EFL teachers' conceptualizations and instructional practices of critical thinking

Abstract

The structure of societies has been changing with the rapid progress of science and
 technology in the 21st century. In this new structuring era, education is the only valid
 method to raise individuals who are able to make effective decisions, solve problems and take
 responsibility for learning and thinking critically. For this reason, learning to think rationally
 and critically are the keys to educational reforms in a number of educational settings
 worldwide. In the literature about teaching critical thinking, teacher behaviors are regarded
 as the most influential variables for the development of critical thinking among students.
 However, teachers can implement instruction geared towards critical thinking only when they
 develop a conception of critical thinking. This qualitative study, conducted with five EFL
 teachers at a high school, aims at investigating in-service EFL teachers’ conceptualizations of
 critical thinking as well as the strategies they use to infuse critical thinking into their EFL
 courses. The findings indicate that participating teachers have adequate knowledge about
 critical thinking and they incorporate certain techniques to cultivate critical thinking among
 language learners. We recommend that there should be more focus on exploring critical
 thinking conceptions and practice among EFL teachers working at different levels.