EFL TEACHERS’ CONCEPTUALIZATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES OF CRITICAL THINKING

Abstract

The structure of societies has been changing with the rapid progress of science andtechnology in the 21st century. In this new structuring era, education is the only validmethod to raise individuals who are able to make effective decisions, solve problems and takeresponsibility for learning and thinking critically. For this reason, learning to think rationallyand critically are the keys to educational reforms in a number of educational settingsworldwide. In the literature about teaching critical thinking, teacher behaviors are regardedas the most influential variables for the development of critical thinking among students.However, teachers can implement instruction geared towards critical thinking only when theydevelop a conception of critical thinking. This qualitative study, conducted with five EFLteachers at a high school, aims at investigating in-service EFL teachers’ conceptualizations ofcritical thinking as well as the strategies they use to infuse critical thinking into their EFLcourses. The findings indicate that participating teachers have adequate knowledge aboutcritical thinking and they incorporate certain techniques to cultivate critical thinking amonglanguage learners. We recommend that there should be more focus on exploring criticalthinking conceptions and practice among EFL teachers working at different levels.