Critical Thinking provides language teachers with a dynamic framework for encouraging critical thinking skills in explicit, systematic ways during their lessons.
With the proliferation of fallacious arguments, "fake news," and untrustworthy sources in today's multimedia landscape, critical thinking skills are vital not only in one’s native language, but also when engaged in the task of language learning. Written with the language teacher in mind, this book provides a springboard for teaching critical thinking skills in multicultural, multilingual classrooms. Suitable for graduate students, in-training teachers, and language curriculum developers interested in purposeful applications of critical thinking pedagogy for the second-language classroom, this volume presents classroom activities, suggestions for lesson planning, and ideas for researching the impact of critical thinking activities with second-language learners.
This book is ideal as an invaluable resource for teacher-directed classroom investigations as well as graduate dissertation projects.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I From Research to Implications
Introduction - What is Critical Thinking?
A. Common Questions about Critical Thinking in English Language Teaching
A.1 I’m a language teacher. Why should I be concerned about teaching critical thinking?
A.2 Isn’t critical thinking something best taught in the students’ first language?
A.3 My students are so unmotivated: How could ever I get them to study critical thinking?
A.4 Isn’t critical thinking something that students pick up on their own as part of getting a good education?
A.5 Aren’t we just forcing our students to adopt Western styles of thinking?
A.6 Do you really need a book on critical thinking in ELT?
B. Focusing on Critical Thinking
B.1 Argumentation
B.2 Logical fallacies
B.3 Externalizing critical thinking through problem-solving
C. Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to second language learners
D. Implications
Part II From Implications to Application
Introduction
Section 1: The Critical Thinking Cycle
A. Developing Dispositions
Activity 1: Prove it!
Activity 2: Supporting opinions: The ‘why’ game
Activity 3: Challenging beliefs
Activity 4: Create a profile: Understanding biases
Activity 5: Bias in news headlines
B. Receiving
Activity 6: Paying attention
Activity 7: Show me you’re listening: Body language
Activity 8: Show me you’re listening II: Backchanneling
Activity 9: Picture what I’m saying
Activity 10: Listen. Don’t interrupt!
C. Reasoning
Activity 11: Categorize it!
Activity 12: Rank it!
Activity 13: Persuade me!
Activity 14: Spot the problem!
Activity 15: Sloppy sophistry
D. Responding
Activity 16: Reflecting
Activity 17: Summarize this
Activity 18: Critical conversations
Activity 19: Correct me!
Activity 20: The critical thinking cycle: A review
Section 2: Logical Fallacies
A. Logical Fallacies: An Introduction
Activity 21: Introduction to logical fallacies
B. Logical Fallacies: Faulty Conclusions
Non Sequitur
Activity 22: Does it follow?
Activity 23: Spot the non sequitur
Activity 24: Non sequiturs in politics
Probability Fallacy
Activity 25: How probable?
Activity 26: Drawing the conclusion
Activity 27: Fearmongering with probability
Begging the question
Activity 28: Which is the better reason?
Activity 29: Don’t beg the question!
Activity 30: To beg or raise the question
Post Hoc Fallacy
Activity 31: Does A cause B?
Activity 32: Fallacious connections
Activity 33: Correlation not causation
Hasty generalization
Activity 34: All students in this class…
Activity 35: Don’t be hasty!
Activity 36: Everyday generalizations
Single Cause Fallacy
Activity 37: Many causes
Activity 38: A popular restaurant
Activity 39: How many causes?
False Equivalence
Activity 40: Comparing apples to oranges
Activity 41: They’re not the same
Activity 42: Wronger than wrong
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Activity 43: What should they do?
Activity 44: Is it a good decision?
Activity 45: What would you do?
C. Logical fallacies: Questionable reasons
Ad Hominem
Activity 46: Don’t attack me!
Activity 47: Attack the argument!
Activity 48: Guilt by association
Red Herring
Activity 49: Avoiding the question
Activity 50: Don’t distract me!
Activity 51: Red herrings in politics
Circular Reasoning
Activity 52: Don’t go round in circles
Activity 53: You gotta do what you gotta do!
Activity 54: Is circular reasoning begging the question?
Straw Man
Activity 55: Don’t exaggerate!
Activity 56: Family arguments
Activity 57: Countering a straw man argument
Either/Or
Activity 58: The third option
Activity 59: Either A or B but what about C?
Activity 60: It’s not so black and white!
Stacking the Deck
Activity 61: Half the picture
Activity 62: The full picture
Activity 63: Fair play or stacking the deck?
Equivocation
Activity 64: Homonyms
Activity 65: Changing the meaning
Activity 66: Equivocation in politics
Appeal to Emotion
Activity 67: How does it make you feel?
Activity 68: Be afraid, be very afraid
Activity 69: So many emotions
D. Logical Fallacies: Mistaken Assumptions
Gambler’s Fallacy
Activity 70: Heads or tails?
Activity 71: Monte Carlo
Activity 72: What would you do (Part 2)?
Logical Paradox
Activity 73: Is it a contradiction?
Activity 74: The Abilene Paradox
Activity 75: What’s the paradox?
Unwarranted Assumptions
Activity 76: Is it warranted?
Activity 77: This morning’s assumptions
Activity 78: What have the Romans ever done for us?
Genetic Fallacy
Activity 79: Which is the better reason? (Part 2)
Activity 80: Who said it?
Activity 81: Origins
Common Belief Fallacy
Activity 82: True or false
Activity 83: Accept or reject
Activity 84: The things we believed
Slippery Slope Fallacy
Activity 85: Negative chains
Activity 86: Can I have a chocolate?
Activity 87: Countering slippery slope arguments
Ignorance Fallacy
Activity 88: Evidence of no evidence?
Activity 89: No evidence is no evidence!
Activity 90: No evidence is evidence!
Naturalistic Fallacy
Activity 91: Is it good for us?
Activity 92: What is to what ought to be!
Activity 93: That’s just the way it is!
Part III From Application to Implementation
Introduction
A. Creating a Critical Thinking Course
A.1 Making your own CT course
A.2 Negotiating a CT course
B. Using the Activities to Supplement a Course
C. Implementing Critical Thinking Activities into your Classroom
C.1 Using the CT cycle activities as an introduction
C.2 Using activity 21 as a needs analysis
C.3 Using the logical fallacy activities
C.4 Returning to the CT cycle
C.5 Reflecting on learning
C.6 Keeping a CT diary
D. Going Beyond the Activities in the Book
D.1 Researching CT
D.2 Finding more fallacies
D.3 Creating your own CT activities
E. A Final Note
Part IV From Implementation to Research
Introduction
A. Integrating Methodologies
A.1 Action research
A.2 Mixed methods research
A.3 Putting it together
B. The ‘PEAR’ Approach
B.1 Progressive Exploratory Action Research
B.2 Progressive Explanatory Action Research
C. Final Caveats and Suggestions
D. Making a Contribution
E. Concluding Thoughts
References
Index
Biography
Gregory Hadley is a Professor of Cultural Studies and Applied Linguistics at Niigata University, Japan. He received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK, where his primary focus was in the Sociology of English Language Teaching. A Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford, UK, he is the author of English for Academic Purposes in Neoliberal Universities: A Critical Grounded Theory (2015) and Grounded Theory for Applied Linguistics: A Practical Guide (2017).
Andrew Boon is a Professor in the Global Communications Department of Toyo Gakuen University, Japan. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Aston University, UK, and has published numerous articles on methodology, motivation, and teacher development. He is also author and co-author of several writing, listening and speaking, and news media ELT textbooks and scores of graded readers for English language learners.
"The book is useful for teachers of English for General Purposes at all levels. The authors provide different activities for different levels of language proficiency. It is possible for teachers of English for Specific Purpose to devise subject-specific activities from the generic activities authors provide. Teachers of writing and other focused skills can also adapt some of the exercises for their purposes. Others in teacher development, curriculum, and programme planning will benefit from the theoretical orientations, review of pedagogical research, and the suggestions for programme development in the book. This a thoughtful, well-designed, and very helpful pedagogical resource."
Suresh Canagarajah, Pennsylvania State University, USA, Applied Linguistics, 2023
"One strength of this book is its innovative pedagogical approach. It weaves together complex concepts, easily digestible strategies, practical activities and seminal theory, helping readers personalize the content, reflect upon CT pedagogy, and consider its application in their classrooms."
"Given the proliferation of fallacious and uncritical arguments in today’s multimedia landscape, CT skills are becoming increasingly important. Critical Thinking presents a comprehensive, step-by-step framework that teachers can use to help English language learners develop the CT skills necessary to navigate our complex world."
Dr. Kohnke, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, TESOL Quarterly, 2023
"The concisely named Critical Thinking title is the latest addition to the Routledge Research and Resources in Language Teaching series. It is aimed at language teachers and curriculum developers; its key strength is the presentation of extensive practical material in the form of activities designed for immediate classroom use."
"Critical Thinking is likely to be welcomed by English language teachers who want an accessible resource of practical activities which are clearly explained and categorised."
Edward de Chazal, EAP Tutor and Teacher, Modern English Teacher, 2023
