Critical Thinking in ELT Ed Newbon 13 th April 2015
A recent study commissioned by the British Council found that English language speakers in fast-growing regions in the world can earn up to three times as much as those who don t speak the language. 2
Teaching language may no longer be enough... as English becomes more generally available, little or no competitive advantage is gained by adopting it. Rather, it has become a new baseline: without English you are not even in the race. David Graddol, English Next (2006), The British Council 3
Skills for Life In a globalised, postmodern world a rather different model of education has emerged. An individual, to participate fully in the new economy as worker, consumer and responsible citizen needs to be even better informed (and about global as well as local issues) and needs higher-order and more flexible skills. David Graddol, English Next (2006), The British Council 4
Thinking Skills Creativity/imagination Problem solving Decision making Self knowledge Critical thinking Accessing/Analysing 5
Working Skills Communication/collaboration People management Time management Organisation Negotiating Leading by influence 6
Social Skills Citizenship Social responsibility Cultural awareness Social development Respecting diversity Networking 7
Learning Skills ICT Agility and adaptability Receiving and giving feedback Handling criticism Innovation/exploration Learner autonomy 8
Skills we will use through out our life THINKING LEARNING SOCIAL WORKING 9
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16 page brochure Articles Quotes Tips Featured Product 11
Every Month Infograph Article Video E-lesson Quotes Tips 12
Why Critical Thinking in ELT? Learners are already being exposed to different cultures and therefore different ways of thinking which makes the language classroom the prefect place for exploring critical thinking skills. Critical thinking development leads to higher academic achievement 13
Manchester odd one out. City United Joy Happy Factory Sunshine 14
Nobody is an absolute beginner when it comes to Critical thinking. Whether we believe what we see or hear Taking steps to find out whether something is likely to be true Arguing our own case if someone doesn t believe us 15
Academic study requires increasing levels of critical analysis at every level of study Critical thinking Skills are essential to those progressing to higher levels of academic study Cottrell, 2005 16
Critical Thinking in ELT Distinguishing fact from opinion Challenging assumptions Keeping an open mind to different possibilities and solutions Day, 2003 17
Lower order critical thinking skills Receive Recite Direct Medium Transmit Knowledge Reproduce Knowledge 18
Lower order critical thinking skills Receive Recite Direct Medium Transmit Knowledge Reproduce Knowledge Higher order critical thinking skills Manipulate Transform meaning Solve Problems Construction Uncertainty Environment and opportunities
Fact Vs. Opinion Manchester 1. It always rains in Manchester. 2. The people are the friendliest in England. 3. It is the third biggest city in the UK. 4. It was the host for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. 5. Greater Manchester has a population of 2.7 million. 6. Manchester produces the best bands. 20
Fact Vs. Opinion 2. Where does the text come from? Smoking ban No-smoking regulations came into effect in Scotland on 26 March 2006, [92] in Wales on 2 April 2007, in Northern Ireland on 30 April 2007 and in England on 1 July 2007. [93] The legislation was cited as an example of good regulation which has had a favourable impact on the UK economy by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills [94] and a review of the impact of smoke-free legislation carried out for the Department of Health concluded that there was no clear adverse impact on the hospitality industry [95] despite initial criticism from some voices within the pub trade. 21
Fact Vs. Opinion 2. Where does the text come from? Smoking ban Publicans and members of the Clubs & Institute Union, which represents over 2000 working men s clubs, have been invited to attend the event which marks the fourth anniversary of the smoking ban in England. Organisers say they will be lobbying MPs for a review of the ban and an amendment to the legislation. Campaigners say the ban has had a devastating impact on community pubs throughout Britain. Almost three years after the introduction of smoking bans in England, Scotland and Wales, Scotland had lost 7.1% of its pub estate (467 pubs), Wales 7.3% (274), and England 7.6% (4,148). Save Our Pubs & Clubs is a coalition of groups and individuals who believe that the smoking ban is excessive and should be amended to offer choice, protect jobs and help struggling pubs get back on their feet. 22
Fact Vs. Opinion 2. Where does the text come from? Smoking ban Three years have now passed since the introduction of legislation to make workplaces and public places smokefree in England. The findings from research summarised in this report show that the law has had a significant impact. England s experience and the outcomes observed are very similar to those reported in other countries where smokefree laws have been implemented and research has been conducted to explore impact. Results from the studies conducted in England show benefits for health, changes in attitudes and behaviour and no clear adverse impact on the hospitality industry. The study of barworkers demonstrated that they experienced large changes in their occupational exposure to SHS, reported improvements.. 23
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Critical thinking in literature 26
Critical thinking in literature 27
Critical thinking in Skillful What exactly is an argument? Identifying reference to things outside the text? Identifying sources of information? Recognizing trends and patterns Identifying fact, speculation and opinion Assessing the logic of an argument Inferring criticism Identifying logical fallacies Identifying humour Inferring a speaker s attitude Applying a theory to other situations Identifying key information in a an argument Representative samples 28
Did you know? Stella is the Vice-Pro-Chancellor for Learning, Teaching and Student Engagement at the University of East London. Prior to her current position she was the Director for Lifelong Learning at the University of Leeds, UK. 29
What is Stella s connection to Macmillan? Stella has published The Study Skills Handbook, Critical Thinking Skills, Skills for Success, and The Exam Skills Handbook with Palgrave. 30
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Skillful English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for the 18+ international market 5 levels Dual-skills approach - two Student s Books in every level: Reading & Writing, Listening & Speaking Two Teacher s Books in every level Digital component for both students and teachers Digibook, tests, and teacher resources 10 units Foundation level provides a bridge between general English and EAP American English at Foundation level, moving to increased internationalized English as levels progress 34
Five Levels Foundation CEFR A1 A bridge between EAP and general English Safe content to be used by teenagers upward Sentence frameworks to guide students through more challenging questions Uses 100% American English; topics are international Retains sophisticated and beautiful design concept of higher levels 35
Five Levels Level 4 Highest level in series CEFR C1 High-level, original academic topics Co-author Lindsay Clandfield of Global fame International English Strong focus on analytical and critical thinking skills 36
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Quotes from Students Experimental group. Leaners engaged in Critical Thinking tasks such as debates and peer critiques. Control group. Leaners engaged in non-critical thinking task regular EFL activities such as group presentations and process writing. Results. The experimental group demonstrated a significant improvement in English proficiency in comparison to the control group and superior critical thinking and academic achievement in the end of course exam. Yang & Gamble, 2013 38
Quotes from Students We can make reasonable judgements before adopting information, instead of just receiving it without thinking I will become an adult and have to have my own ideas instead of Just following other peoples opinions It can develop our abilities to read articles and think independently Yang & Gamble, 2013
Macmillan Webinar archive http://www.macmillanenglish.com/webinar-archive/2011/ 40
For more information Please contact Ed Newbon Marketing Manager Middle East M +44 (0) 7964 565933 T +44 (0) 207 418 5735 E e.newbon@macmillan.com Thank you