International Journal of New Developments in Education, 2023, 5(14); doi: 10.25236/IJNDE.2023.051406.
Zhi Lin, Xiaoyu Xia
Institute of Foreign Languages, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China
Enhancing the all-around competencies of students has become one of the essentials for teachers of students majoring in English. As one of the most fundamental indicators of such competencies, critical thinking is overlooked due to the influence of examination-oriented education systems. To improve the competitive edge of English majors, it is necessary for instructors to reconsider ways of fostering critical thinking skills in English classrooms and modify their instructional strategies accordingly. This paper explores specific procedures to cultivate the critical thinking skills of students by using the teaching design of one session on the American value of freedom in “American Society and Culture” as an example. A review of students’ reflective writings demonstrates that, by integrating critical thinking into language teaching, instructors can enable students to think critically about the different facets of the value of freedom, thereby implicitly achieving value-based education. Feedback on the implementation of this course design has been overwhelmingly positive. By strengthening value guidance for students, this model meets its major objectives of enhancing their language competence, cultural sensitivity, and critical thinking skills.
Critical Thinking, Teaching Design, Value-based Education, American Society and Culture
Zhi Lin, Xiaoyu Xia. Unveiling a Pedagogical Approach: Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills among English Majors through an Exemplary Analysis of American Society and Culture. International Journal of New Developments in Education (2023) Vol. 5, Issue 14: 28-35. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJNDE.2023.051406.
[1] Dewey, J. (1909) Moral Principles in Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 48.
[2] Ennis, R. H. (1962) A Concept of Critical Thinking. Harvard Educational Review, 32, 81-111.
[3] Paul, R. (1991) Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Changing World. NASSP Bulletin, 75, 120
[4] The National Research Council. (1995) National Science Education Standards. National Academy Press. 210-225.
[5] Huang, CY. (2010) Strengthening Critical Thinking, Cultivating Creative Talents. Educational Research, 5, 69-74.
[6] Zhu, ZX., and Lin, CD. (2002) Psychology of Thinking Development. Beijing Normal University Press.
[7] Lin, CD., and Li QA. (2005) Characteristics of Physiological and Mental Development of Adolescents. Journal of Beijing Normal University (Social Sciences), 1, 48-56.
[8] Vurdelja, I. (2020) Dialectical Thinking, Adult Development and Leadership. Emerald Publishing Limited, 217-240.
[9] He, K. (1997) Constructivist teaching mode, methods, and design. Journal of Beijing Normal University (Social Sciences Edition). 5, 8.
[10] Sun, Y. (2019) The principles of critical English teaching. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 51, 825-837+959.
[11] Zhang, X. (2012) Construction and practice of a multidimensional evaluation system for university English teaching. Overseas English, 16, 51-52.
[12] Shen, J., and Liu, J. (2004) On teacher’s reflective teaching. Journal of East China Normal University (Educational Sciences Edition), 3, 44-49.
[13] Paul, R., and Elder, L. (2007) Critical thinking competency standards. Essential for the Cultivation of Intellectual Skills, Part 1. Journal of Developmental Education, 34, 38-39.
[14] Ritchhart, R., Church, M. and Morrison, K. (2011) Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. Jossey-Bass, 65, 320.