In an EFL class, the teacher can ask students to listen to a short story and then answer specific questions, like “Who is the main character?. The answer is clear and show if students understood.

Another way is through grammar practice. For example, the teacher gives a sentence with a blank space, and students must choose the correct verb form to complete it.

Convergent thinking is important nowadays because students need to solve problems quickly and correctly. In real life, many situations need one clear solution, like understanding instructions, completing tasks, or making decisions.

For example, if students are learning about jobs, the teacher can ask open-ended questions to encourage reflection, assign a presentation about “My Dream Job,” or even give homework where students have to interview someone from the community. In this way, students have to think, reflect, explain their reasons, and analyze the information.

Another example could be related to community places. The teacher can design an activity where students have to rank the three most important places in the community. In this case, students must share their ideas, ask and answer questions, reflect, and make thoughtful choices.

Finally, I believe it is essential to promote critical thinking because nowadays students are exposed to a lot of false information through social media. Critical thinking helps them analyze, question, and verify information instead of just saying “yes” or “I agree” to everything. Basically, critical thinking helps students separate facts from opinions and truth from misinformation. Of course, it also empowers them to make informed and ethical decisions

Two examples:

1. Grammar error correction: The teacher can provide a paragraph that contains grammar mistakes and the student must analyze the paragraph and correct based on the grammatical rules that they know, because they can critical evaluate which one is the rule that correspond to that mistake, that can be a good exercise for them.

2. Multiple choice: The teacher can show them a video and then give them a multiple choice question task, where only one option is correct. There learners will evidence that they understood the video and will also show their logical reasoning by choosing the best response.

Why convergent thinking is necessary in the 21st century?

We live in a quick world where we are constantly being bombarding to the face with lots of information from the social media. Convergent thinking can help learners to filter the information that they really need, verify every piece of info and make decisions based on that.

For example, in a role play activity is easier for them to learn both sides of the activity.

Another example is when students are asked to write a story based on a moral dilemma. A divergent thinker might explore multiple endings, values, or decisions. Rather than settling for one “correct” answer.

I think that on many occasions they may be seen as troublemakers or nonconformists, especially in rigid environments. But in reality, their quick thinking and ability to shift perspectives are a strength.