Advancement Of Critical Discussion Competency In College English Teaching

Critical discussion competency is the ability that allows individuals to recognize,analyze,evaluate and present written or spoken arguments.It is attainable through the practice of critical discussions.Even though its inportance has been highlighted for decades,its application in educational settings has not been strongly evident.Since 2016,College English Teaching program at Jiangsu University has worked to cultivate this competency to help students academically and professionally.This research aims to unveil if and how College English Teaching students can advance their critical discussion competency through the practice of critical discussions.The following questions are addressed in this research:(a)is it likely for College English learners to advance their critical discussion competency through the practice of critical discussions?(b)Are there potential hindering factors that may prevent learners from participating in critical discussions to develop the competency?(c)What strategies do teachers apply to evolve students' critical discussion competency?This research was conducted to address those questionsThis work followed a quasi-experimental research design;a pre and post-self-administered questionnaire were used to gather the data.Sixty students from two advanced College English Teaching classes at Jiangsu University volunteered to partake in this work.Thirty of them participated as the control group and the other 30 participated as the treatment groupThe findings show that the group experiencing the treatment could advance their critical discussion competency.However,they need more exposure to the critical discussion model to be skillful on the critical discussion competency.Besides,factors such as doing homework for other subjects during class;watching videos on the phone;and lack of preparedness with the assigned material for the class assigned are preventing students from participating in class discussions.Moreover,there is a need for general training for teachers and students on the development of the critical discussion competencyThese outcomes are helpful for College English authorities to examine the program,implement necessary arrangements and make steady improvements...