Enhancing
critical thinking in foreign language learners
Solikha Kobulova
(Candidate for a master degree at University of foreign languages and
business career, Almaty city)
Abstract
Critical
thinking refers to the individuals’ ability to think and make correct decisions
independently. Nowadays enhancing critical thinking in
learners is considered one of the foreign language teachers’ tasks due to its
high position in foreign language classrooms. There are various factors
affecting language learners’ critical thinking skills. Among these factors is
the assessment methods used. Therefore, through managing the ways of assessing
language learners' ability, language teachers can help them develop critical
thinking skills. In this presentation, some suggestions for language teachers
to make sound choice of assessment methods and activities will be
presented.
Key words: critical
thinking, foreign language teaching, foreign language learning, foreign
language learners, assessment
Introduction
Critical thinking
has been recently introduced and gained a high position in foreign language
teaching (FLT) settings so that nowadays enhancing critical thinking in
learners is considered one of the foreign language teachers’ tasks. Many
different factors can affect learners’ critical thinking skills. The types of
assessment used in the classroom as well as at the end of the course are among
these factors. This paper argues that through managing ways of assessment,
language teachers can help learners develop critical thinking skills.
Critical thinking
Many different
definitions have been proposed for critical thinking by various educators such
as Lipman (1991); Norris and Ennis (1989); and Siegel (1988). However, there is
not much difference among these definitions. As Elder and Paul (1994) state, critical
thinking refers to the ability of individuals to take charge of their own
thinking and develop appropriate criteria and standards for analyzing their own
thinking. Moreover, as Maiorana (1992) maintains, critical thinking aims at
achieving understanding, and evaluating different perspectives, and solving
problems.
Critical thinking in
language teaching
The promotion of
critical thinking into the FLT classrooms is of high significance for several
reasons. Firstly, if language learners can take charge of their own thinking,
they can monitor and evaluate their own ways of learning more successfully.
Second, critical thinking expands the learning experience of the learners and
makes the language more meaningful for them. Thirdly, critical thinking has a
high degree of correlation with the learners’ achievements (Rafi, n.d.).
Different studies have confirmed the role of critical thinking in improving ESL
writing ability (Rafi, n.d.); language proficiency (Liaw, 2007); and oral
communication ability (Kusaka& Robertson, n.d.).The learners may become
proficient language users if they are motivated and taught the ways of
displaying critical thinking in foreign language usage, which signifies that
the learners must have reflection on their production of ideas, and they may
critically support those ideas with logical details (Rafi, n.d.). Language
development and thinking are closely related and the teaching of higher-order
thinking skills should be an integral part of an L2 curriculum. Educators have
emphasized the importance of developing higher-order thinking skills in foreign
language classrooms (Chamot, 1995; Tarvin& Al-Arishi, 1991) and empirical
evidence supports the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking skills along
with the foreign language (Chapple& Curtis, 2000; Davidson, 1994,
1995).
In fact,
language learners who have developed critical thinking skills are capable of
doing activities of which other students may not be capable. Implied in the
study by Mahyuddin et al (2004) is that language learners with critical
thinking ability are capable of thinking critically and creatively in order to
achieve the goals of the curriculum; capable of making decisions and solving
problems; capable of using their thinking skills, and of understanding language
or its contents; capable of treating thinking skills as lifelong learning; and
finally intellectually, physically, emotionally and spiritually
well-balanced.
However, in
spite of the fact that there is little argument among theorists and educators
about the importance of thinking skills in language development, in typical
school settings, language learning and thinking skills are often treated as
independent processes (Miraman&Tishman, 1988; Suhor, 1984). In other words,
as Pica (2000) states, in the tradition of English language teaching
methodology, the integration of language and thinking skills has been peripheral.
It is argued (e.g. Kabilan, 2000) that even communicative language teaching,
which emphasizes the use of language as a communication tool, does not really
help students to become proficient in the target language. He suggests that for
learners to be proficient in a language, they need to be able to think
creatively and critically when using the target language. So, it is implied
that even communicative approaches to language teaching do not develop critical
thinking among learners.
Due to the advantages
mentioned for enhancing critical thinking in language learners and also little
practice in this regards in FLT settings, as Brown (2004) asserts, in an ideal
academic language program, the objectives of the curriculum should go beyond
linguistic factors to develop critical thinking among learners. In fact, the
effectiveness of language teaching will depend upon what is being taught, in
addition to lan guage, which
learners can consider as a purposeful and relevant extension of their horizons
(Widdowson, 1990).
Language teachers are among
practitioners who can greatly influence the type of learning by language
learners. Therefore, one of their responsibilities is to help learners develop
critical thinking abilities. Maybe even more than L1 teachers, L2 teachers have
reasons to introduce their students to aspects of critical thinking (Davidson,
1998). As Lipman (2003) says, teachers are responsible for promoting critical
thinking in the learners other than helping them to go from one educational level
to the next. The responsibility of foreign language teachers is to help their
learners acquire critical thinking skills while learning the language. As
Mahyuddin et al (2004) assert there is plenty of room for improvement in
incorporating the thinking skills into our curricula.
Enhancing critical thinking through
assessment
There is no
doubt that the way of assessment in foreign language classrooms highly
influences what and how the learners learn. This influence of testing on
teaching and learning is referred to as washback effect. Alderson and Wall
(1993, p. 115) state that “tests are held to be powerful determiners of what
happens in the classroom.” In his trichotomy of backwash model, Hughes’s (1993)
describes test effects in terms of “participants” such as teachers, students,
administrators, materials writers, and publishers, “process” referring to those
actions taken by participants to complete teaching and learning tasks and
“product” referring to learning outcomes and the quality of learning. Hughes’
model implies that the quality of a test determines to a high degree the level
and amount of washback (Pan, 2009).
Assessment
practices mainly influence learning through affecting the objectives the
learners set for themselves in learning the foreign language. In fact, in many
cases the way of assessment is determinant of the objectives of the language
learning program. If in a language teaching context, assessment focuses on
linguistic competence of the learners, mastery of linguistic competence becomes
the learners' objective, while in a context emphasizing communicative
competence, learners do their best to become communicatively competent in the
foreign language. In the same way, if the focus of assessment is on integrating
language and thinking skills, the learners do their best to achieve this
objective. In fact, when the purpose of teaching is understanding the process
of assessment, in addition to evaluation, is a substantive contribution to
learning. Assessment that fosters understanding needs to inform students and
teachers about both what students currently understand and how to proceed with
subsequent teaching and learning.
Here are
presented a number of suggestions for enhancing critical thinking among
language learners through assessment practices: 1. Use ongoing assessment
rather than one-shot exams at the end of the semester. While one-shot exams
require the test taker to have a limited amount of knowledge, mostly
linguistic, ongoing assessment carried out during the course gives the teacher
the opportunity to test a larger range of knowledge and skills, including
critical thinking skills. 2. Use
criterion-referenced (CR) testing rather than norm-referenced (NR) testing. NR
testing encourages learners to attempt to be better than others without
thinking about what they learn and how they use it. Moreover, CR testing
welcomes the differences among learners and consequently, differences among
learners lead to learners' learning from each other in a friendly
non-competitive atmosphere. While the learners become more cooperatives than
competitors, they become more concerned with understanding than with outcomes.
As such the help each other in developing critical thinking skills. 3. Include activities in your assessment,
which encourage the learner to think about the major objectives of the course,
including developing critical thinking skills. The type of activities used in
assessing language learners determines the goals of learning. Those activities,
which can be carried out through simpler processes such as memorizing,
substituting, etc., are not appropriate activities for enhancing critical
thinking in language learners. Better activities for promoting critical
thinking skills are those, which require the learners to think, cooperate, ask
questions from themselves and others, etc. These activities also require the
learners to the activities with the purposes of such activities. 4. Provide
learners with feedback, which gives learners understanding that thinking is an
integral part of their learning experience. This integration of performance and
feedback is exactly what students need as they work to develop their
understanding of a particular topic or concept. Feedback needs to occur
frequently, from the beginning of the unit to its conclusion, in conjunction
with performances of understanding. Some occasions for feedback may be formal
and planned; some may be more informal.
Feedback also needs to provide students with information not only about
how well they have carried out the activities but also how they might improve
them. Furthermore, it needs to inform learners of the teachers' planning of
subsequent classes and activities. Another requirement of feedback is that it
must come from a variety of perspectives: from students' reflection on their
own work, from classmates reflecting on one another's work, and from the
teacher. Model for students how to provide feedback that both tells them how
well they are doing and gives them information about how they might do better. 5. Co-develop criteria for assessment. Even
if you have a sense for what the criteria for a particular performance should
be, try inviting learners to develop the criteria themselves by looking at
models of similar performances. Help students to see how the criteria relate to
the goals of the activities.
The points
suggested here are just a few among many points, which if taken into account
can help language learners think critically. In fact, what is highly important
is the teachers' understanding and having in mind that assessment is a key
determinant of what is learnt in the language class and how it is learnt. In
that case, the teachers can choose the most appropriate ways of language
assessment with regard to the specific context of their own classroom.
Conclusion
Critical
thinking needs to be enhanced among language learners due to its significance
in developing effective language learning. So promoting critical thinking
skills is considered one of the tasks’ of language teachers. They can do this
task through various ways, including using appropriate ways of assessment as
assessment practices usually determine the learning objectives of the language
learners.
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