UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES IN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

Autores/as

  • Suong Ngoc Thi Lu School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Vietnam
  • Huan Buu Nguyen School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v7i4.4417

Palabras clave:

critical thinking skills, teachers’ perceptions, argumentative essay writing

Resumo

Research into critical thinking has witnessed its role in students’ foreign language learning, including English. Of components contributing to students’ critical thinking development, teachers are the ones who engage students in thinking about or making judgment of what they are doing in their learning process. As critical thinking and language skills are known as intertwined, argumentative essays allow students to reflect on their own writing. However, research on teachers’ perceptions and practices of the interplay between students’ critical thinking and argumentative essays is still meagre. This paper, therefore, examines this area of interest. Data collected in this study include a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Participants were 85 teachers at a university in the Mekong delta, and six participated in the interview process. The findings reveal that teachers’ perceptions of students’ critical thinking regarding interpreting, analysing, inferencing, evaluating and self-regulating were at a high level. Debates and group discussions were the two activities teachers used most in writing classes. Recommendations from this study may offer some pedagogical implications for  the implementation of critical thinking to hone students’ argumentative essay writing.

 

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Biografías do autor/a

  • Suong Ngoc Thi Lu, School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Vietnam

    Suong Ngoc Thi Lu is currently a teacher of English at a foreign language center in Can Tho, Vietnam. Her target learners are adults and young learners. Her research interests include teachers’ beliefs, speaking and writing strategies and teaching methodologies.

  • Huan Buu Nguyen, School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Vietnam

    Huan Buu Nguyen is an Associate Professor, School of Foreign Language, Can Tho University, Vietnam. His research interests include teachers’ beliefs, teacher change, ESP, and action research.

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Publicada

2022-08-18

Número

Vol. 7 Núm. 4 (2022)

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Articles

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