A Study On The Correlation Between Senior High School Students’ Critical Thinking Disposition And Their English Reading Comprehension Scores

Learners’ critical thinking disposition,as one of the main factors that affect learners’ English reading,has gradually aroused the attention of scholars in recent years.According to domestic and foreign researches,it is an vital way for students to obtain information quickly in the process of English learning.The process of students analyzing the article is the process of critical thinking.However,there is seldom focus on the teaching of critical English reading about senior high school in China now,and there is also a lack of research on the correlation between critical thinking disposition of senior high school students and their English reading comprehension scores.Therefore,by exploring the correlations between senior high school students’ critical thinking disposition and their English reading comprehension scores,analyzing the current situation of senior high school students’ critical thinking disposition and the questions existing in senior high school English reading teaching,the paper aims to provide some pedagogical implications for reading teaching of English teachers.The questions are as follows in this study:（1）What is the situation of senior high school students’ critical thinking disposition ?（2）What is the correlation between senior high school students’ critical thinking disposition and their English reading comprehension scores?（3）Which dimensions of critical thinking disposition are predictive of their English reading comprehension scores?The Critical Thinking Disposition Questionnaire（Wen Qiufang,2009）and semi-structured interviews are used to collect data about the critical thinking disposition of 199 senior high school students in Huaibei,Anhui Province.SPSS19.0is adopted to analyze data about the senior high school students’ questionnaire and English reading comprehension scores.The results of the study are as follows:（1）The overall critical thinking disposition of senior high school students is at a positive and medium level.In the 8 sub-dimensions of critical thinking disposition,except systematicity,self-confidence and truth-seeking,and the other five dimensions of critical thinking disposition are all positive disposition.The scores of the eight sub-dimensions of students’ critical thinking disposition are ranked as follows:inquistiveness,analyticity,justice-orientedness,open-mindedness,cognitive maturity,truth-seeking,self-confidence and systematicity.At the same time,there are significant differences between high and low groups in the critical thinking disposition of senior high school students,that is,the eight sub-dimensions of critical thinking disposition in the high groups are more positive than those of low groups.Under the grouping of liberal arts and science,there are clear differences in the open-mindedness dimension of critical thinking disposition of senior high school students.（2）There is a significant moderate-positive correlation between critical thinking disposition of senior high school students and English reading comprehension scores.There are different degrees of positive correlation between the 8 sub-dimensions of critical thinking disposition and detail questions,vocabulary questions,inference questions,thematic questions about English reading comprehension.（3）According to the linear regression,it further finds that senior high school students’ critical thinking disposition has a positive impact on their English reading comprehension scores,which can predict their English reading comprehension scores.Besides,the four sub-dimensions of inquistiveness,self-confidence,cognitive maturity and open-mindedness can predict senior high school students’ English reading comprehension scores.Based on the above research results,the study puts forward some suggestions to strengthen the cultivation of students’ critical thinking disposition from schools to teachers and students,which can provide some referenced suggestions for future research.