ERRORS AS A RESOURCE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING FOR ADULTS IN THE SYSTEM OF CONTINUING EDUCATION

This study aimed to identify associations and predictors of willingness to communicate (WTC) of adult foreign language (FL) learners and whether they are contingent upon the FL being learned. To this end, our research investigated learner variables associated with WTC in adult FL learners of English and of French in an under-researched field of WTC studies in Spain. More specifically, the following variables were studied: gender, age, level of multilingualism, perceived relative standing in the class, language proficiency, teacher’s use of the FL in class, out-of-class foreign language use (OCFLU) and the two emotions of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA). Of the 9 independent variables examined, FLCA and language proficiency were found to be predictors of the WTC of both English and French language learners; additionally, enjoyment was found to be a predictor of WTC of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) and OCFLU, of learners of French as a foreign language (FFL). Our findings indicate that the construct of WTC needs to be further studied as research may produce dissimilar results depending on the instructional setting, population and foreign language. Pedagogical implications for language teaching practices seeking to enhance adult FL learners’ WTC were also drawn from the study results.

The cultivation of critical thinking has been an important and difficult proposition in the current foreign language education.This paper intends to explore an effective approach to cultivate critical thinking in foreign language teaching.First of all, through investigation and interview, we can deeply understand the earners' views on the teaching practice of cultivation of critical thinking, and then a careful analysis is followed about the causes behind these views.It is found that learners generally have an inadequate understanding of the concept and the importance of critical thinking, and some learners resist or even oppose the teaching practice oriented by critical thinking.Based on the research findings, combing with learners' characteristics and their opinions, this paper finally puts forward relevant corresponding suggestions through long-term practice and continuous reflection.This paper aims to provide a basis and reference for choosing more targeted methods and strategies, offering some enlightenment for effective cultivation of the learners' critical thinking.

As an important variable in critical thinking instruction, teacher cognition has been emphasized in recent years, but there is relatively insufficient understanding of how Chinese pre-service teachers perceive the cultivation of critical thinking in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). From the perspective of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, especially the concept of mediation, this paper aims to investigate the cognition of Chinese pre-service teachers about the cultivation of critical thinking in TEFL and the mediating resources concerned. Twenty-four Chinese pre-service teachers were selected from five normal universities. A qualitative approach with semi-structured interview and classroom observation was adopted to seek insights on Chinese pre-service teachers’ cognitions about integrating critical thinking into TEFL, and sociocultural theory was used to argue for factors affecting their cognitions. Results revealed that Chinese pre-service teachers understand the connotation of critical thinking to some extent although there are misconceptions, and they are willing to integrate critical thinking into TEFL even though there are many difficulties. Moreover, they perceived that multiple sociocultural factors might be linked with their cognitions, such as previous learning experience, Chinese cultural values, evaluation system, etc. Implications for foreign language teacher education are discussed.

Research on peculiarities how adults learn foreign languages in formal, non-formal and informal ways is comparatively not extensive, especially in Lithuania. Therefore, it was important to investigate the effects which motivate adults to learn foreign languages and how age makes a difference in learning. A research survey was designed on the basis of theoretical analysis and the study was conducted in Kaunas and Panevezys cities in order to find out the reasons why participants learn foreign languages (i.e. their extrinsic or intrinsic, integrative or instrumental motivation). The results of the empirical study revealed that adult foreign language learners in Lithuania mostly learn the English language and they know Russian and German; the current language they are learning in many cases is their second or third one. The participants revealed that adult learners are mostly motivated intrinsically (because of their wish to improve, learn, travel and etc.), less adults were motivated extrinsically (because of the work purposes – instrumental motivation) and because of communication reason (integrative motivation). The survey showed that participants believe that to learn a foreign language it is important to be motivated, want to improve in their life and, of course, to have a purpose. Keywords: Key words: adult foreign language learner, foreign language learning, foreign language learning motivation.

The article deals with the specifi c role of information and communication technologies in adult foreign language learning. Andragogical principles and characteristics of adult language learners are specifi ed.These characteristics have to be taken into account in order to design the relevant learning content that meets the specifi c needs of adult language learners, to create motivating, autonomous, supportive and emotionally safelearning environment to ensure the effectiveness of learning. Multimedia language programmes, computer games, podcasts as the most effective information and communication technologies and e-learning as a learner-focused approach are studied. A remarkable feature of multimedia programmes is that being an independent study tool they can provide fully learner controlled environment, better suited for adults, and promote more refl ective and deeper learning. Podcasts increase the effectiveness of foreign language acquisitionand are widely used in mobile learning, promoting development of learner autonomy, critical thinking, implementing modern educational standards, corresponding to the basic principles of the student-centred approach in foreign language teaching. Information and communication technologies support the concept of continuous lifelong learning, enlarge the communicative opportunities of adult learners, their linguistic capabilities, promote personal interaction, developall types of language skills based on a learner-centred approach.

Technology has been widely employed to cultivate students' critical thinking (CT). Empirical research has been conducted to evaluate its effectiveness and address the current lack of a systematic literature review on the enhancement of critical thinking through technology in philosophy. Therefore, this review aims to uncover the impact of the philosophy course in fostering students' CT in the digital age and the challenges that teachers and students face in implementing technology. The study adheres to the PRISMA methodology (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review). Relevant articles and materials were primarily sourced from three databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC. This article contended that a modern philosophy course should prioritize the cultivation of students' CT over the mere accumulation of knowledge. Through systematic analysis, this study has identified three main themes: (1) The philosophical origins of technology, (2) issues and challenges during the use of technology, and (3) critical use of technology. Future research implies the need to regulate the use of technology within ethical boundaries.

In English (as a foreign) language teacher education, there have been numerous theories which have been applied, adapted, and reconstructed based on the needs and conditions of the learners and teachers from very early times so far, that is, from the appearance of Behaviourism in foreign language education in the 1940s to the present time. There have always been many transitions and shifts among and within these theories explaining the practices in English (as foreign language) classes. This paper examines how these theories and transitions can be considered from the lens of Critical Pedagogy and it interrogates whether the recognition of the Critical Pedagogy may help foreign language teacher education turn to be transformative and whether it may contribute to the development of the conditions for a better world within and outside the school with the help of teachers trained to be critical. The theoretical framework of this chapter is built on the socio-cultural view, socio-cognitive view, transformative view and Critical Pedagogy in foreign language education. However, earlier theories such as the Behaviouristic Approach, the Cognitive Approach, and the Communicative Approach are visited as background knowledge. Given that the socio-cultural approach portrays human learning as a social process and the origination of human intelligence in society or culture referring to the fact that social interaction plays a basic role in the development of cognition, the socio-cognitive view deals with how language is learned and should be treated; and transformative learning gives way to actual behaviour that learners should establish to contribute to and participate in the community where they live in; these theories in the framework shed light on developing understandings of the recognition of Critical Pedagogy in the foreign language teacher education. Regarding this overview, it is seen that socio-cultural and socio-cognitive transformation could be led by critical pedagogy, in schools initially, then in the whole society, addressing radical concerns and the abuses of power in intercultural contexts in the acquisition of foreign languages and in their circulation by the help of critically trained foreign language teachers.

In the ever-growing literature dealing with the acquisition by adults of the phonetics and phonology of a foreign language (FL), research has tried to provide an answer to the complex nature of cross-language transfer. The fact that despite idiosyncratic differences and sociolinguistic variation most adults learners of a foreign language (FL) speak with an accent which is a reflection of their native language (NL) and that their progress is impaired at a certain stage prompted a host of questions such as whether adults follow identical or different paths of development in their approach to a foreign language, whether those speaking the same native language are able to identify target language categories in the same way, whether perception and production are interdependent, the nature of the learning abilities and the interplay of transfer with universals. These and other problems relating to foreign language speech have been approached from different angles and theoretical frameworks (see Leather & James (1 99 1) for an overview, and more recently Leather (1999). The research reported here, based on the oral production of sixty-five Spanish adult learners of English as a FL, tries to shed some light on one of well-known problems related to the acquisition of a foreign language by non-native speakers: the analysis of different types of phonological processes shaping the fossilised interlanguage (IL) of adult FL learners in order to see a) whether they are adhered to by those adult learners sharing identical L1; b) whether frozen IL reflects transfer from the leamer's L1 or is the result of developmental (Le. universal) processes. In this connection we(1987) and SimilarityIDifferential Rate Hypothesis (1999) or Ekman's Markedness Differential Hypothesis (1977) and Structural Conformity Hypothesis in connection with some of the processes under analysis. Optimality Theory will be brought in in dealing with some problems encountered under Cluster Simplification. Ultimately, we shall try to explain why adult speakers of a language like Spanish tend to identi@ target categories in much the same way without necessarily having to resort in all cases to language universals as decisive factors shaping their IL. shall examine the extent to which the leamers' IL reflects the alleged tendency to reduce complex syllabic margins to a Universal Canonical Syllable Structure (UCSS). We shall also discuss the explanatory power of some universal phonological models like Major's Ontogeny Model

"It cannot be denied that there are always problems societies and individuals have to deal with. To confront these problems in living conditions that seem to be constantly and rapidly changing, specific competencies are needed. Critical thinking is indispensable in developing such competencies effectively. It can support identifying, constructing and evaluating arguments. It can also contribute in improving problem solving skills. Critical thinking is essential to develop decision making competencies and communication skills. Furthermore, people can use critical thinking in order to confront their biases, prejudices and stereotypes. It is clear that critical thinking is useful and necessary in multiple areas. For that reason, critical thinking is considered to be a key pedagogical goal in many levels of education. For this reason, modern education seeks to promote the cultivation of critical thinking. In particular, education of Informatics is strongly related to critical thinking. Students cannot develop skills related to Informatics if they cannot think critically. Therefore, critical thinking is essential for teaching Informatics subjects. Consequently, within the Informatics textbooks the cultivation of critical thinking skills should be promoted. The present research aims to determine whether there are critical thinking skills whose cultivation is equally promoted within the Informatics textbook of the second class of the Greek Lyceum. The method used in this paper is Qualitative Content Analysis, which is established in the social sciences for texts analysis. The findings of the present research revealed that within the examined textbook there are no critical thinking skills whose cultivation is equally promoted."

Critical thinking ability is an important element of thinking ability under the core competence of English discipline. Combined with “Reading Circles”, a kind of group-based and student-centered reading activity, this paper explores the relationship between “Reading Circles” and four critical thinking abilities: focus and definition, analysis and evaluation, reasoning and demonstration, review and correction. Taking the “Reading Circles” task design in The Million Pound Bank Note as an example, this paper expounds the high school teaching design aiming at the students’ cultivation of critical thinking which provides a specific and operable practical example for the development of English “Reading Circles" course in senior high school.

Critical thinking is one of the core abilities and skills needed in the 21st century. Critical thinking can stimulate students to explore and make them good at inventing. Junior high school is the golden period for the development of students' thinking ability, and their thinking habits have not yet been fixed, so they are in urgent need of correct guidance and development. Based on the analysis of the connotation and process of critical thinking, this paper puts forward a new teaching mode for the cultivation of critical thinking in junior middle school students. The junior high school teaching mode based on the cultivation of critical thinking can promote the development of junior high school students' critical thinking and the comprehensive quality ability of information technology disciplines. The model of critical thinking training for junior middle school students has great reference significance and practical guidance to subject teaching.

Critical thinking is the foundation of creative thingking,so it’s necessary to focus on the training of students’ critical thinking. The cultivation of critical thinking ability in the education of our country is generally inadequate. In order to change the serious situation,teachers must actively explore the effective training of thinking in the class.It helps students to be good at thinking,clearly distinguish,thus forming the ability to have insight into the problem.It makes students to be willing to inquiry into the nature of things,identify the problem critically,thus forming the creative thinking. This coincides with the current training objectives which focus on ability cultivation.The author explores the teaching methods of cultivating critical thinking in experiment teaching.Practice shows that:the teaching of critical thinking training consciously introduced does not only improve,learning effect,but also help improve the innovation ability.

The problems in geography learning are difficulties in submitting and providing answers related to material and teacher-centered learning activities. This research aims to examine of the effect of the self-directed learning model on critical thinking skills and learning independence in geography subjects. This research is a quasi-experiment with a pretest-posttest control group design. Data collection methods include written test of essay questions about critical thinking skills and questionnaires regarding learning independence. The subjects of this study were class X-3 as the experimental class and class X-1 as the control class with a total of 34 students every class. Based on the results of Mann-Whitney U hypothesis testing, it is known that critical thinking ability has an Asymp. Sig 0.000 0.05. So, H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted, meaning that there is an effect of the self-directed learning model on critical thinking skills in geography subjects. Meanwhile, the learning independence shows the value of Asymp. Sig value of 0.000 0.05. then H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted, which means that there is an effect of the self-directed learning model on learning independence in geography subjects. The research findings show that the syntax of the self-directed learning model, namely implementation and evaluation as well as the syntax of identifying learner abilities and learning resources, affects critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, the syntax that affects learning independence is the syntax of identifying learner abilities and learning resources. Therefore, this research is expected to make a significant new contribution in understanding the self-directed learning model as an effort to improve critical thinking skills and learning independence in geography subjects.

We focus on the problem of the need to develop critical thinking of ESL students majoring in Pedagogical education and the insufficient development of theoretical and technological tools for the effective implementation of this process. Taking into account the peculiarities of pedagogical foreign language education, the authors view critical thinking as a special kind of thinking aimed at solving the most significant educational, developmental, cognitive and educational tasks. We believe that this type of thinking should be based on the implementation of analytical mechanisms that ensure the establishment of regular connections between all components of the process of foreign language education and the introduction of a system of methodological tools aimed at the development of critical thinking skills. We highlight the problem of developing critical thinking based on the use of a system of methodological tools implemented in all types of speech activity – listening, speaking, reading and writing. The purpose of this research is to present the technological aspects of the development of critical thinking in pedagogical foreign language education and the development of educational and methodological support aimed at the implementation of this process in training future ESL teachers. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that it presents examples of specially designed exercises for the development of critical thinking in all types of speech activity. Such exercises should be used in the process of training future foreign language teachers in order to form and develop their critical potential.

This study aims to determine the effect of implementing differentiated learning based on learning styles on the improvement of student learning independence and critical thinking skills in science subjects, specifically on the topic of light, in grade V at SD Inpres 1 Inti Bantaya. This research is a quantitative study using a quasi-experimental method conducted on the entire population of grade V students at SD Inpres 1 Inti Bantaya for the 2023/2024 academic year, consisting of two classes with a total of 56 students. The results show that the application of differentiated learning based on learning styles has a positive impact on enhancing students' learning independence. This is evidenced by higher scores in the experimental class compared to the control class across five aspects of learning independence: initiative, self-confidence, responsibility, problem-solving, and self-control. Additionally, the results of the independent t-test indicate a significant difference between the average pretest and posttest scores of students' critical thinking skills in the experimental and control classes. The significance values for the pretest and posttest are 0.000 and 0.009, respectively, indicating that the use of differentiated learning based on learning styles can improve students' critical thinking skills. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that differentiated learning based on learning styles is effective in enhancing learning independence and critical thinking skills among students on the topic of light in grade V at SD Inpres 1 Inti Bantaya.