Abstract
As one of the renowned learning and innovation skills of 21st century, critical thinking (hereafter CT) has been studied in various fields of education. Contrary to expectations, the emphasis on the mutual link between CT and language learning in tertiary education is newly flourishing. That being the case, the awareness of English as a Foreign Language (hereafter EFL) learners regarding this close connection and how it affects their perceived language learning potential should be inquired and increased. Drawing on such need, this paper reports on the investigation of an action research implementation and its effects on the perceptions of EFL learners over a ten week period of CT integrated practice. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data collected through two CT tasks, open-ended questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews based on learners’ logs revealed an unequivocal influence on the perspectives of EFL learners towards CT and language learning. The implementation also helped the learners improve their thinking and language skills.
Highlights
1.1 CT as a ConceptThe integration of hi-tech devices into our daily lives has a short but very rapidly expanding history
This study attempted to highlight the change in perceptions of EFL learners as regards the reciprocal relationship between CT and language learning through a CT integrated English instruction implementation
The findings indicated two main positive outcomes: 1.The learners’ vision of CT in relation to language learning was gradually enlarged 2.Their reported language skills improved to a great extent due to multifaceted thinking on the issues in a foreign language
Summary
The integration of hi-tech devices into our daily lives has a short but very rapidly expanding history. This has pushed humanity to develop sophisticated skills to deal with the information boost gaining momentum with the invention of a new communication tool each day. Influenced by this fact, today’s learners should not be ignorant but be aware that learning to think critically is inescapably on a par with many other learning skills to survive in a global village (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). That is why enhancing the development of graduates with CT skills is vital in universities (Stupple et al, 2017)
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