An Investigation Into The Critical Thinking Dispositions Of Senior High School Students And Their Relationship With English Performance

Critical thinking is a self-monitoring,advanced skill of reflection with the combination of conscious,reasonable and purposeful evaluation and judgment.In the21 st century,critical thinking is of great importance in one’s life and success.Much more attention has been paid to critical thinking,for it can not only satisfy the demand of physical and psychological development in the process of English learning but also promote one’s logical thinking,which can stimulate the English learning.Numerous researches of critical thinking have been done in universities and colleges.However,few studies has been conducted in high school.High school is a crucial period in cultivating students’ critical thinking ability for they are gradually mature in physical and psychological aspects.Therefore,it’s necessary to carry out such an investigation to find out the general situation of senior high school students’ critical thinking dispositions.This research was conducted among 226 senior one students in Xin Jian No.2Middle School with the questionnaire CTDI-CV(Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory-Chinese Version)and an interview.It aims to examine the general characteristics of senior one students in critical thinking dispositions,to find out whether there is significant gender differences in senior one students’ critical thinking dispositions and to explore the correlation between senior one students’ English performance and their critical thinking dispositions.The results of data analysis can be summarized as follow:(1)The mean score of the general critical thinking dispositions is 176,which means the status quo of senior one students’ critical thinking dispositions is at negative level.Among the 7 sub-types,the mean scores of analyticity,systematicity,confidence and inquisitiveness are at middle level while truth-seeking,open-mindedness and maturity stand at the low level.(2)There is no significant difference between male and female students in general critical thinking dispositions.However,for the seven sub-types,male students do better in analyticity,confidence and inquisitiveness while female students perform better than male students in truth-seeking.There is no significant gender difference in open-mindedness,systematicity and maturity.(3)The correlation between the general critical thinking dispositions andstudents’ English performance is significant.In other words,students who have higher critical thinking dispositions do better in English performance.In terms of seven sub-types,inquisitiveness,confidence,analyticity and truth-seeking have positive correlation with senior one students’ English performance.Based on the findings above,some implications are proposed to cultivate students critical thinking: instructors should be aware of their own significance in the cultivation of students’ critical thinking;teachers should encourage students to take part in the open teaching,help students to be engaged in the harmonious relationship between teachers and students and guide students to be critical thinkers,etc.