Integrating Critical Thinking into EFL Classrooms
By Davy Long, ACE Teacher

The 15th Annual CamTESOL Conference on English Language Teaching, an initiative of IDP Education, welcomed 1,700 delegates from 34 countries to the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) in February 2019. Every year CamTESOL brings together teachers of English, teacher trainers, researchers in the fields of ELT and linguistics, administrators of English language schools and universities, educators with an interest in international language education, ELT-related individuals and institutions, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) representatives, and international experts and researchers who wish to network within the ELT community in Southeast Asia.

Two ACE teachers, Channea Tom and Davy Long, delivered a 30-minute workshop at CamTESOL 2019. Our session aimed to share our experiences of teaching grammar in a dynamic way to young learners and adults through incorporating two elements of critical thinking in grammar lessons.

What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is the ability to explore alternatives (Brookfield, 1987). It involves gathering a variety of information and considering it carefully before making a judgment or forming a conclusion. Critical thinking also involves thinking as freely as possible from bias and prejudice (Haskins, 2006).

Why include critical thinking in EFL classrooms?
Critical thinking is an essential skill in our professional and personal lives. In the EFL classroom, students should practice clear thinking and use their experiences and imagination to analyse and produce functional language. They will internalise the language as a result of this process, rather than merely memorising it. According to Debela & Fang (2008), critical thinking can be learned and taught. So, teachers should foster this skill in their classrooms.

How to integrate critical thinking into teaching grammar
Critical thinking involves four common features:

1. Observing
2. Understanding
3. Analysing
4. Synthesising

First, students are exposed to relevant materials and are given the opportunity to explore them. They can then take a closer look at contributing factors from different perspectives of the subject matter, which leads them, in turn, to be able to form a more balanced opinion. Critical thinking requires active and interactive learning, and therefore, students are encouraged to identify and compare underlying factors, consider various points of view and make predictions.

In our workshop, we presented these two steps using two techniques: photographs and text-based materials.

First, we zoomed in on photographs to display only certain mysterious parts, which could not be easily identified. Participants were given clues as to the nature of the whole image, and then discussed the image in pairs or groups to decide what it showed. This enabled them to listen to and consider their peers’ opinions. As a result, participants were more likely to make informed predictions and, at the same time, produce the target language. This process can be used to teach modal verbs and adverbs of certainty.

What do you think each image below shows? Give reasons for your predictions.
A. B. C.

Second, we used photographs as prompts. This technique is helpful when teaching “will”, “there is” and “there are”, prepositions, and the present and past continuous tenses, among other grammar points. We showed an image to participants and asked them to write down predictions as to what it showed either individually or in pairs. When eliciting their answers, we encouraged them to give reasons for their predictions. This enabled participants to listen to other possibilities beyond their own predictions. We then showed them the answers.

Teacher: What is John doing?
Student: He is making a sandwich because he is slicing bread.
He is eating his breakfast and watching cartoons.

What do you think John is doing?

We used text-based materials as part of an inductive approach. Our language focus was the past perfect tense. There were three steps: (1) start the lesson with induction to deduction, (2) encourage participants to notice the target language, and (3) engage participants’ critical thinking and analysis skills. We used a short story and a situation-based sentence. Our aims were to establish a context and immerse participants in an imaginary situation to learn the grammar point itself. Using critical thinking and analysis, participants were able to produce the correct target language.