خلاصة:
This experimental study examined the effect of critical thinking skills on reading English novels and its influence on EFL learners reading proficiency. For the purpose of this study participants in addition to their text book read and received instructions on the unabridged short novels for one semester. Sixty Iranian EFL junior undergraduates participated in this study and were randomly divided to two groups of thirty each. To test the hypothesis, two independent t-tests were conducted to see the difference between the two groups. The results of the study showed that students in group A were more critically oriented than their counterparts in group B. The pedagogical implication of this study suggests that direct instruction in critical thinking has an impact on EFL learners’ reading proficiency. This article is intended to help teachers who are interested in developing and encouraging critical thinking in their language classrooms. EFL learners need to learn how to establish realistic goals, monitor their own learning and reflect and challenge their own attitudes so that they may get closer to the idea of being good language learners. The findings of this study revealed that there was a significant improvement in students’ attitudes, confidence, and interest especially, in their novel-reading ability.
ملخص الجهاز:
"com Abstract This experimental study examined the effect of critical thinking skills on reading English novels and its influence on EFL learners reading proficiency.
Critical thinking in the EFL classroom The EFL/ESL situation is a key challenge for teaching in how to engage students with the study of "how texts work" semiotically and linguistically (Luke, Comber & O’Brien, 1996), while at the same time taking up explicitly how texts and their affiliated social institutions work politically to construct and position writers and readers in relations of power and/or lack of knowledge (as cited in Emmit & Wilson, 2005, p.
Critical thinking is generally considered a core competence for university students, of whatever discipline, and so it is often included in General Education courses, including classes in English, and is normally required in the first two years of undergraduate studies to develop students’ personalities.
Research question This study was designed to answer the following research question: Is there a significant difference in reading proficiency between students in group A and group B following direct, explicit instruction in critical thinking skills?
Since the instructor wanted to base the course on the students’ situation and understanding of the course (Shor, 1992), the students in (group A) were invited to pose questions about the readings which could help them to critically analyze aspects of texts such as ideas expressed or reported by the author and the way the passage had been written."