The 9th International Conference on English Language Teaching (ELT) In China (ELT2020)

577 / 2020-03-19 23:29:53

University EFL Teachers' Beliefs about Critical Thinking Teaching and Their Practices: A Case Study

critical thinking,teacher beliefs,teaching practices,university EFL teachers

Critical Thinking English Teaching > Critical Thinking English Teaching

This study explores two Chinese university EFL teachers’ beliefs about critical thinking (CT) and their teaching practices. Based on data from two-semester classroom observation and follow-up interviews, the findings show that two participants attached great importance to integrating CT into their teaching. But it is worthy of our attention that they held different views on teaching CT explicitly or implicitly, which mainly resulted from their respective perception of CT and different proficiency levels of target students. In their intensive reading classes, they implemented CT teaching pre-, while- and after class by designing reading journals, raising tailored questions, and selecting specific presentation topics. However, they were faced with a variety of challenges and sought help by cooperating with researchers in the field of EFL teaching. Significant implications for university EFL teacher education and professional development are provided