Critical Thinking for EFL Students

in a World of Choices

Banjarmasin Department of Education

Kitty Purgason, Ph.D. Department of Applied Linguistics and TESOL,

Cook School of Intercultural Studies,Biola University, California

Summary of presentation

A world of choices Definitions Goals Productive skills

samples Receptive skills

samples Q&A

A world of choices

A world of choices

A world of choices

Definitions of “critical”

1. Not pleased. The report was critical of factory conditions.

2. Serious. He was in critical condition after the accident.

3. Important. The president’s support is critical to the success of the project.

4. Giving opinions, making judgments. The judge provided a critical analysis.

Why is critical thinking important?

Three goals for developing critical thinking

Cognitive skills – intellectual traits that support critical thinking

Productive skills – how we speak or writeReceptive skills – how we read or listen

Cognitive skills

• intellectual humility (≠ arrogance) • intellectual courage (≠ cowardice) • intellectual empathy (≠ narrow-mindedness) • intellectual integrity (≠ hypocrisy) • intellectual perseverance (≠ laziness) • confidence in reason• fair-mindedness

For more:http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/valuable-intellectual-traits.cfm

Productive Skills

Goal: enable our students to express their (well-researched) opinions confidently and courteously.

Context: speaking or writing classes

Receptive Skills

Goal: Enable students to process information critically

Four subskills: assessing the source recognizing the author’s purpose understanding tone and persuasive elements recognizing bias

Context: reading or listening classes

Productive Skills

Standards for critical thinking: Clarity Accuracy Precision Relevance Depth Breadth Logic Fairness

http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/universal-intellectual-standards.cfm

Productive Skills

Class activities Mini-debates Journal or composition prompts

Mini-debate

“Bananas are better than mangoes.”Improve this statement. Make it more precise,

clear, accurate, deep, broad, fair

Bananas have more potassium than mangoes.

(422 mg vs 323 mg)

Bananas are more nutritious than mangoes.

(But mangoes have more Vitamin A & C…)

Bananas are easier to eat than mangoes.

(demonstrate)

Bananas are cheaper than mangoes.

(in the US: 20-30 cents each vs 75 to 150 cents)

Mini-debate

“Bananas are better than mangoes.”

A banana will fill you up more than a mango.

(Needs to be more precise: what size, how many calories.)

Bananas are better for the environment (or the economy) than mangoes.

(Needs support; facts about farming, processing, employment )

I like the taste of bananas better than mangoes.

(OK, personal opinion about preference)

Mini-debate

Other examples:

“The lottery should be abolished.”

“Non-native speakers make the best EFL teachers”

“The university entrance exam system is unfair.”

• Of interest to students• Strong arguments on all sides.• Within the range of Ss’ language proficiency

Mini-debate

Variations in procedures: Make it a team activity

One person, one statement, + supporting research Team presents to class Classmates rate team according to critical thinking

standards Ask students to prepare for both sides of an issue

fairness and the ability to see from multiple perspectives.

Productive Skills

Journal or composition prompts

Detailed questions help students think with more breadth and depth

“What do you wish for your future?”

Typically, Ss just write a few disconnected sentences about having a good job or a happy life.

Journal or composition prompts

“What do you wish for your future?” What areas in people's lives are within their control? What

areas in their lives are they powerless to control? How do decisions made when people are young affect their lives later on? When should you set future goals? What different types of goals do you have for yourself? Which are most important to you? How would you go about attaining them? Which depend on you alone, and which on others? How does your family affect the goals you set? How many of the goals that you set are material goals? How many are spiritual?

Journal or composition prompts

“Who is your hero?”

Who is one of your heroes? What exactly do you admire about him or her? How did he or she acquire those traits? How do you know this person is as you think? What do those who don't admire this person say? Why do they think so? How do they know? How could you find out which is right? Along with the things you admire, is there something about this person that you don't think you should emulate? What? Why?

http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/k12/TRK12-remodelled-lesson-6-9.cfm

Receptive Skills

Key questions for critical reading/listening Is the source trustworthy or not? What is the author’s purpose? What is the tone? What persuasive elements are

included? What bias might there be?

Also: recognizing logic, reading statistics, understanding fallacies, etc.

Receptive Skills

Class activities Reading – focus on sources Reading – focus on bias

Reading – focus on sources

“Flu vaccine”

Read these two texts. Which one are you more likely to trust? Why?

(1) A website hosted by Scott Thurston, an individual who believes that individual rights are more important than the government. The site also sells vitamin supplements.

(2) The website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, an agency of the U.S. federal government.

Reading – focus on bias

Choose a topic where there are several legitimate points of view. Ex: the best way forward after a country has experienced ethnic

hostility or civil war. Examples: Germany after the defeat of the Nazis, South Africa after the end of apartheid, Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge, Serbs and Albanians after the Kosovo war.

The different points of view include:The best way forward is

(1) a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (2) a court to prosecute war crimes (3) simply forgetting the past

Reading – focus on bias

Give students several texts that support one of these positions and give questions to help them evaluate it in terms of purpose, tone, and bias.

Example• U.N. Press Release, quoting Kofi Annan• BBC news report, quoting Hun Sen• Extract from writings of Desmond Tutu

Reading – focus on bias

Variations in procedures: If students are busy, divide them into groups

One group gets one text Group presents findings to class Class decides on which position they agree with (or

whether they need more information to decide)

Reading – focus on bias

Variations in procedures: If students are advanced, ask them to find their own texts,

evaluating them in terms of: What is the goal of the text? How could the goal have influenced what is written? Who has written the text? How could the person’s background have influenced what they wrote? What is the tone of the text? What words make it neutral or push it in a certain direction?

For even more questions to approach the text(s) with, see:http://ollie.dcccd.edu/services/studyhelp/studyskills/sub/rdgcri.htm

http://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/llt/clt/ChalkTalk/Documents/V5Issue1.pdf

Questions and Answers

Resources

http://www.criticalthinking.org

This site is sponsored by The Foundation for Critical Thinking, a non-profit organization devoted to research, books, and conferences related to critical thinking. It has many free articles of value to elementary, secondary, and university level instructors.

http://austhink.com/critical/

This directory of online resources is sponsored by an Australian software company. It’s a place to look for links to resources related to understanding statistics, fallacies, biases, blind spots, critical reading, critical writing, and more.

kitty.purgason@biola.edu

http://tesolresourcesfromkittyindonesia.pbworks.com