Investigation On The Cultivation Of Students’ Critical Thinking Ability In English Reading Teaching In Senior High School Under The New Curriculum

In today’s era,critical thinking is the most basic quality of the innovation subject,and also the most core ability of future talents.Because teaching is the most important way to cultivate the quality of thinking and the close relationship between language and thinking,the integration of reading teaching and the cultivation of critical thinking has become increasingly important.Improving students’ critical thinking abilities through English reading has become a hot issue in English teaching and research.Based on Facione’s critical thinking model,this study selected 268 students in the second grade of No.1 Senior High School in Mudanjiang and 30 English teachers from the school as research objects,conducted student questionnaire surveys and teacher questionnaire surveys respectively,and combined with classroom observations and teacher interviews,investigated and studied the current situation of critical thinking ability cultivation in English reading teaching in No.1 Senior High School in Mudanjiang city.It revolves around the following three research questions:(1)What is the critical thinking tendency of high school students?(2)What is the current situation of critical thinking ability development in high school English reading teaching?(3)What are the factors that hinder students’ development of critical thinking abilities?Based on the survey analysis,it is concluded that:(1)The survey results show that the critical thinking tendency of high school students is generally at the intermediate level,and the critical thinking tendency of students is unbalanced.The two tendencies of open-mindedness and inquisitiveness are the strongest,and the tendency to truth-seeking is the weakest;(2)High school English teachers’ critical thinking ability in English reading teaching is in good condition,and the frequency of interpretation and analysis skills is the highest,while the frequency of self-regulation skills is the lowest.In reading teaching,part of teachers’ teaching behaviors point to the cultivation of critical thinking ability,but some teaching behaviors are still insufficient.The training of students’ evaluation and reflection ability,the design of expansion and extension activities are insufficient and students’ creativity cannot be fully developed;(3)Through classroom observation,it is found that teachers lack the overall teaching concept of the unit,the training of students’ evaluation and reflection ability,the insufficient design of extended activities,and the insufficient development of students’ creativity.(4)The factors hindering the cultivation of critical thinking are society,school,curriculum,teachers and students,and the main reasons hindering the cultivation of students’ critical thinking abilities are tight teaching time,heavy teaching tasks,high pressure for college entrance examinations,insufficient curriculum resources,and insufficient attention of students and teachers to critical thinking.Based on the above current situation research,combined with teaching practice experience,suggestions are put forward for teachers and students to improve students’ critical thinking ability,In order to provide some references for improving students’ critical thinking abilities in English reading classes in the future.