A Study Of The Cultivation Of Critical Thinking In Junior English Classroom Teaching

Critical thinking(CT)is regarded as one of the most important objectives of education in China,with the publication of Core Literacy of Chinese Students in 2016.At present,the researchers have basically reached a consensus in the theoretical research.However,the empirical research on the cultivation of CT ability in classroom teaching is still in the exploratory stage,and there are problems in three aspects:1)Using the teaching steps of cultivating CT as a framework to analyze and estimate the CT cultivation in the classroom has received little attention.2)Studies concerning using classroom teaching,teaching reflection and experts' review as a framework to analyze and estimate the CT cultivation in the classroom are insufficient.3)The study of CT in the field of foreign language education in our country focuses itself mainly on higher education,leaving considerable room for the expansion of researching objects.Taking National Junior English Teaching Skill Contest as an entry point,the current study focuses on whether the English classroom teaching in junior middle schools puts emphasis on Students'CT development and finally explores the strategy of cultivating students' CT ability in English teaching in junior schools.This thesis takes the critical thinking skills defined by Wu Yajie and Chen Li as a framework to analyze and estimate CT cultivation in English classes given by 22 contestant teachers.To find out whether the English classroom teaching in junior middle schools puts emphasis on students' CT ability development,the study is carried out in three aspects.First,whether teachers in classroom teaching value students' CT ability development,taking the following into considerations:(? the conditions of 22 teachers'coverage of the 6 dimensions of CT skills,?teaching steps to cultivate CT ability.?teachers' instructional emphasis on CT ability development;?teachers'reflections;?teacher interview.Second,whether education researchers' class evaluation emphasizes students' CT development;Third,whether basic education experts attach importance to students' CT cultivation.This study yields the following findings.First,concerning the coverage of 4 dimensions of CT skills,64 percent of teachers cover fully the 4 dimensions;Teaching steps to cultivate CT ability are very few in each class;None of the teachers puts instructional emphasis on CT abilities development;According to the teachers' interview,no one can give a definition of CT and let alone know about its dimensions.Therefore,teachers attach little importance to the training of CT ability in English classes.Second,only 22 percent of the education researchers value CT development.Third,none of the basic education experts mentions CT in their academic reports.In short,English classes lack of the fostering of CT ability in China's junior middle schools.This thesis ends with discussions on the significance,limitations,and implications of the current research.