Critical Thinking

by Gregory Hadley, Andrew Boon

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367181710
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/31/2022
Series:	Research and Resources in Language Teaching
Pages:	374
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

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's 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

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher