Critical thinking by Nastiya Poddubnaya https://padlet.com/anastasiya_poddu/yik3b5cqz6tv Why promote critical thinking? en-us 2016-11-21 14:08:19 UTC 2016-11-22 13:01:28 UTC hello@padlet.com Critical thinking means helping learners to find answers for themselves, questioning facts rather than simply accepting them, considering different sources of information and asking ‘Why?’ Taking such critical approaches to learning helps learners to:be more independent and analytical formulate and test hypotheses consider other points of view justify and explain their own ideas.In language teaching, critical thinking might take different forms. Below are some examples:Asking learners to justify their ideas. This doesn’t mean challenging learners, but instead asking how they came to a certain conclusion. It could simply be a case of saying ‘Yes, that’s right. Why is it right?’Asking learners to work out patterns of language usage, for example highlighting examples of conditional clauses in a text and discussing different meanings (this is sometimes referred to as taking an inductive approach. This might also involve contrasting English use with the learners’ own language (L1).Encouraging learners to notice exceptions to ‘rules’.Encouraging learners to notice patterns in language, for example circling ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ in a text and then discussing why they are used.Being open to and actively questions from learners about language.Evaluating sources of knowledge – who wrote/said it? Why did they write/say this? How reliable and accurate is it? etc. For example sources of knowledge of and about language: coursebooks, grammar books, language learning websites, Facebook, news stories and so on.Encouraging learners to do their own research about language. For example, asking them to research when the past simple and present perfect are used in English, by looking at grammar websites as well as instances of real language use on TV, the internet, in texts etc.As teachers, we can also incorporate critical thinking into our professional practice. Thinking critically about why we do what we do, and approaching new activities and methods with a critical mind is part of reflective practice anastasiya_poddu https://padlet.com/anastasiya_poddu/yik3b5cqz6tv/wish/139106346 From TEACHING FOR SUCCESS: THE CLASSROOM AND THE WORLD BRITISH COUNCIL]]> 2016-11-21 14:47:35 UTC https://padlet.com/anastasiya_poddu/yik3b5cqz6tv/wish/139106346 Below are some examples of collaborative learning (most of these activities involve critical thinking as well):Discussing an idea or solving a problem with a partner or a groupWatching a film and discussing it afterwardsGroup brainstorming (working together to gather ideas and noting them all down without initially evaluating or discarding any. Often used as part of the planning process for a project.)Doing homework with a friendTeam planning meetings at workCreating a product with a partner or group anastasiya_poddu https://padlet.com/anastasiya_poddu/yik3b5cqz6tv/wish/139294706 2016-11-22 10:02:12 UTC https://padlet.com/anastasiya_poddu/yik3b5cqz6tv/wish/139294706