmer (2), 2007).

What is critical thinking?

One definition of critical thinking attributed to Michael Scriven and Richard Paul states the following:

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness

(The Critical Thinking Community, 2013).

What is Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)?

Myths of SLA

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach to language teaching, rather than a specific methodology. This approach rests on the idea that the primary use of language is communication, and the end goal of SLA is to reach communicative competence. The focus is on real-life, as opposed to decontextualized, situations (Brandl, p. 5).

As an approach, rather than a methodology, there is no one specific method that is authoritative in utilizing CLT in the language learning classroom. Instead, CLT encompasses many different methods and materials as appropriate to the context of the target language.

Additionally, CLT is based upon many theories in cognitive science, educational psychology, and SLA, and thus, merges oppositional viewpoints and allows CLT to be broad-reaching in terms of providing communicative competency to learners (Brandl, pgs. 6-7).

While there is no unified or authoritative methodology for CLT, CLT approaches typically share these common characteristics:

• Learners must interact frequently to exchange information and solve problems.
• Learning focuses on authentic texts and "real-world" contexts.
• Learning is learner-centered and the teacher's role is to facilitate learning (Brandl, p. 7).

There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding Second Language Acquisition (SLA).

I am presenting the myths most closely associated withhow cognition and critical thinking play a role in a learners' progress.

1. Languages are learned mainly through imitation.

This may be somewhat true for first language acquisition, but heavy immersion (i.e. the home environment) and the lower cognitive stages of infants and toddlers are the factors that led early theorists to believe that imitation would work for older learners. However, recent studies have proven that first language acquisition and second language acquisition occupy vastly different cognitive functions and immersion and imitation will not result in gains for learners beyond infancy and late infancy. (Nunan, p. 3)

2. People with high IQs are better at learning languages.

Social, emotional and cognitive factors play a far greater role in SLA than factors such as IQ, country of origin, economic situation, etc. In fact, a learner's first language literacy is much more important factor. Finally, IQ tests typically measure non-linguistic capabilities. (Noseworthy, et al., slides 15-16)

3. The earlier a second language is introduced in school programs, the greater the likelihood of success.

The research does not support this theory, except where it concerns pronunciation as pronunciation is more closely related to motor skills which are developing in the early stages of a child's growth. In fact, quite often older students make greater gains in a shorter period of time due to their ability to cope with cognitive tasks associated with SLA. (McLaughlin, pgs. 5-6)

4. Most of the mistakes made by second language learners are due to interference from their first language.

There is transfer between the native language and the second language, but research has shown that greater literacy in the native language means that second language acquisition is more successful because the concepts are easily understood in their native language. (Haynes, slides 29-31)

Second Language Acquisition and critical thinking

Communicative Language Teaching and critical thinking

Higher-order thinking skills, such as those listed in Bloom's Taxonomy, and critical thinking share many similar features, such as application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Where critical thinking comes into practice in the EFL classroom is revealed in case studies.

For instance, in one study by Yu Ren Dong, after teachers introduced questioning techniques into ESL classrooms, the ability of the learners to engage with the L2 noticeably increased. Learners were asking thought-provoking questions of the types that would occur in the L1, and were actively involved in discussions and creating original texts (Dong, 2006).

In another study by Sandyha Rao Mehta and Rahma Al-Mahrooqi, the researchers used a three-fold approach to encourage students to reflect on their own learning, to discuss their thoughts and opinions surrounding topics, and to draft and re-draft written work to lend further practice in developing critical thinking skills (Mehta & Al-Mahrooqi, 2015). The success of their learners in engaging in critical thinking skills suggests that this is an area with great potential in the EFL context.

Conclusion

As our understanding of language learning has evolved, there are certain processes involved in SLA that have shaped the CLT approach:

• Interaction between the learner and users of the language

• Collaborative creation of meaning

• Creating meaningful and purposeful interaction through language

• Negotiating meaning as the learner and his or her interlocutor

• Arriving at understanding

• Learning through attending to the feedback learners get when they use the language

• Paying attention to the language one hears (the input) and trying to incorporate new forms into one’s developing communicative competence

• Trying out and experimenting with different ways of saying things (Richards, p. 4)

Aligning these processes with Bloom's Taxonomy reveals clear correlations between CLT approaches and higher-order, or critical, thinking.

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to EFL Learners

Arguments in support of using critical thinking in EFL classrooms

Critical thinking plays an important role in the EFL classroom.

Thus, it is necessary to examine the interplay between Second Language Acquisition and critical thinking, as well as that between Communicative Language Teaching and critical thinking.

Utilizing critical thinking in the EFL classroom is beneficial because...

• SLA and critical thinking share many characteristics;
• engaging students in their L2 studies leads to greater gains in SLA;
• the principles behind CLT align with many of the characteristics that define critical thinking;
• and CLT approaches, such as TBL, engage learners in using higher-order (critical) thinking skills

The purpose of this training module is to...

• provide you with an understanding of Second Language Acquisition (SLA);
• familiarize you with critical thinking;
• introduce, or revise, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-based Learning (TBL)
• show how SLA, critical thinking and CLT/TBL are interconnected and complementary;
• and allow you to reflect on your learning.

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Theory

There are many theories surrounding SLA.

Here is what most contemporary theorists agree upon:

• what is being acquired in SLA is a system for conveying meaning,
• how language is acquired importantly involves creative learner involvement in communication, and
• understanding of SLA processes is impossible if they are isolated from circumstances of use.

(Saville-Troike, 2006, pg. 62)

References

Armstrong, P. (2016). Bloom's taxonomy. Vanderbilt University: Nashville, TN. Retrieved from: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

Brandl, K. (2008). Communicative language teaching in action: putting principles to work. Prentice Hall. Print.

Dong, Y.R. (2006). Learning to think. Educational Leadership. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.

Harmer, J. (2). (2007). The practice of English language teaching. 4th Ed. Pearson Longman: Essex, UK. Print.

Haynes, J. (21 September 2010). Myths of second language acquisition webinar. ASCD. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/judie-haynes- webinar.aspx

McLaughlin, B. (1992). Myths and misconceptions about second language learning: what every teacher needs to unlearn. University of California: Santa Cruz. Retrieved from https://www.usc.edu/dept/education/CMMR/FullText/McLaughlinMyths.pdf

Mehta, S.R. and Al-Mahrooqi, R. (2015). Can thinking be taught? Linking critical thinking and writing in an EFL context. RELC Journal. Vol. 46 (I). pgs. 23-36. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.

Noseworthy, E.J., et al. (2009). Myths and realities: best practices for ESL students. Department of Education:

Newfoundland, Labrador. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/esl/myths_reality.pdf

Nosich, G.M. (2012). Learning to think things through: a guide to critical thinking across the curriculum, 4th ed. Prentice Hall. Print.

Nunan, D. (2011). The 7 myths of language learning: challenging common beliefs of language acquisition for use in business. Global English. Retrieved from http://static.globalenglish.com/files/reports/

GlobEng_Whitepap_Nunan_EN_US_FINAL.p df?q=files/reports/GlobEng_Whitepap_Nunan_EN_US_FINAL.pdf

Richards, J.C. (2006). Communicative language teaching today. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Retrieved from www.cambridge.org.

Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. Print.

The Critical Thinking Community. (2013). Defining critical thinking. Retrieved from: http://www.

criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

Critical Thinking in EFL