The most fundamental reason for teaching critical thinking is that good thinking skills are essential for making appropriate decisions about what to believe and do, whether for personal decisions, vocational decisions, or civic decisions, such as voting or serving in a jury.
It is worth teaching critical thinking because the personal benefits to the students, their employers, and society more generally are high. Personal decisions, decisions within our vocational pursuits (at whatever level) and decisions we make as citizens of a democracy require critical thinking in order to be the best possible. We need the best possible in order to survive in this difficult world. Without a well-informed, critically thinking citizenry, freedom and democracy cannot endure.
But even for residents of non-democratic countries (which includes those without a meaningful vote), critical thinking is needed for wise personal decisions, useful vocational decisions, and decisions about how to be part of the society.
---Adapted from Ennis http://www.criticalthinking.net/
How can Ct be taught in EFL?
CT can be taught through reading, writing, speaking and translating.
Some kinds of teaching approaches and methods can be used:
Communicative language teaching approach
Task-based language teaching approach
Active learning
Collaborative learning
Problem-solving method
Reference
Ennis, Robert H.(1997). Incorporating Critical Thinking in a Curriculum: An introduction to some basic issues. Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the disciplines. 16 (3):1-9
Dewey, J.(1933) Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan.
Ennis, Robert H.(1989). Critical Thinking and Subject Specificity: Clarification and Needed Research.Educational Researcher.
Robinson, I. (1987). A Program to Incorporate High-Order Thinking Skills into Teaching and Learning for Grades K-3 . Fort Lauderdale, FL: Nova University.
Selman, M.(1989). Critical Thinking, Rationality and Social Practices. University of British Columbia.
Crawford. A, Saul. W, etc.(2005) Teaching and Learning strategies for the Thinking Classroom. New York:The International Debate Education Association.
How can CT be taught?
How can critical thinking be taught? Different Scholars have different ideas:
It is generally agreed that students’ creative and critical thinking abilities can be cultivated through instruction and targeted practice, rather than predisposed qualities that education can do very little to develop (Robinson, 1987).
Ennis(1997) claimed that 'Should critical thinking be taught separately, embedded, or both?' is a curriculum question, which is important, whose answer bears on so many factors as the content and the nature of the existing course, and the way we teach the course.
Robert H. Ennis(2013) summarized Twenty-One Strategies and Tactics for Teaching Critical Thinking:
Underlying Strategies
Reflection
Reasons.
Alternative.
Fundamental Strategies
Use a defensible conception of critical thinking with which you feel comfortable.
Provide for many guided opportunities in varied contexts for students to practice critical thinking in application of critical thinking principles to examples.
Where transfer is desired, teach for the transfer of critical thinking principles to everyday life and to other subjects by giving much practice with examples, some of which call for transfer.
Ask the question, “Why?”
Emphasize their seeing things from others' points of view and being open minded – including being willing to reconsider, if other reasons and evidence arise.
Assess what is important in critical thinking using tests or other assessment procedures that are sufficiently valid and reliable in the situation;
Students do not need to become subject-matter experts before they can start to learn to think critically in a subject.
In a subject-matter course, the time required for infusion of critical thinking is often justified, not only for the critical thinking learned, but also for an enhanced deeper understanding of the subject.
“Infusion” here refers to the embedding of critical thinking in subject-matter instruction that ensures that the principles of, and criteria for, critical thinking are explicit, whether stated by students or the teacher.
Tactics
Ask students to address questions to which you do not know the answer, or that are controversial.
Give them time to think about questions and situations.
In a discussion, label a student’s statement (or thought, answer, hypothesis, position, point, objection, question, etc.) with the student's name, so that the student receives attention and assumes some responsibility.
Have them write down their positions, giving reasons to support what they think, showing awareness of opposing positions and the weaknesses of their own positions.
Provide a set of criteria for judging papers, reports, letters, proposals, or sentences in which they take positions.
Have them read each other's written statements or position papers, applying these criteria and making suggestions. Then get them to revise -- and revise again, in the light of still other comments or further thought.
collaborative learning
Be ready to postpone an assignment, if the content of the previous assignment is not understood.
Mid-level Strategies
Urge mid-level students to use: “FRISCO” and “SEBKUS”:
FRISCO: When appraising a position, whether yours or another’s, attend at least to these elements: Focus, Reasons, Inference, Situation, Clarity and Overview.
SEBKUS: When doing appraisals and planning investigations and other actions, make full use of and try to expand your Sensitivity, Experience, Background Knowledge, and Understanding of the Situation.