On the Pedagogical Implications of Critical Thinking Skills and EFL

Abstract

While it is difficult to predict what specific skills will be important 20 years from now
in our society as technology and globalization are increasingly taking a more important role in
our society, it is possible to observe trends in the recent past that will continue in the future: we
want our students to become autonomous, critical thinkers. Proof of this are the curricula of
English teaching training programs around the world, where the importance lies not only in
training future teachers with a proficient English level, but also professionals who are able to
analyze and judge their own teaching practice in order to enrich the teaching-learning process
of their students. Having said this, crucial questions arise: What is critical thinking? Why is it
relevant to develop critical thinking skills in our students? Are we helping our future in-service
teachers to develop such skills? Is critical thinking being incorporated at school? The present
paper intends to give an overview of what critical thinking is and show the in-service and novice
teachers that incorporating critical thinking skills within the EFL classroom context is not as
hard as it may seem.