Sociological Explanation of Critical Thinking as an Effective Way of Teaching English Reading Skill among Young Iranian EFL Pre-Intermediate Learners
محورهای موضوعی :Maryam Kaviani 1 , Davood Mashhadi Heidar 2
1 - Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language Teaching, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of English Language Teaching, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran
کلید واژه: critical thinking, Reading skill, Teaching English, Pre-intermediate learners,
چکیده مقاله :
This study considered the sociological explanation of critical thinking on teaching reading skill among young Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. For this purpose, 40 pre-intermediate learners, 19-30 years old, were chosen after administering a non-probability sampling design from classes at Foreign Language Institute in Babol. These 40 participants were randomly allocated to two groups (one experimental and one control group) each comprising of 20 persons. The participants received a pre-test connected to reading skill separately to ensure that they failed to have previous knowledge. The experimental group received the treatment associated critical thinking to learn reading skill. Then the participants were asked to answer IELTS Reading Test. But control group just received the usual instructions as before. After the treatments, the same pre-test was given to the participants as post-test to evaluate the effect of treatment. After collecting and analyzing the data, the results indicated that critical thinking had a positive effect on teaching reading skill in in English.
Barjesteh, H., & Vaseghi, R. (2012). Critical thinking: A reading strategy in developing English reading comprehension performance. Sheikh Bahaee EFL Journal 1(2), 21-34.
Buranapatana, M. (2006). Enhancing critical thinking of undergraduate Thai students through dialogic inquiry. Canberra: University of Canberra.
Chalak, A. Kassaian, Z. (2010). Motivation and attitudes of Iranian undergraduate EFL students towards learning English, GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 10(2), 37-56.
Choy, S., & Cheah, P. (2009). Teacher perceptions of critical thinking among students and its influence on higher education, International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2, 198-206.
De sherf, M. (2002). The effects of family, social and background factors on children's educational attainment. Digital Commons, Illinois Westeyan University.
Fakeye, D. (2010).Students' personal variables as correlates of academic achievement in English as a second language in Niegeria, Journal of Social Sciences, 22(3), 205-211.
Garrison, D. R., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Fung, T. S. (2010). Exploring causal relationships among teaching, cognitive and social presence: Student perceptions of the community of inquiry framework, The Internet and Higher Education, 13(1), 31-36.
Gomleksiz, M. N. (2010). An evaluation of students' attitudes toward English language learning in terms of several variables, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 913-918.
Hashemi, M. R., & Zabihi, R. (2010). Does critical thinking enhance EFL learners' receptive skills? Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(1), 172-179.
Kumagai, Y. (1994). The effects of culture on language learning and ways of communication: The Japanese case. Massachusetts: Center for International Education.
Liao, P. (1995). English as a global language and its effect on Taiwan’s English education, English Teaching and Learning, 29(1), 107-121.
Malmir, A. & Shoorcheh, S. (2012). An investigation of the impact of teaching critical thinking on the Iranian EFL learners’ speaking skill. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(4), 608-617.
Nemat Tabrizi, A.R., & Mohammadi, M. (2015). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers' critical thinking and their teaching styles, Journal of Education and Literature, 3(3),121-130.
Norris, S. P. (1985). Synthesis of research on critical thinking, Educational Leadership. 42(8), 40-45.
Scriven, M. & Paul, R. (2004). Defining critical thinking. http://www. criticalthinking.org~abouCT/ defining CT. html (ac cessed8/5/ 2012).
Seargeant, P. (2009). The idea of English in Japan: Ideology and the evolution of a global language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Seril, S. (2014). Stages of speaking. Philippine: Pan Pacific University of North Philippine.
Shams, M. (2008). Students' attitudes, motivation and anxiety towards English language learning. Journal of Research, 2(2): 121-144.
Short, D. (1991). How to integrate language and content instruction: A training manual. Washington, D.C: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Subbhuraam, C. (2010). Study of socio-economic status and family environment factors and their effect on language skills of engineering college students, International Journal of Language Society & Culture, 31(5).106-112.
Thompson, C. (2011). Critical Thinking across the Curriculum: Process over Output, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(9), 1-7.
Vandergrift, L., & Tafaghodtari, M. H. (2010). Teaching L2 learners how to listen does make a difference: An empirical study, Language Learning, 60, 470-497.
