چکیده:
Due to the potent role of critical thinking in learners’ academic success and its connection with factors conducive to learning such as argumentation ability, the present study seeks to primarily probe the correlation between Iranian EFL learners’ critical thinking ability and their argumentative writing achievement, and investigate the predictability of the students’ argumentative writing achievement based on their scores on critical thinking scale. Furthermore, the effect of gender on Iranian EFL learners’ argumentative writing achievement was investigated. In so doing, 'Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal' (2002) as well as an argumentative writing assignment was employed, and the participants of the study included 178 EFL learners in three universities in Mashhad, Iran. Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to analyze the data. The results substantiated the positive correlation between critical thinking ability and argumentative writing revealing that these two variables significantly and positively related to each other; among the predictors (subscales of the critical thinking) of argumentative writing, inference, assumptions, arguments were the stronger predictors. Finally, gender was not found to significantly affect Iranian EFL learners’ argumentative writing achievement. The conclusions and implications of this study are pointed out with reference to foreign language teaching context.
خلاصه ماشینی:
In so doing, 'Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal' (2002) as well as an argumentative writing assignment was employed, and the participants of the study included 178 EFL learners in three universities in Mashhad, Iran.
Key words: Argumentative writing; Critical thinking; EFL university students; Gender Introduction Despite the fact that there is consensus among theorists and educators about the interrelatedness of the development of languages and thinking skills in educational settings, language learning and thinking skills are often regarded as independent processes (Miraman, & Tishman, 1988; Suhor, 1984).
Academically, argumentative writing helps students acquire knowledge (Driver, Newton, & Osborne, 2000; Schwarz, Neuman, Gil & Iiya, 2003; Zohar & Nemet, 2002), improves scientific thinking skills (Shanahan, 2004), and fosters comprehension of history and social studies (De La Paz, 2005; Wiley & Voss, 1999).
Aiming to reach advanced skills in writing, college students need to develop their critical thinking skills, which according to Simpson and Courtney (2002) requires active argumentation, contingency-related value judgments, reasoning, envisioning, and analysis of complex alternatives.
It is now time for the education system in Iran to put less emphasis on the memorization and recalling of information (Hashemi, Naderi, Shariatmadari, Seif Naraghi, & Mehrabi, 2010; Maftoon, 2002) and to adopt new methods of teaching, most specifically through explicit instruction and hands-on approach that would enhance students’ intellectual abilities and prepare them to deal with complex tasks involving complex thinking along with critically evaluating their own arguments and reasoning which are necessary for self- regulated learning and coping with the demands of today’s world.