Critical Thinking In EAP: A Brief Guide For Teachers
Critical thinking inEAP: a brief guidefor teachersPart of the Cambridge Papers in ELT seriesMay 2019CONTENTS2Executive Summary3Introduction4Why is critical thinking important?5Approaches to critical thinking7Some FAQs about critical thinking9Implementing critical thinking in EAP14Five characteristics of a critical-thinking classroom in EAP16Assessing critical thinking in EAP17Some suggested activities for teachingcritical thinking in EAP18Suggestions for further reading19Bibliography
Executive Summary Critical thinking is as essential in 21st-centuryworkplaces as it is in the 21st-century university.English for Academic Purposes (EAP), whichaims to prepare students to study in Englishmedium universities, must address students’ability to use English critically so that theycan participate effectively in tertiary study. EAP students need to develop both critical thinkingskills, and a disposition towards critical thinking. Critical thinking in EAP is realised in twoways: thinking about the language (analysinghow English is used to express ideas); andthinking through the language (participatingactively in using the language to exploreand present ideas and arguments). Although the genres used to express criticalthinking tend to be culture-specific anddiscipline-specific, critical thinking is basicallya universal skill. EAP students need to furtherdevelop their critical thinking skills, and learnhow to participate in a range of academicgenres as both readers and writers. Criticalthinking and academic language learning gohand in hand: they are mutually supportive. Teachers can use a wide range of thinkingtools to help their students develop criticalthinking skills and dispositions. In particular,Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills is auseful framework to assist EAP teachers toincorporate critical thinking into their classes.2 Although teachers may face barriers toteaching critical thinking, there are ways toovercome these barriers. The paper also givessuggestions for how to assess critical thinkingin EAP and proposes a number of activities tostimulate critical thinking in EAP classrooms.
IntroductionEAP aims to prepare students for the language andlearning demands of study in higher education. Crucialamong these demands is the need for critical thinking.Universities worldwide include critical thinkingprominently among the graduate attributes that theyaim to engender. However, critical thinking is not aclearly defined concept and many teachers are unsurehow to operationalise it in their classrooms (Li 2016).Ennis (2015, p.32) gives an often-cited definition:‘Critical thinking is reasonable,reflective thinking that is focusedon deciding what to believe or do’Similarly, Vardi (2013, p.1) proposes that critical thinking is:constructively in social life – which involves decisionmaking at both a personal and professional level. Forexample, an engineer may need to decide how widethe span of a bridge should be; a teacher may need todecide how best to present a new concept to the class;an accountant may need to decide how to present thefinancial situation of a company most usefully. Whether asworkers, as citizens, or as members of communities andfamilies, critical thinking helps us to make sound decisions.Whether as workers, as citizens,or as members of communitiesand families, critical thinking helpsus to make sound decisions.Higher education aims to empower graduates to makecontext-sensitive, ethical, well-informed decisions in theirfield of expertise, as well as in everyday life. One of the rolesof EAP teachers is therefore to prepare students to becomeactive critical thinkers as they embark on their tertiary study‘ a process of reasoning aimedat coming to a sound, justifiabledecision, conclusion or judgement’.These definitions fit well with the broad aim of highereducation – to prepare graduates to participate3
Why is critical thinkingimportant?Critical thinking has long been a goal of higher education,but the imperative for critical thinking has become morepressing in modern times due to a number of factors:Globalisation means that we encounter many different waysof thinking, and different value systems, on a daily basis.We are challenged constantly to decide how to positionourselves in an increasingly complex and dynamic world.The information revolution means that knowledgeis now at our fingertips, but how reliable is all ofthe information that we can access so readily?Modernity comes with rapid change. Informationis constantly being overtaken by new research thatchallenges us to accept or decline new practices andadapt dynamically to new ways of thinking and working.Technology and connectivity is bringing new waysof constructing, presenting and sharing knowledge,and increases the pace of change in our private livesas well as in our working lives. Artificial intelligence ischanging the nature of work and requiring practitionersto be ever more inventive and digitally creative.4The skills that are now needed – ‘21st-century skills’ such ascreative thinking, resilience, flexibility, communication,collaboration, ethical judgement, and digital literacy – areall deeply connected with critical thinking.The skills that are now needed – ‘21stcentury skills’ such as creative thinking,resilience, flexibility, communication,collaboration, ethical judgement,and digital literacy – are all deeplyconnected with critical thinking.*(See The Cambridge Life Competencies c)These are the skills that are increasingly valued byemployers (World Economic Forum 2018) and also inhigher education. EAP teachers can lay the groundworkfor their students to succeed in such an environment.
Approaches tocritical thinkingIn particular, teachers can use Bloom’s framework toenhance their use of questions in the classroom (Defianty& Wilson 2019) as a basis for task creation in the fourmacro skills, and as a basis for assessment rubrics.hecreateH igCritical thinking has been approached through manydifferent lenses: for example, as logic, as argumentation,as ‘reflective thinking’ and as metacognition (thinkingabout thinking). Among the plethora of approaches tocritical thinking, Davies and Barnett (2015) have identifiedthree main threads, which can be summarised as:rr-or thevaluateink critical thinking as dispositionsde critical thinking as reflective thinking skillsingrr-or thunderstanddeinkingll sremembersk iFurther, higher-order thinking enables students to apply,analyse and evaluate information, and on this basis toreason and to create new ideas and knowledge. Bloom’staxonomy, and the thinking verbs associated with eachskill, can provide EAP teachers with a ‘toolkit’ to supporttheir incorporation of critical thinking into their classrooms.weThe most widely used framework for thinking skills isBloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills (Bloom 1956). Theseskills are commonly represented as a pyramid, withunderstanding and remembering as the foundation.Critical thinking cannot exist in a vacuum, so accessing andunderstanding content – sound and reliable knowledgeabout a particular topic – is essential. This is the firstchallenge for non-native speakers when reading.applyLoCritical thinking as reflectivethinking skillsll sanalysesk i critical thinking as critical pedagogy.createsynthesise, design, composeevaluateassess advantages and flaws, prioritise, choose, justifyanalyseexplain, examine, deconstruct, identifyassumptions and implicationsapplycompare/contrast, exemplify, classify, solve, illustrateunderstanddescribe, translate, distinguish fact and opinion, remember,identify main ideas, eg. stated reasons, causes, problemsrememberretell, summariseFigure 1: Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills5
Approaches to critical thinkingCritical thinking as dispositionsCritical thinking as critical pedagogyThe literature on critical thinking insists that students needmore than skills: they need to understand the value ofcritical thinking and have an interest in and enthusiasmfor applying it. While the skills of critical thinking can beexpressly taught, dispositions need to be modelled andnurtured so that students increasingly adopt an identityas critical thinkers. Students can be better motivated toparticipate in critical thinking on topics that they can relateto and if they are given adequate scaffolding. This will allowthem to experience the intrinsic rewards of critical thinking.Some authors on critical thinking in EAP, such as Pennycook(1997) and Benesch (2009), have argued that criticalthinking involves analysing and resisting the effects ofpower and oppression in society. These authors oftenview critical thinking through the lens of paradigmssuch as feminism, neocolonialism and neoliberalism.EAP teachers need to be aware of the cultural andreligious contexts in which they are working and to besensitive in these areas. Nevertheless, it is arguably theresponsibility of EAP teachers to push their students tothink and question beyond their comfort zone, and toengage with issues in the modern world (Wallace 2003).Students can be better motivatedto participate in critical thinking ontopics that they can relate to and ifthey are given adequate scaffolding.This will allow them to experience theintrinsic rewards of critical thinking.The characteristics of critical thinkersinclude:6 a desire to be well-informed curiosity open-mindedness tolerance of ambiguity integrity (taking an ethical position) respect for alternative viewpoints creativity responsibility.It is arguably the responsibilityof EAP teachers to push theirstudents to think and questionbeyond their comfort zone, andto engage with issues in themodern world (Wallace 2003).
Some FAQs aboutcritical thinkingIs critical thinking culture-specific?Some authors, such as Ballard and Clanchy (1988) and Atkinson (1997), have argued that critical thinking is a particularlyWestern concept, unfamiliar to many international students in Anglophone universities. However, Bloom’s thinking skillsare universal skills that can be applied by all human beings. Increasingly, these are skills that are valued in educationsystems worldwide (Li 2016). What varies across socio-historical contexts is the extent to which these skills are overtlyprivileged in education (Bali 2015), and the culturally-specific genres which are used to embody critical thinking. In somereligious and political contexts, critical thinking may be strongly encouraged, yet the topics available for discussion maybe proscribed. EAP teachers need to be sensitive to such constraints.Is critical thinking discipline-specific?Some authors, such as McPeck (1981), have argued that critical thinking is not transferable between disciplines. Others,such as Moore (2011), confirm that critical thinking skills are generalisable, although they emerge differently in differentdisciplines. For example, disciplines vary in terms of: what kind of questions are asked how arguments are presented what is valued as evidence how sources are incorporated how authorial voice is expressed.Science, for example, which is characteristically focused on cause and effect (‘What leads to what?’), used to be taughtas ‘facts’ and written up in a totally objective voice. This tradition is beginning to change and authors can now take amore prominent position in some scientific texts. At university, science students need to be aware that knowledge israpidly developing and that ‘facts’ are open to challenge. An alert, questioning mind is essential.Helping students to identify ways of ‘doing’ critical thinking in differentdisciplines is one way to foster a critical thinking mindset.7
Some FAQs about critical thinkingIs critical thinking teachable?If critical thinking is a matter of ‘dispositions’, it could be argued that critical thinking is a personal quality that cannotbe taught – perhaps critical thinkers are born, not made. However, Bloom’s framework and numerous other ‘tools’ ofcritical thinking make it possible to expressly teach critical thinking practices. For example, in teaching students about aparticular genre of academic writing, we can empower students with a useful tool or format for critical thinking. A note ofcaution: if teachers present such critical thinking tools as a set of simple ‘rules’ or ‘recipes’, they risk reifying the rules andlimiting thinking rather than enabling it.Harwood and Hadley (2004) argue that the balance between skills and dispositions can be achieved by taking anapproach they call ‘critical pragmatism’, using the tools of critical thinking, such as genre analysis, to realise a critical,reflective position.Other tools of critical thinking which can be useful in EAP include: de Bono’s six thinking hats Luke’s ‘four resources’ for critical literacy (Luke 2000) argument mapping (for example, Dwyer et al. 2014) debating (for example, Wilson & Maldoni 2008) Nosich’s SEE-I (State, Elaborate, Exemplify, Illustrate) (Nosich 2009) Project Zero’s ‘thinking routines’ and visible thinking tools (Project Zero 2016).Does critical thinking apply only at more advanced levels?EAP classes take place in many different contexts, from high school classrooms through to language support fordoctoral students. At every level, critical thinking is essential. Students are usually aware of this, but need overtinstruction so that they can see how to apply it (Manalo et al. 2015).8
Implementing criticalthinking in EAPCritical thinking is essential to teaching EAP not onlybecause the goal of EAP is to prepare students forhigher education, but also because critical thinkinghas been shown to improve language learning anduse, that is, to enhance meaning-making (Bagheri2015; Yang & Gamble 2013). In fact, language skillsand thinking skills are mutually reinforcing.LINGUISTIC POSSIBLE CRITICALLEVELTHINKING QUESTIONSVocabularyHow do close synonyms compare in meaning?What is the implication ofparticular word choices?Critical thinking should be woven through every lesson andevery activity in EAP as part of the fabric of what we do.Critical thinking can be applied in EAP, both in termsof thinking about the language itself and in usingthe language as a medium for thinking about othercontent, i.e. thinking through the language.Which words would you choosefor a different audience?Sentence-levelgrammarA useful way of thinking aboutlanguage development in EAP is tothink of our students as languageexplorers, delving into how academiclanguage is used and for what purpose.How are particular grammaticalstructures applied in this text – for whatpurpose and with what effect?What other grammatical choices areavailable? Can you justify the use ofthis particular grammatical form?Thinking ABOUT the languageA useful way of thinking about language developmentin EAP is to think of our students as language explorers,delving into how academic language is used and forwhat purpose. Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills canbe used to explore academic English at multiple levels:Can you explain the meaning andconnotations of particular words?Can you compare the use of grammaticalforms in different disciplines and differentgenres and explain their purpose?DiscourseCan you analyse how this text isstructured and explain why?How do similar genres compareacross and within disciplines?How are citations used to synthesiseideas in different disciplines?How would you evaluate theevidence that is used in this text?How would you evaluate thearguments presented in this text?Table 1: Applying Bloom’s taxonomy ofthinking skills to analyse text in EAP9
Implementing critical thinking in EAPThinking THROUGH the languageCritical thinking – and academic language – cannotbe taught without content. While the languageitself is one form of content, students need toput their skills and dispositions into practicein a variety of content-rich contexts.Students need to put their skillsand dispositions into practice in avariety of content-rich contexts.As students are often grouped in heterogeneous classesof mixed academic aspirations, choosing content canpose challenges for EAP teachers: Which topics? Whichdisciplines? Which genres? EAP textbooks usually solvethis conundrum by tackling a wide range of generalcontent material, using a variety of texts drawn from radiobroadcasts and magazine articles, for example. While suchtexts can afford opportunities for critical reflection, theydo not offer the most appropriate models of academicdiscourse. So, at more advanced levels of EAP, studentsneed to be challenged with authentic academic sources,such as journal articles and textbook chapters, and beexpected to write within the expectations of their chosendisciplines. Examples of authentic student writing areparticularly useful as models of embodied critical thinking.Students will be motivated and engaged by topics whichare close to their interests and meaningful in their lives, soit is good to encourage them to choose their own material(even if they select material which is very challenging).Students will be motivatedand engaged by topics whichare close to their interests andmeaningful in their lives.10
Implementing critical thinking in EAPCritical thinking in academicreading and listeningCritical thinking in reading and listening can beunderstood as a three-stage process, though thesestages are not necessarily discrete or linear.Understanding textAt the most basic level, students need encouragementto listen carefully to what the text is saying. This in itselfis a huge challenge for non-native speakers faced withacademic texts. EAP teachers are keenly aware of thischallenge, but the ability to read with understanding can betaken for granted by university lecturers (and our studentswill not have us by their side to help them in the future). Ourstudents also need plenty of practice and advice in knowingwhat to read, how to locate appropriate and reliable sources,and how to sift through the myriad of available material forthe most suitable texts to use for their academic purposes.Engaging with textEAP teachers also need to encourage their students toengage critically with the author’s meanings: relatingthe author’s text to what they already know, evaluatingthe author’s arguments, and potentially making shiftsin their own position. Teachers need to challenge theirstudents to participate in active dialogue with the text:asking questions of the text, making links, examining theauthor’s reasoning and probing the author’s viewpoint.Externalising from textFinally, an important and sometimes overlooked part ofthe critical reading or listening process is to externalisemeanings from the text. By voicing and reflecting ontheir understandings from the text (perhaps in writing,in speaking with others, in making notes, or merely inwhat Vygotsky (1987) calls ‘inner speech’) students canbegin to participate in the discourse of their ALISINGFROMTEXTAPPROPRIATIONFigure 2: A model of critical thinking in EAP readingU N D E R S TA N D I N G T E X TReading for understandingWorking hard to ‘hear’ the author’s arguments and points of viewENGAGING WITH TE X TRelating meanings to other texts and your own prior knowledgeListening for bias, assumption, stance, inferenceConstructing and ‘owning’ new meaningsExamining previously-held viewsConsidering implicationsEXTERNALISING FROM TEXTMaking notes – including both summaries and reflectionsTalking/writing about the textsUsing the text to present your own positionSynthesising from a range of textsThroughout this critical reading process, students arelearning to appropriate academic language, as wellas to extend their own understanding of the topic.11
Implementing critical thinking in EAPCritical thinking in academicwriting and speakingThe ability to express ideas and arguments clearly,logically and reflectively is a fundamental aspect ofcritical thinking. It is through writing and speaking thatst
Critical thinking has been approached through many different lenses: for example, as logic, as argumentation, as ‘reflective thinking’ and as metacognition (thinking about thinking). Among the plethora of approaches to critical thinking, Davies and Barnett (2015) have identified three main threads, which can be summarised as:
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Critical Thinking Skills vs. Critical Thinking Disposition Critical Thinking Skills are the cognitive processes that are involved in critical thinking Critical Thinking Disposition is the attitudes, habits of mind or internal motivations that help us use critical thinking skills.
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