Evaluating Critical Thinking Skills in Moroccan EFL Textbooks: Gateway to English 2 as a Case (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 2012
Scholars in the field of education have unanimously subscribed to the pivotal role of critical thinking in individuals' life in general and their academic life in particular . The thrust of the current study was to investigate the extent to which the books employed for Teaching English as Foreign Language include critical thinking skills. To attain this goal, 3 series of English books, namely, Top notch, Interchange, and English files series utilized by language institutes in Iran were targeted. Next, a seventy two-item critical thinking checklist based on Likert-scale and consisting of twelve skills; namely, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, deduction, induction, balanced-thinking, multiple perspective-taking, creative thinking, building community of thinkers, and knowledge was developed. The target skills on the checklist were mainly based on Bloom's taxonomy and the related literature on critical thinking. The checklist was validated by the researchers themselves and some experts in the field and the reliability coefficient was also estimated at 0.86. Then, two raters conducted a content analysis on the books and determined the magnitude of each skill. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis Non-parametric tests). Findings of the study revealed that the books mainly tapped knowledge, comprehension, application and building community of thinkers skills and failed to acceptably include other skills reported to be of utmost importance for students' academic success. The comparison of the mean rank of the skills in the three books also disclosed that as for lower order thinking skills there wasn't a significant difference among the books; however, as for other skills Top notch was marginally higher. The paper also discusses the lack of critical thinking in the classroom and materials and proposes some ways to include more critical thinking skills in the materials. The results of the study have significant implications for material developers, educational policy makers and teachers.
Investigating the Attainability of Critical Thinking of English Textbook in Indonesia
2020
This study aimed to investigate the attainability of critical thinking of English textbook in Indonesia. Critical thinking in this study refers to the thinking skill from revised Bloom’s Taxonomy level and disposition to support CT skill effectively in the English textbook entitled Bahasa Inggris SMA/MA SMK/MAK Grade XII used by secondary school level education teachers. This study was qualitative research by using an evaluation checklist adapted from Dwyer. Descriptive analysis was applied to evaluate the document and activities that provide the availability of critical thinking (CT) elements and CT disposition in the textbook. The analysis encompassed the content, grammar, levels of the questions, and activities used in this English textbook. The results indicated that Bahasa Inggris English textbook carry out most of the skills established in Bloom’s Taxonomy, meaningful critical thinking dispositions, and various activities for teaching critical thinking. Eventually, the author ...
2020
Teaching critical thinking skills is far from being an easy undertaking. Educators take it for granted that their knowledge of critical thinking makes them ready for critical thinking instruction. Within this framework, this study investigates the Moroccan educators’ perceptions of critical thinking basics together with their perceptions of critical thinking instruction. To do so, 90 English as foreign language (EFL) teachers and lecturers belonging to middle- and high-school and higher education filled in a questionnaire that was adopted in previous studies (Stedman and Adams, 2012). Findings show that regardless of the level being taught, the respondents replied to the questions related to their perceptions of critical thinking concepts with moderate consistency and accuracy. Similarly, many of their reactions to critical thinking instruction show they need more confidence to teach it. Article visualizations:
Critical Thinking Perspective in ESL New English Textbooks: A Case Study of Pakistan
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature
This study examines ESL textbooks of English language of grade 9th and 10th of Punjab model schools in Pakistan. In order to achieve the goals of research, the qualitative method was used and applied Paul Elder’s Critical Thinking Model (2008) on the text books of grades 9 and 10. The collected data was analyzed qualitatively. Activities mentioned in the textbooks of grades 9 and 10 of Punjab textbook board were extracted and analyzed in the light of Paul and Elder’s CT model. ESL teachers’ interviews regarding the said textbooks serve as an insight into the role of critical thinking among learners. Mention the period of analysis. There relevance exists between the exercises given in English textbooks with the model of critical thinking prosed by Paul and Elder. However, the teachers of Government schools are unaware of the critical thinking perspective and some sessions of critical thinking training need to be offered to the English school teachers of Government schools. The result...
Modern and forward-looking approaches to education and learning no longer treat learners as passive recipients of knowledge. Rather, they claim to nurture self-monitored and self-disciplined thinkers who are shown to be academically successful and promising. This qualitative case study aimed at exploring the teachers’ and learners’ attitudes towards critical thinking within the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context of Iran. To this end, the attitudes of eighty Iranian EFL learners and their teacher towards inclusion of critical thinking exercises into their regular syllabus were gauged. The results obtained from 18 unstructured interviews indicated that teacher’s and learners’ responses were diametrically opposed; while learners’ performance improved and they became more motivated, the teacher reported distress and dissatisfaction with the new approach to the syllabus. Thematic Content Analyses (TCA) and language skills tests also revealed that the L2 reading comprehension ability of learners benefited more than other skills. Other context-based factors and implications are discussed.
2014
The present study aimed at providing a comparison of General English Course Books used at universities in Iran which are designed by different authors (Iranian and foreigner) from critical thinking perspective. To this end, a retrospective evaluation was designed to examine the reading comprehension questions of 2 selected General English Course Books in terms of the degree to which they foster critical thinking. To accomplish the objectives of the study, firstly one of the top universities of Iran (Isfahan University) was selected; next 2 of the most frequent General English Course Books which were taught in the university were chosen, one of the books with foreign author and designer and another one with Iranian author and designer. Then, reading comprehension questions of all units of the CBs were analyzed based on Facione‘s (2011) critical thinking model (consisting of 6 features); then, the data were analyzed and occurrence percentage of each feature was calculated in each CB. ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018
Critical thinking has been used and debated since the time of great philosophers such as Plato and Socrates. Its real origin is deeply rooted in the logic and questioning process used by these early philosophers. In recent times many scholars and researchers have conducted studies concerning the benefits and effects of critical thinking skills in different disciplines to the extent that now we are speaking about critical thinking movement whose benefits are much discussed in educational curricula. In language learning, activities that enrich learners' conceptual knowledge ranging from listening, reading, speaking, and writing tasks can foster critical thinking skills. Within this framework, a study was carried out at Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Faculty of Letters and Humanities in Beni-Mellal. The aim of this study is twofold. First, to see the possibility of integrating critical thinking skills in reading courses; second, to investigate the attitudes of the students towards such integration of critical thinking. Two research tools were used: an experiment followed by a questionnaire. The findings revealed that after the experiment, which consisted of exposing the students to tasks involving critical thinking when dealing with the reading skill, the students developed an awareness of critical thinking skills and dispositions. They developed the ability of interpretation, analysis, inquisitiveness, truth-seeking, problem-solving, evaluating information and decision making. Besides, their attitudes towards the integration of critical thinking while dealing with reading were reported to be positive.
The Study of English Curriculum at Secondary Level for Developing Critical Thinking
2021
The original input of this study involves in creating a critical thinking structure that can be used to explore the elements of critical thinking in the textbooks. The teachers, who are concerned with the improvement of students’ critical thinking skills, can also use this structure as a guideline. This study attempts to find out the extent to which critical thinking has been manifested in the two selected English textbooks, Punjab Textbook Board (PTB) and Oxford Progressive English (OPE) taught at secondary level in different Pakistani schools. It is the text that determines how effectively the critical thinking and knowledge is being developed in the learners. Both critical thinking and knowledge are the need of students at secondary level and these skills are essential for the English Language classrooms. These skills enable the students to learn concepts more thoroughly and without this learning outcome cannot be achieved. The questions given at the end of chapters of English te...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Critical thinking is generally claimed to be an essential requirement to effective learning and productive living. In a world of rapid change and globalization, skills such as problem solving, decision making and critical thinking are believed to be particularly acute for engineering graduates. While the Moroccan public university has just started to gain interest in critical thinking development (Belghiti, 2012; El Kirat & Belghiti, 2014), the Moroccan engineering education has been fostering such skills for many years now; this has led the English Language Teaching (ELT) guidelines of the Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles (CPGE) in Morocco to clearly emphasize the explicit use of critical thinking instruction in the English courses to develop the students' critical thinking and prepare them for the social and professional life. Accordingly, this study has attempted to investigate the extent to which critical thinking skills are important in the English course in engineering preparatory classes. It has also aimed to investigate the teaching and assessment practices used in the English classes to develop the students' critical thinking skills. Adopting the mixed methods approach, the study focused on the CPGE centers in Meknes, Fez, and Kenitra. The findings of the study revealed that both CPGE students and teachers are aware of the importance of critical thinking at the professional, academic, social and personal levels. The findings also revealed that the teaching and assessment of critical thinking is done in an explicit way in the CPGE English classes.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017
Training students to think critically is one of the most serious challenges that face Moroccan higher education, with experts being in unanimous agreement that critical thinking should be part of any instructional practice. In actual fact, a number of studies have come to the conclusion that students who have the ability to provide a critical assessment of the knowledge and information they receive-be they inside or outside of the classroom-can become critical thinking individuals, successful professionals, and, in the long run, active citizens. Given the importance of critical thinking in EFL teaching, the present paper purports to investigate the extent to which academic level affects the development of critical thinking skills among Moroccan EFL learners. In order to come up with a developmental account of critical thinking among these learners, two tests were administered to 60 students that were divided into three groups of 20 students. The first test, the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test, targeted argument evaluation skills, while the second test, argumentative essay writing, targeted argument construction skills. The results have been quantitatively analyzed so as to (i) provide tentative understanding of the current state of critical thinking in Moroccan higher education in general and among Moroccan EFL students in particular, and (ii) examine the influence that academic level and language proficiency have on the progress of critical thinking. The analysis will help us draw implications for EFL teaching methods and curriculum development in Moroccan higher education. Suggestions are made with regard to the integration of critical thinking in EFL instruction.