Teaching critical thinking in the language learning process

Abstract

When teaching English, the main focus of teachers is on the development of four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. While these are important skills for students, it is essential to equip them with 21st century skills - critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. All of this can be smoothly developed at the English lesson. Critical thinking can be introduced with effective questioning. Students often have difficulty understanding the nuances of the question and are unable to answer correctly. Words: explain, discuss, develop, comment and describe are just some of the guidelines that require answers from different angles. It is necessary to ask both factual and extrapolative and descriptive questions based on the development, analysis, evaluation, creation and development of Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) - remembering, understanding, using and higher Order thinking Skills (HOTS. It must be fair to say that critical thinking is important in several ways. Primarily it helps students to observe an object (fact, person, data) from different angles, like, an artist making sketches of a model from different angles, observing every detail, discovering new items in each new angle. This forces them to step out of their comfort zone and question their preconceived notions about the object (even those misconceptions based on their prior knowledge) and become better informed ones. Critical thinking also affects students' personal skills. By thinking critically and looking at the issue from different angles, students become more open-minded and empathetic, sociable, more collaborative with peers, and they accept and discuss their ideas. If we think of students as individuals, it can be said that critical thinking helps them develop their creative side, allowing their thinking process to run more freely and explore more opportunities. This makes them better decision makers, which will help them save time in making these decisions.