Assessing Teachers’ Perceptions of Using Criticality-Enhancing English Language Materials inside EFL Classes

Explicit teaching may provide great opportunities for critical thinking to flourish. This paper examines the degree to which the need for developing such a critical view of language learning among English as Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) teachers is rigorously felt and is taken into consideration. To this end, a researcher-made inventory, namely Criticality-oriented English Teaching Perceptions Inventory (CEPTI), was distributed among ۱۵۰ EFL teachers. The results of the questionnaire and follow-up face-to-face interviews indicated that teachers were still not ready for a change towards explicit teaching of criticality-oriented skills inside the English language classes. Subsequent to assessing teachers’ perceptions, Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Form A (WGCTA-FA) was given to a total number of ۱۰۰ EFL learners. Findings revealed that learners did not score high on the WGCTA. The pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.

Keywords:

critical thinking instruction , CEPTI , WGCTA-FA