fostering critical thinking using instructional strategies in english classes

Fostering Critical Thinking Using Instructional Strategies in English Classes

The aim of the chapter is to provide both theoretical and practical ideas about critical thinking development within English language teaching contexts. Encouraging language learners to be critical thinkers is important in teaching English as a foreign language. However, achieving the goal remains a challenge. Using various strategies together seem to be effective when properly implemented. Therefore this chapter outlines these strategies which include communicative language tasks, using authentic meaningful texts, using critical literacy, being aware of whole-brain learning, adopting a reflective teaching, enabling students to become autonomous, using explicit instruction, teacher questioning, using active and cooperative learning strategies, using literature in English classes, using creative drama, and adopting self-assessment. Teachers can enable learners to have critical thinking skills and more efficient English lessons by combining these strategies in a new way or by designing critical thinking activities in the classroom.

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Peculiarities Of Developing Critical Thinking In Primary School Students In The Process Of English Language Teaching

This article discusses that the ability to think critically does not develop spontaneously. On the contrary, teachers play a major role in the development and management of the learning process. Foreign language classes help to develop critical thinking through a variety of materials and interactive learning technologies. Exploring the essence of critical thinking allowed him to move on to taking into account his abilities. As a result of studying this problem, it can be said that the foreign literature pays special attention to critical thinking skills.

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Teaching English as a foreign language to young learners in Indonesia requires specific strategies because young learners have different characteristics compared to adults. It demands English teachers to have sufficient metacognitive knowledge to promote students’ critical thinking skills. Therefore, this research paper presents findings on teacher’s metacognitive knowledge to promote EFL young learners critical thinking. A case study was employed involving one class of fifth-grade students with one English teacher and three instruments to collect data, namely classroom observation, interview, and document analysis. The data analysis was done by referring to the theory of metacognitive knowledge and stages in promoting critical thinking in EFL classroom. The findings reveal that the teacher performed three types of metacognitive knowledge, such as person, task, and strategic knowledge. These types of knowledge determined teacher’s strategy in running the class. It was indicated from the teacher’s statement showing that metacognitive knowledge guide herself through what, why, and how to implement learning strategies and predict outcomes by considering students’ needs and characteristics. Consequently, the students were able to analyze, evaluate, compare, contrast, and construct new information from their previous knowledge and experience.Keywords: Critical thinking, EFL young learners, English language learning, Indonesian educational context, Teacher’s metacognitive knowledge

Improving EFL Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills in Argumentative Writing

In the 21st century where information has become easily available and accessible, education has shifted its attention to teaching students how to process and think critically about the information they receive. Welcoming the changes that education constantly witnesses, the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) has embraced the integration of critical thinking. Accordingly, the present paper aims to explore the effect, if any, of integrating critical thinking on learners’ use of critical thinking skills in argumentative writing. To this end, an experimental study was conducted; 36 Moroccan EFL learners from the department of English were divided evenly into an experimental group and a control group. While the participants in the experimental group were taught writing with critical thinking skills, the others were taught writing with no reference to these skills. The participants in both groups took a pre-test and posttest to evaluate the development of their use of critical thinking skills in argumentative writing. The data which has been quantitatively analyzed indicates that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group. The students’ ability to use more credible evidence, address alternative arguments, support conclusions, and maintain the logical flow of ideas in their essays did not reach a mastery level in the posttest, yet the average level they reached is reassuring in view of the short time of the training they had. An integration of CT for longer periods may bring forth encouraging outcomes.

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<p style="text-align: justify;">This study investigated the effectiveness of visual mind mapping as a reading strategy for improving English language learners' critical thinking skills. Students from two general English courses were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. California Critical Thinking Test was used to assess participants' critical thinking skills. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference at (p < .005) in the mean scores of the experiment and control groups in the post-test due to visual mind mapping strategy in favor of the experimental group with a positive and significant impact on participants' critical thinking skills. The findings also showed that the experimental group’s scores were significantly improved in all indicators of critical thinking. The study results showed that visual mind mapping strategy affected the increased of critical thinking skills and reading comprehension ability. The study's findings revealed that using a visual mind mapping strategy had a significant improvement impact on English language learners critical thinking skills and reading ability.</p>

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fostering critical thinking using instructional strategies in english classes

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Eight Instructional Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking

(This is the first post in a three-part series.)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom?

This three-part series will explore what critical thinking is, if it can be specifically taught and, if so, how can teachers do so in their classrooms.

Today’s guests are Dara Laws Savage, Patrick Brown, Meg Riordan, Ph.D., and Dr. PJ Caposey. Dara, Patrick, and Meg were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

You might also be interested in The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom .

Current Events

Dara Laws Savage is an English teacher at the Early College High School at Delaware State University, where she serves as a teacher and instructional coach and lead mentor. Dara has been teaching for 25 years (career preparation, English, photography, yearbook, newspaper, and graphic design) and has presented nationally on project-based learning and technology integration:

There is so much going on right now and there is an overload of information for us to process. Did you ever stop to think how our students are processing current events? They see news feeds, hear news reports, and scan photos and posts, but are they truly thinking about what they are hearing and seeing?

I tell my students that my job is not to give them answers but to teach them how to think about what they read and hear. So what is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom? There are just as many definitions of critical thinking as there are people trying to define it. However, the Critical Think Consortium focuses on the tools to create a thinking-based classroom rather than a definition: “Shape the climate to support thinking, create opportunities for thinking, build capacity to think, provide guidance to inform thinking.” Using these four criteria and pairing them with current events, teachers easily create learning spaces that thrive on thinking and keep students engaged.

One successful technique I use is the FIRE Write. Students are given a quote, a paragraph, an excerpt, or a photo from the headlines. Students are asked to F ocus and respond to the selection for three minutes. Next, students are asked to I dentify a phrase or section of the photo and write for two minutes. Third, students are asked to R eframe their response around a specific word, phrase, or section within their previous selection. Finally, students E xchange their thoughts with a classmate. Within the exchange, students also talk about how the selection connects to what we are covering in class.

There was a controversial Pepsi ad in 2017 involving Kylie Jenner and a protest with a police presence. The imagery in the photo was strikingly similar to a photo that went viral with a young lady standing opposite a police line. Using that image from a current event engaged my students and gave them the opportunity to critically think about events of the time.

Here are the two photos and a student response:

F - Focus on both photos and respond for three minutes

In the first picture, you see a strong and courageous black female, bravely standing in front of two officers in protest. She is risking her life to do so. Iesha Evans is simply proving to the world she does NOT mean less because she is black … and yet officers are there to stop her. She did not step down. In the picture below, you see Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi. Maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal, except this was Pepsi’s weak, pathetic, and outrageous excuse of a commercial that belittles the whole movement of people fighting for their lives.

I - Identify a word or phrase, underline it, then write about it for two minutes

A white, privileged female in place of a fighting black woman was asking for trouble. A struggle we are continuously fighting every day, and they make a mockery of it. “I know what will work! Here Mr. Police Officer! Drink some Pepsi!” As if. Pepsi made a fool of themselves, and now their already dwindling fan base continues to ever shrink smaller.

R - Reframe your thoughts by choosing a different word, then write about that for one minute

You don’t know privilege until it’s gone. You don’t know privilege while it’s there—but you can and will be made accountable and aware. Don’t use it for evil. You are not stupid. Use it to do something. Kendall could’ve NOT done the commercial. Kendall could’ve released another commercial standing behind a black woman. Anything!

Exchange - Remember to discuss how this connects to our school song project and our previous discussions?

This connects two ways - 1) We want to convey a strong message. Be powerful. Show who we are. And Pepsi definitely tried. … Which leads to the second connection. 2) Not mess up and offend anyone, as had the one alma mater had been linked to black minstrels. We want to be amazing, but we have to be smart and careful and make sure we include everyone who goes to our school and everyone who may go to our school.

As a final step, students read and annotate the full article and compare it to their initial response.

Using current events and critical-thinking strategies like FIRE writing helps create a learning space where thinking is the goal rather than a score on a multiple-choice assessment. Critical-thinking skills can cross over to any of students’ other courses and into life outside the classroom. After all, we as teachers want to help the whole student be successful, and critical thinking is an important part of navigating life after they leave our classrooms.

‘Before-Explore-Explain’

Patrick Brown is the executive director of STEM and CTE for the Fort Zumwalt school district in Missouri and an experienced educator and author :

Planning for critical thinking focuses on teaching the most crucial science concepts, practices, and logical-thinking skills as well as the best use of instructional time. One way to ensure that lessons maintain a focus on critical thinking is to focus on the instructional sequence used to teach.

Explore-before-explain teaching is all about promoting critical thinking for learners to better prepare students for the reality of their world. What having an explore-before-explain mindset means is that in our planning, we prioritize giving students firsthand experiences with data, allow students to construct evidence-based claims that focus on conceptual understanding, and challenge students to discuss and think about the why behind phenomena.

Just think of the critical thinking that has to occur for students to construct a scientific claim. 1) They need the opportunity to collect data, analyze it, and determine how to make sense of what the data may mean. 2) With data in hand, students can begin thinking about the validity and reliability of their experience and information collected. 3) They can consider what differences, if any, they might have if they completed the investigation again. 4) They can scrutinize outlying data points for they may be an artifact of a true difference that merits further exploration of a misstep in the procedure, measuring device, or measurement. All of these intellectual activities help them form more robust understanding and are evidence of their critical thinking.

In explore-before-explain teaching, all of these hard critical-thinking tasks come before teacher explanations of content. Whether we use discovery experiences, problem-based learning, and or inquiry-based activities, strategies that are geared toward helping students construct understanding promote critical thinking because students learn content by doing the practices valued in the field to generate knowledge.

An Issue of Equity

Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer at The Possible Project, an out-of-school program that collaborates with youth to build entrepreneurial skills and mindsets and provides pathways to careers and long-term economic prosperity. She has been in the field of education for over 25 years as a middle and high school teacher, school coach, college professor, regional director of N.Y.C. Outward Bound Schools, and director of external research with EL Education:

Although critical thinking often defies straightforward definition, most in the education field agree it consists of several components: reasoning, problem-solving, and decisionmaking, plus analysis and evaluation of information, such that multiple sides of an issue can be explored. It also includes dispositions and “the willingness to apply critical-thinking principles, rather than fall back on existing unexamined beliefs, or simply believe what you’re told by authority figures.”

Despite variation in definitions, critical thinking is nonetheless promoted as an essential outcome of students’ learning—we want to see students and adults demonstrate it across all fields, professions, and in their personal lives. Yet there is simultaneously a rationing of opportunities in schools for students of color, students from under-resourced communities, and other historically marginalized groups to deeply learn and practice critical thinking.

For example, many of our most underserved students often spend class time filling out worksheets, promoting high compliance but low engagement, inquiry, critical thinking, or creation of new ideas. At a time in our world when college and careers are critical for participation in society and the global, knowledge-based economy, far too many students struggle within classrooms and schools that reinforce low-expectations and inequity.

If educators aim to prepare all students for an ever-evolving marketplace and develop skills that will be valued no matter what tomorrow’s jobs are, then we must move critical thinking to the forefront of classroom experiences. And educators must design learning to cultivate it.

So, what does that really look like?

Unpack and define critical thinking

To understand critical thinking, educators need to first unpack and define its components. What exactly are we looking for when we speak about reasoning or exploring multiple perspectives on an issue? How does problem-solving show up in English, math, science, art, or other disciplines—and how is it assessed? At Two Rivers, an EL Education school, the faculty identified five constructs of critical thinking, defined each, and created rubrics to generate a shared picture of quality for teachers and students. The rubrics were then adapted across grade levels to indicate students’ learning progressions.

At Avenues World School, critical thinking is one of the Avenues World Elements and is an enduring outcome embedded in students’ early experiences through 12th grade. For instance, a kindergarten student may be expected to “identify cause and effect in familiar contexts,” while an 8th grader should demonstrate the ability to “seek out sufficient evidence before accepting a claim as true,” “identify bias in claims and evidence,” and “reconsider strongly held points of view in light of new evidence.”

When faculty and students embrace a common vision of what critical thinking looks and sounds like and how it is assessed, educators can then explicitly design learning experiences that call for students to employ critical-thinking skills. This kind of work must occur across all schools and programs, especially those serving large numbers of students of color. As Linda Darling-Hammond asserts , “Schools that serve large numbers of students of color are least likely to offer the kind of curriculum needed to ... help students attain the [critical-thinking] skills needed in a knowledge work economy. ”

So, what can it look like to create those kinds of learning experiences?

Designing experiences for critical thinking

After defining a shared understanding of “what” critical thinking is and “how” it shows up across multiple disciplines and grade levels, it is essential to create learning experiences that impel students to cultivate, practice, and apply these skills. There are several levers that offer pathways for teachers to promote critical thinking in lessons:

1.Choose Compelling Topics: Keep it relevant

A key Common Core State Standard asks for students to “write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.” That might not sound exciting or culturally relevant. But a learning experience designed for a 12th grade humanities class engaged learners in a compelling topic— policing in America —to analyze and evaluate multiple texts (including primary sources) and share the reasoning for their perspectives through discussion and writing. Students grappled with ideas and their beliefs and employed deep critical-thinking skills to develop arguments for their claims. Embedding critical-thinking skills in curriculum that students care about and connect with can ignite powerful learning experiences.

2. Make Local Connections: Keep it real

At The Possible Project , an out-of-school-time program designed to promote entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, students in a recent summer online program (modified from in-person due to COVID-19) explored the impact of COVID-19 on their communities and local BIPOC-owned businesses. They learned interviewing skills through a partnership with Everyday Boston , conducted virtual interviews with entrepreneurs, evaluated information from their interviews and local data, and examined their previously held beliefs. They created blog posts and videos to reflect on their learning and consider how their mindsets had changed as a result of the experience. In this way, we can design powerful community-based learning and invite students into productive struggle with multiple perspectives.

3. Create Authentic Projects: Keep it rigorous

At Big Picture Learning schools, students engage in internship-based learning experiences as a central part of their schooling. Their school-based adviser and internship-based mentor support them in developing real-world projects that promote deeper learning and critical-thinking skills. Such authentic experiences teach “young people to be thinkers, to be curious, to get from curiosity to creation … and it helps students design a learning experience that answers their questions, [providing an] opportunity to communicate it to a larger audience—a major indicator of postsecondary success.” Even in a remote environment, we can design projects that ask more of students than rote memorization and that spark critical thinking.

Our call to action is this: As educators, we need to make opportunities for critical thinking available not only to the affluent or those fortunate enough to be placed in advanced courses. The tools are available, let’s use them. Let’s interrogate our current curriculum and design learning experiences that engage all students in real, relevant, and rigorous experiences that require critical thinking and prepare them for promising postsecondary pathways.

Critical Thinking & Student Engagement

Dr. PJ Caposey is an award-winning educator, keynote speaker, consultant, and author of seven books who currently serves as the superintendent of schools for the award-winning Meridian CUSD 223 in northwest Illinois. You can find PJ on most social-media platforms as MCUSDSupe:

When I start my keynote on student engagement, I invite two people up on stage and give them each five paper balls to shoot at a garbage can also conveniently placed on stage. Contestant One shoots their shot, and the audience gives approval. Four out of 5 is a heckuva score. Then just before Contestant Two shoots, I blindfold them and start moving the garbage can back and forth. I usually try to ensure that they can at least make one of their shots. Nobody is successful in this unfair environment.

I thank them and send them back to their seats and then explain that this little activity was akin to student engagement. While we all know we want student engagement, we are shooting at different targets. More importantly, for teachers, it is near impossible for them to hit a target that is moving and that they cannot see.

Within the world of education and particularly as educational leaders, we have failed to simplify what student engagement looks like, and it is impossible to define or articulate what student engagement looks like if we cannot clearly articulate what critical thinking is and looks like in a classroom. Because, simply, without critical thought, there is no engagement.

The good news here is that critical thought has been defined and placed into taxonomies for decades already. This is not something new and not something that needs to be redefined. I am a Bloom’s person, but there is nothing wrong with DOK or some of the other taxonomies, either. To be precise, I am a huge fan of Daggett’s Rigor and Relevance Framework. I have used that as a core element of my practice for years, and it has shaped who I am as an instructional leader.

So, in order to explain critical thought, a teacher or a leader must familiarize themselves with these tried and true taxonomies. Easy, right? Yes, sort of. The issue is not understanding what critical thought is; it is the ability to integrate it into the classrooms. In order to do so, there are a four key steps every educator must take.

Integrating critical thought/rigor into a lesson does not happen by chance, it happens by design. Planning for critical thought and engagement is much different from planning for a traditional lesson. In order to plan for kids to think critically, you have to provide a base of knowledge and excellent prompts to allow them to explore their own thinking in order to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize information.
SIDE NOTE – Bloom’s verbs are a great way to start when writing objectives, but true planning will take you deeper than this.

QUESTIONING

If the questions and prompts given in a classroom have correct answers or if the teacher ends up answering their own questions, the lesson will lack critical thought and rigor.
Script five questions forcing higher-order thought prior to every lesson. Experienced teachers may not feel they need this, but it helps to create an effective habit.
If lessons are rigorous and assessments are not, students will do well on their assessments, and that may not be an accurate representation of the knowledge and skills they have mastered. If lessons are easy and assessments are rigorous, the exact opposite will happen. When deciding to increase critical thought, it must happen in all three phases of the game: planning, instruction, and assessment.

TALK TIME / CONTROL

To increase rigor, the teacher must DO LESS. This feels counterintuitive but is accurate. Rigorous lessons involving tons of critical thought must allow for students to work on their own, collaborate with peers, and connect their ideas. This cannot happen in a silent room except for the teacher talking. In order to increase rigor, decrease talk time and become comfortable with less control. Asking questions and giving prompts that lead to no true correct answer also means less control. This is a tough ask for some teachers. Explained differently, if you assign one assignment and get 30 very similar products, you have most likely assigned a low-rigor recipe. If you assign one assignment and get multiple varied products, then the students have had a chance to think deeply, and you have successfully integrated critical thought into your classroom.

Thanks to Dara, Patrick, Meg, and PJ for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

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Fostering Critical Thinking Using Instructional Strategies in English Classes

Introduction.

Recent trends in English as a foreign language (EFL) have emphasized the importance and requirement of improving critical thinking as an integral part of English language curriculum (Davidson & Dunham, 1997; Shirkhani & Fahim, 2011; Sun, 2015; Tang, 2016). In English language learning, students need critical thinking skills that are related to quality thinking to analyze, reflect, self-assess, argue, be autonomous, and evaluate during his/her learning. As Kabilan (2000) maintains, only using the target language and knowing the meaning are not enough. Learners must be able to have critical thinking through the language because critical thinking enables students to expand their learning experience and makes language learning deeper and more meaningful in addition to providing learners with a more skillful way of communicating with other people, enabling them to acquire new knowledge, and deal with ideas, beliefs, and attitudes.

A lot of different definitions have been introduced for critical thinking. Norris and Ennis (1989) define critical thinking as “reasonably reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do.” According to Siegel (1999), Lipman (1991) and Maiorana (1992), critical thinking means achieving, understanding, and evaluating different perspectives, and solving problems. Elder and Paul (1994) state that critical thinking refers to the ability of individuals to take responsibility of their own thinking and improve appropriate criteria and standards for analyzing their own thinking. Zintz and Maggart (1984) inform that critical thinking “involves learning to evaluate, draw inferences and arrive at conclusions based on the evidence”. Paul (1991), well known for his works on critical thinking, has described it as reaching conclusions based on observation and knowledge (p. 125). Paul (1991) also defines critical thinking as “thinking about it when it performs the thought action to improve one's own thinking”. According to İpşiroğlu (2002), critical thinking is the most developed and advanced form of thinking because critical thinking means objective, reflective and not obsessive thinking. Beyer (1987, p. 32-33) points out that critical thinking is the evaluation of the authenticity and precision of the information and the value of beliefs, arguments and information claims. Smith and Rawley (1997), on the other hand, stated that criticism is a judgement that focuses on accepting or rejecting claims. According to Mayhewv, critical thinking is the process of questioning “how” and “why” (as cited Branch, 2000). Ennis (1985) points out that critical thinking is composed of abilities and tendencies. Norris (1985) also defines critical thinking as “Students put into practice what they have already known and change their pre-learning by valuing their own thinking” (p. 40). Considering these definitions that include temperament, tendency and skill, it can be said that critical thinking is a practical activity.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Cooperative Learning Strategies : A kind of instructional strategy in which small groups of students work together on a common task.

Authentic Materials : Materials that enable learners to interiorize the language.

Instructional Strategies : A kind of technique that teachers use to help students become independent and strategic learners by motivating them and helping them focus attention.

Creative Drama : A kind of active learning strategy that helps students to improve academic and social skills communication skills by encouraging students to express themselves.

Communicative Language Tasks/Activities : Tasks/activities that require effective use of language together with critical thinking by engaging students in learning activities where authentic communication takes place.

Critical Thinking : The ability of individuals to undertake responsibility of their own thinking by improving appropriate criteria and standards.

Active Learning Strategies : A kind of instructional strategy that enables students actively to be involved in in the lessons and the classroom.

Complete Chapter List

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Fostering critical thinking using instructional strategies in english classes, advances in higher education and professional development, doi 10.4018/978-1-5225-7829-1.ch016.

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January 1, 2019

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Effective and practical critical thinking-enhanced EFL instruction

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Ya-Ting C. Yang, Jeffrey Gamble, Effective and practical critical thinking-enhanced EFL instruction, ELT Journal , Volume 67, Issue 4, October 2013, Pages 398–412, https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/cct038

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With globalization and the spread of English, EFL instruction is ever more important. In addition to a new language, learners are also exposed to different cultures and ways of thinking. Thus, EFL classrooms provide ideal contexts for exploring important critical thinking (CT) skills. Based on a literature review, theory-based learning activities were designed for targeting language learning, CT development, and academic achievement. An experimental design was used with participants from two freshman EFL classes. While Experimental group learners engaged in CT-enhanced activities such as debates and peer critiques, Control group learners engaged in non-CT-enhanced EFL activities such as group presentations and process writing, effective but without an emphasis on CT. Experimental group learners demonstrated a significant improvement in English proficiency in comparison to the Control group. Furthermore, superior CT and academic achievement were observed for the Experimental group in a content-based exam. Implications for designing CT-enhanced EFL activities that boost English proficiency and CT are discussed.

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10 Most Effective Teaching Strategies for English Teachers

May 14, 2024 // by Lindsay Ann // Leave a Comment

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Student learning, for better or worse, stems from teaching strategies we use in the classroom .

That’s a bold claim, I know, but teaching strategies are necessary if we want students to navigate the choppy waters of communication, to unlock the secrets of challenging texts, and to unleash critical thinking in many contexts required of students (and, in general, people) today.

Back in my day (says the old-timer writing on this newfangled computing device on the Google ) teachers used teaching strategies, certainly–but I remember them really falling into the camp of a command, a task, feedback, and repeat : “Read this and then write this,” they’d say.

From there, I think they’d read my paper before applying a mark of distinction or dread (an A, B, C, D, or even F ) and sometimes a qualifier to chip at the pride or lessen the sting (an A- or a C+ , for example). Rinse and repeat. Discussions of texts boiled down to “Read chapters 1 through 20 and then talk about it.”

Today’s classrooms, for better or worse, don’t work this way .

The teaching methods and strategies of old, say, lecturing at a room of high school students for 50 minutes, don’t translate well to the always-connected, oft-disengaged youth of today.

This shift requires us, as the professionals, to adjust and adapt our teaching methods and strategies.

Let’s be honest…adapting and adjusting feels (and is) daunting. We need teaching strategies, differentiation , creative curriculum, planning, prepping, data…everything:

Read on, then, to find the 10 Most Effective Teaching Strategies for English Teachers in a convenient, easy-to-reference teaching strategies list below!

Teaching Strategies Examples

Active Reading and Close Reading

These are powerful teaching strategies for reading. With close reading , we teach students to analyze texts closely, examining language, structure, and literary devices to deepen understanding.

With active reading, we teach students to actively engage with texts using strategies like annotating, summarizing, questioning , and making connections . Put these two things together, and students are reading beyond plot and beyond their reactions as readers to the text.

Vocabulary

This is another of the teaching strategies for reading (that actually fits well with #1 above). Teach vocabulary in context, using words from the texts students are studying.

Teaching word parts (like prefixes and suffixes) and how to use context clues can help students’ understanding and retention of new and unfamiliar words. (For you high school educators, this is all the more valuable considering the vocabulary emphasis on the Digital SAT many of our students take.)

Reader and Writer’s Workshop

When possible, plan workshop and conferencing time where students engage in independent reading and writing activities, receive feedback from peers and from you (the expert), and revise their work.

The workshop model fosters creativity, autonomy, and growth as readers and writers . These student-teacher conferences are also good times to connect and build relationships and to discuss short- and long-term goals with students (which connects with #10 below).

Collaborative Learning

This is an extension of #3 above as collaboration shouldn’t be just for special occasions .

Instead, we should implement group activities , discussions, and projects where students work together to analyze texts and solve problems.

Collaboration enhances communication skills –and we know that speaking and listening are important skills for an English language arts class–and encourages students to learn from one another , not just from us, the teachers.

Literature Circles /Book Groups

Divide students into small groups, each assigned a different piece of literature–and it would be ideal if the students had some choice in selecting this literature–to read, analyze, and discuss .

*Bonus teaching strategy here: students can jigsaw the reading, each taking a different part of the text to analyze and to lead the group’s discussion on.*

(This could pair well with #1 above as each student could be responsible for actively reading a different element of the text, for example.) This approach promotes independent reading, comprehension, and discussion skills .

Inquiry, Problem-Based Learnin g

Pose thought-provoking questions or problems related to literature, language, current events, etc. that require students to investigate, analyze, synthesize, and draw conclusions independently or collaboratively.

The inquiry approach cultivates curiosity, research skills, and deeper understanding of content . For this, you can even take inspiration from real-world situations students might find in the news–for instance, one might challenge students to argue the best way to combat disinformation online.

Multimodal Instruction

As you’ve probably seen, screens are everywhere–in students’ faces and hands, on students’ wrists and tabletops. Indeed, it’s good to get students off screens often–but it’s good to put those screens to good use, too .

Integrate various forms of media like videos, audio recordings (like podcasts ), visual aids, and tech tools to enhance learning experiences and cater to different learning styles as technology can provide teaching strategies for differentiation for student learning .

Multimodal instruction can help promote focus in the classroom and give us teachers the power to compete with the dopamine hits of students’ taps, pinches, and zooms on their personal screens .

Performance-Based Assessments

Ever ask a student to write something and suspect that a student didn’t write it? Been there. It used to be that we could do a Google Search or check Turnitin.com and know for sure–but we can’t be sure anymore. (Thanks, ChatGPT.)

A good teaching strategy, then, to ensure student work is authentic and genuine is to assign projects or presentations where students demonstrate their understanding of literary concepts, language skills, or creative interpretations through performances, debates, or multimedia presentations .

Authentic assessments are much harder (at least at this point) for students to AI-chatbot their way through, and honestly, they are often more interesting to assess than essays .

Socratic Seminars & Class Discussions

Discussions based on open-ended questions about a text or topic are valuable for having students support their opinions with evidence from a text or other sources (like their experiences or observations) and for fostering critical thinking as they respond to an audience in real-time .

These discussions are even better if they are student-led, giving students responsibility to engage their peers. (This could also be paired with #7 above as students could have a discussion synchronously in class or asynchronously using technology and something like a discussion board.)

Reflection

This is a powerful teaching strategy when it’s purposeful , for we should provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning , set goals, and assess their own strengths and areas of growth. (Note that we don’t call them “weaknesses” anymore as we work to promote that ever-coveted “growth mindset.”)

This reflection can be tied in with specific and explicit English Language Arts goals and skills–but it can also extend to Social Emotional Learning and Executive Functioning as students can reflect on how they solved problems, how their emotions impacted their performance, how they managed their time, etc.

This reflection on the past will, we hope, then lead to changes and continued growth and success in the future.

I end with reflection here because it’s a teaching strategy for the classroom, but reflection is also what we as educators are doing always, every moment, each day .

It might be why you’re reading this blog right now: you reflected on your teaching strategies and realized you wanted or needed something more.

Some ideas. Some change. Some confirmation.

Indeed, teachers are oftentimes the best learners, and by fine-turning our teaching strategies, we can help our students become better learners, prepared for the ever-changing present and future .

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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Critical Thinking in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, teaching students the skill of critical thinking has become a priority. This powerful tool empowers students to evaluate information, make reasoned judgments, and approach problems from a fresh perspective. In this article, we’ll explore the significance of critical thinking and provide effective strategies to nurture this skill in your students.

Why is Fostering Critical Thinking Important?

Strategies to cultivate critical thinking, real-world example, concluding thoughts.

Critical thinking is a key skill that goes far beyond the four walls of a classroom. It equips students to better understand and interact with the world around them. Here are some reasons why fostering critical thinking is important:

Making Informed Decisions: Critical thinking enables students to evaluate the pros and cons of a situation, helping them make informed and rational decisions.
Developing Analytical Skills: Critical thinking involves analyzing information from different angles, which enhances analytical skills.
Promoting Independence: Critical thinking fosters independence by encouraging students to form their own opinions based on their analysis, rather than relying on others.

Creating an environment that encourages critical thinking can be accomplished in various ways. Here are some effective strategies:

Socratic Questioning: This method involves asking thought-provoking questions that encourage students to think deeply about a topic. For example, instead of asking, “What is the capital of France?” you might ask, “Why do you think Paris became the capital of France?”
Debates and Discussions: Debates and open-ended discussions allow students to explore different viewpoints and challenge their own beliefs. For example, a debate on a current event can engage students in critical analysis of the situation.
Teaching Metacognition: Teaching students to think about their own thinking can enhance their critical thinking skills. This can be achieved through activities such as reflective writing or journaling.
Problem-Solving Activities: As with developing problem-solving skills , activities that require students to find solutions to complex problems can also foster critical thinking.

As a school leader, I’ve seen the transformative power of critical thinking. During a school competition, I observed a team of students tasked with proposing a solution to reduce our school’s environmental impact. Instead of jumping to obvious solutions, they critically evaluated multiple options, considering the feasibility, cost, and potential impact of each. They ultimately proposed a comprehensive plan that involved water conservation, waste reduction, and energy efficiency measures. This demonstrated their ability to critically analyze a problem and develop an effective solution.

Critical thinking is an essential skill for students in the 21st century. It equips them to understand and navigate the world in a thoughtful and informed manner. As a teacher, incorporating strategies to foster critical thinking in your classroom can make a lasting impact on your students’ educational journey and life beyond school.

1. What is critical thinking? Critical thinking is the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment.

2. Why is critical thinking important for students? Critical thinking helps students make informed decisions, develop analytical skills, and promotes independence.

3. What are some strategies to cultivate critical thinking in students? Strategies can include Socratic questioning, debates and discussions, teaching metacognition, and problem-solving activities.

4. How can I assess my students’ critical thinking skills? You can assess critical thinking skills through essays, presentations, discussions, and problem-solving tasks that require thoughtful analysis.

5. Can critical thinking be taught? Yes, critical thinking can be taught and nurtured through specific teaching strategies and a supportive learning environment.

7 simple strategies for strong student-teacher relationships.

Getting to know your students on a personal level is the first step towards building strong relationships. Show genuine interest in their lives outside the classroom.

Students observing a teacher in a classroom.

Connecting Learning to Real-World Contexts: Strategies for Teachers

When students see the relevance of their classroom lessons to their everyday lives, they are more likely to be motivated, engaged, and retain information.

A young girl is using a tablet computer for school.

Encouraging Active Involvement in Learning: Strategies for Teachers

Active learning benefits students by improving retention of information, enhancing critical thinking skills, and encouraging a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Students raising their hands in a classroom.

Collaborative and Cooperative Learning: A Guide for Teachers

These methods encourage students to work together, share ideas, and actively participate in their education.

A group of students are doing a science experiment in school, guided by their teacher.

Experiential Teaching: Role-Play and Simulations in Teaching

These interactive techniques allow students to immerse themselves in practical, real-world scenarios, thereby deepening their understanding and retention of key concepts.

In a school classroom, a teacher engages with her students while delivering a lesson.

Project-Based Learning Activities: A Guide for Teachers

Project-Based Learning is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic approach to teaching, where students explore real-world problems or challenges.

Language Point

teacher training

May 20, 2022

4 ways to increase critical thinking in the English language classroom

Much of what we do in the language classroom is focused on fluency and accuracy. Most teachers aim for students to use vocabulary and grammar accurately, and be able to read and listen with enough understanding to answer comprehension questions. However, language learning is different from other academic subjects, many of which are based around retention of knowledge.

Learning a second language involves a lot more than simply remembering the right words to use. The more that students activate their critical thinking brains, and employ Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), the more they will develop flexibility, confidence and the ability to self-evaluate in the work that they do, making them better language users in any situation where they have to use the language they learn.

Critical thinking includes a range of HOTS which can be useful to language learning, enabling students to develop learning strategies which can help them to work independently and develop in their own ways beyond the classroom and the set curriculum that you teach . Fostering a critical / analytical environment takes students further than simply supplying correct answers to pass tests, or repeating memorised chunks of language which may not apply to their real lives. Here are some simple ways of facilitating critical thinking in your classroom:

Ask for more than just information

The vast majority of questions asked by teachers in the language classroom are designed for students to answer based on something they have just been told, or that they need to remember from previous classes. In most cases, the teacher already knows the answer to the questions, which have been designed for teaching rather than actual sharing of information. Questions where the answer is already known are called ‘display’ questions, and are a useful teaching tool. However, the level of thinking required to answer them is not highly cognitive. Often, students either know the answer or they don’t - there is little room for calculation, deduction or other higher types of reasoning.

Rather than simply asking students for the answers to the questions they are studying, or for the information in the texts they read, push them to tell you more about aspects of the text which are not explicitly mentioned in the writing. This type of ‘referential’ question leads to much more authentic, spontaneous and personal information sharing, and requires more reflective and critical thought. Examples of higher-order referential questions (here, for a reading or listening exercise) might be:

Why does the writer use the word ‘_______’ in this sentence?

Why do you think the writer starts the article in this way?

Do you agree with the writer when she says ‘________’? Why?

Do you think the writer feels positive / negative / happy / sad / worried… by the topic? Why?

What does the word/sentence ‘__________’ make you think of?

Some of these questions are quite high-level in terms of the language needed to respond, but questions about simple tone or feeling, or emotional response questions, can be used with lower-level learners to help them reflect on their reaction (and the author’s feeling) about the writing. This takes the student out of the traditional understanding / comprehending / answering factual questions from the text that may restrict their thinking as they read.

Get students deducing meaning from context

Another area of language where critical thinking can be used is in vocabulary study. Traditionally, teachers focus very strongly on accuracy of meaning when teaching new words, then find ways of helping students to remember the words effectively. However, the majority of new words that a student meets, both in and out of the classroom, will not be the focus of specific teaching stages with a teacher going through pronunciation, meaning and use .

More critical/analytical approaches to vocabulary can help students to develop independent strategies for dealing with new words without constant support. The skill of deducing meaning based on language clues is an invaluable skill for anyone using a second language, and a skills which can be developed in the classroom. All that is needed are some ways of spotting the clues in a new word, sentence or paragraph, which can reveal different aspects of meaning:

At word level, a lot of meaning can be deduced from prefixes, suffixes and stems. By getting students to identify the stem meaning of a word, then applying prefixes and suffixes, they will be surprised at how they can decode new meanings more easily, as in:

Undeniable = prefix: un- + stem: -deny- + suffix: -able

If a student knows the word ‘deny’, they can build the meaning of

un- (not) + -deny- (refuse) + -able (be able to)

This kind of inductive work leads to activities with word families, where one stem word can be explored for all its related forms: deny, denial, deniable, undeniable, etc., building several words form a single, known root.

In sentence examples, clues to meaning (contextual clues) can be designed and added in to help students deduce new meanings, as in:

Janine was happy, but Bob was miserable

The key clue here comes from the contrast marker ‘but’ - if students know the meaning of happy, and they know that ‘but’ is followed by a contrasting idea, then they can deduce that ‘miserable’ means ‘unhappy’, even if they have never seen the word before.

Presenting vocabulary in a sentence context like this takes students beyond the level of single word meanings, and gets them using other information around a new word to think critically and engage with meaning in different ways. By teaching your students the skill of deducing meaning, you can save a lot of time teaching new words one by one, and get them working with different examples on their own, or working with a partner.

Use project-based activities

Another way of developing higher-order skills is by focusing students on the processes that they follow when they learn. A great way of doing this is to get them working on projects rather than individual language tasks. Projects are different toothed types of activity because they involve collaboration and allocation of work between different members of a group to get the job done. The process of planning, delegating and taking responsibility for different aspects of a project can involve some high-level critical thinking and reflection (if it is planned into the project by the teacher).

Projects usually result in more complex outcomes than single activities, so require more different skills than just language use. The discussion, role-setting, preparation and creative processes all require different types of interaction and communication, all of which are more authentic than general language-focused pair-work.

Working together to create a poster presentation, a board game or a labelled model involves different language and social skills, leadership, compromise and strategy-setting, which can be performed in English if the students’ level is high enough, or in the students’ first language (in a specific planning stage) if it isn’t. By following the procedure below, you can incorporate HOTS, language and other skills to produce an effective project outcome:

inform students of the goal of the project - what product are they working towards?

Students break the project into parts and assign roles to each group member (in first language with lower-level groups)

Students produce a plan for creation of the project, step by step to get everything done in good order and within the time limit (again, in first language if necessary)

Students each work on their role for the project, keeping in communication with each other at each step

Group members check each others’ work for accuracy of language, quality and how well it fits the project brief from 1)

In larger classes, further critical thinking can be developed by having each group present their work to another group for feedback - what do the other group(s) think of their work? Each group writes action points to improve their product and goes back to make any changes they think are necessary.

Each group presents their project to the class, either in a show-and-tell style, or by moving from project to project to view each others’ work.

Develop students’ reflective skills

Self-reflection is one of the highest of the HOTS. Without stopping to evaluate any task that we have done, it is much more difficult to develop better ways of doing a good job in future. This applies to language learning as much as it does to any other kind of activity.

A simple way of bringing self-reflection into he classroom is to include a short stage at the end of each activity that you do, or at the end of each class, which focuses on how students performed. Some simple questions that can prompt self-reflection after a period of class activity are:

How do you feel after completing this activity?

Did you find it easy or difficult? Why?

What did you find most useful in that activity?

How did you complete the activity? What did you do first, then what did you do?

If you did it again, what would you do differently?

You don’t need to ask all of these questions after every activity, but questions like these can prompt a little bit of thought about how students are working, not just whether they succeeded in a task or not. This can raise awareness about learning strategies, thought processes and how different students approach different types of activity . They can also inform you about how your students work, and therefore how they might benefit from different types of support from your teaching.

As we have seen, critical, analytical and higher-order work can be incorporated into the language classroom without too much disturbance of your planned work. A few small additions here and there, and some rethinking of tasks and activities, can raise the level of thinking that goes on, and help students to help themselves when they come to perform in English in situations outside the classroom. Start by including some small critical or reflective questions in your classes, and see how your students respond. You (and they) might be surprised at the results!

Tom Garside is Director of Language Point Teacher Education. Language Point delivers the internationally recognised RQF level 5 Trinity CertTESOL in a totally online mode of study , and the RQF level 6 Trinity College Certificate for Practising Teachers , a contextually-informed teacher development qualification with specific courses which focus on online language education or online methodology.

If you are interested to know more about these qualifications, or you want take your teaching to a new level with our teacher education courses, contact us or see our course dates and fees for details.

Fostering Critical Thinking Competence in EFL Classroom

Published 2013
Education, Linguistics

20 Citations

Critical thinking as a 21st century skill: conceptions, implementation and challenges in the efl classroom, exploring teachers’ perceptions of critical thinking as a 21st century skill in efl classrooms teaching and learning in classrooms, critical thinking development in the milieu of high school education, teacher questioning in college english class: a guide to critical thinking, the use of critical thinking activities through workshops to improve efl learners' speaking skills, on the cultivation of learners’ competence of critical thinking in college english teaching, fostering critical thinking using instructional strategies in english classes, infusing critical thinking skills in the english as a foreign language classroom: a meaningful experience for teachers and students, the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking skills through literature in efl context: a case study in spain, the effect of iraqi efl university students’ critical thinking abilities on their use of language learning strategies, 22 references, the psychology of effective learning and teaching, the role of engagement in inspiring teaching and learning, promoting reflection in professional courses: the challenge of context, critical thinking in japanese l2 writing: rethinking tired constructs, alternative teaching strategies: the case for critical thinking., critical thinking: an introduction, critical thinking: what it is and why it counts, american media and mass culture: left perspectives, how we think : a restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process, related papers.

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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 ...
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The aim of the chapter is to provide both theoretical and practical ideas about critical thinking development within English language teaching contexts. Encouraging language learners to be critical thinkers is important in teaching English as a foreign language. However, achieving the goal remains a challenge. Using various strategies together seem to be effective when properly implemented ...
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Therefore this chapter outlines these strategies which include communicative language tasks, using authentic meaningful texts, using critical literacy, being aware of whole-brain learning, adopting a reflective teaching, enabling students to become autonomous, using explicit instruction, teacher questioning, using active and cooperative ...
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Fostering Critical Thinking Using Instructional Strategies in English Classes: 10.4018/978-1-5225-7829-1.ch016: The aim of the chapter is to provide both theoretical and practical ideas about critical thinking development within English language teaching contexts.
(PDF) Fostering Critical Thinking Using Instructional
Fostering Critical Thinking Using Instructional Strategies in English Classes Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development doi 10.4018/978-1-5225-7829-1.ch016
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Despite the importance of critical-thinking cultivation in language acquisition, little progress has been made in integrating critical thinking into language teaching (Li, 2011; Pica, 2000) probably because such integration is more challenging for language educators than for teachers of other subjects (Lin, Preston, Kharrufa, & Kong, 2016). The ...
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In order to promote CT and st udent involvement in EFL classrooms, it is crucial to. instruct students the ground rules and skills for group discussion, such as listening attentively, responding ...
Fostering and assessing student critical thinking: From theory to
Note: These rubrics are meant for teachers/faculty use to identify the student skills related to creativity and to critical thinking to foster in teaching and learning, not for assessment. Each column is generally presented alongside the creativity rubric in the same comprehensive or class-friendly format.
Effective and practical critical thinking-enhanced EFL instruction
With globalization and the spread of English, EFL instruction is ever more important. In addition to a new language, learners are also exposed to different cultures and ways of thinking. Thus, EFL classrooms provide ideal contexts for exploring important critical thinking (CT) skills. Based on a literature review, theory-based learning ...
Teaching critical thinking in the language classroom
Draw conclusions, make decisions, prioritize them; Take action and create steps to make your decisions applicable to the initial question. It might not always be possible to follow all steps in the language classroom, depending on the activity. That should not mean we should not teach critical thinking, even (and especially) to young students.
Fostering critical thinking in English-as-a-second ...
There has been a burgeoning research interest in seeking effective strategies for fostering critical thinking in the English language classroom (Cosgun & Atay, 2021; Liang & Fung, 2021; Mete, 2020 ...
10 Most Effective Teaching Strategies for English Teachers
Read on, then, to find the 10 Most Effective Teaching Strategies for English Teachers in a ... and for fostering critical thinking as they respond to an audience in ... (This could also be paired with #7 above as students could have a discussion synchronously in class or asynchronously using technology and something like a discussion board.) ...
Instructional Strategies for Developing Critical Thinking in EFL
In English as first language contexts, clear requirement for critical thinking (CT) has been listed in teaching guidelines and assessment criteria in higher education. At present, fostering language learners to be critical thinkers is valued in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching as well; yet how to achieve the objective remains a challenge.
Critical Thinking in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers
Critical thinking is a key skill that goes far beyond the four walls of a classroom. It equips students to better understand and interact with the world around them. Here are some reasons why fostering critical thinking is important: Making Informed Decisions: Critical thinking enables students to evaluate the pros and cons of a situation ...
Fostering critical thinking in the classroom
Critical thinking is a complex process that involves students reflecting, analyzing and evaluating ideas. Building a community of critical thinkers in our classrooms involves going beyond the cognitive domains and building the affective domains. The cognitive domain concerns subject knowledge and intellectual skills, whereas the affective ...
PDF Instructional Strategies for Developing Critical Thinking in EFL ...
In English as first language contexts, clear requirement for critical thinking (CT) has been listed in teaching guidelines and assessment criteria in higher education. At present, fostering language learners to be critical thinkers is valued in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching as well; yet how to achieve the objective
Instructional Strategies for Developing Critical Thinking in EFL ...
In English as first language contexts, clear requirement for critical thinking (CT) has been listed in teaching guidelines and assessment criteria in higher education. At present, fostering language learners to be critical thinkers is valued in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching as well; yet how to achieve the objective remains a challenge.
4 ways to increase critical thinking in the English language classroom
Critical thinking includes a range of HOTS which can be useful to language learning, enabling students to develop learning strategies which can help them to work independently and develop in their own ways beyond the classroom and the set curriculum that you teach.Fostering a critical / analytical environment takes students further than simply supplying correct answers to pass tests, or ...
Fostering Critical Thinking Competence in EFL Classroom
The paper points out the importance of critical thinking in college English learning, it attempts to analyze the obstacles that prevent the development of critical thinking. The paper also calls for the necessity of integrating critical thinking into English teaching and provides some constructive strategies to achieve the goal.
PDF Innovative Teaching Strategies to Foster Critical Thinking: a ...
1.3 TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING The teacher can develop critical thinking among students by making the teaching-learning process interesting by using effective teaching strategies in the classroom to foster critical thinking. Various teaching strategies help in fostering the critical thinking which are as follows: 1.
7 Critical and Creative Thinking strategies for teachers and students
Games and puzzles that encourage critical and creative thinking strategies include logic puzzles, brain teasers, strategic board games, word puzzles, and problem-solving activities. These games require students to analyze information, make connections, think critically, and develop innovative solutions. By engaging in these activities, students ...
PDF Critical and Creative Thinking in the English Language Classroom
Keywords: critical thinking skills, creative thinking, English language 1. What is critical thinking? A review of the pedagogical literature reveals that a growing number of studies focus on critical thinking, on what critical thinking skills can and should be taught, and on the most effective and appropriate framework for fostering it.

Fostering Critical Thinking Using Instructional Strategies in English Classes

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