Developing Students‟ Critical Thinking through Reading

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to scrutinize the effect of reading on first-year EFL learners‟critical thinking. Another equally significant aspect of this study is to investigate students‟ attitudes towards critical thinking and reading. More precisely, this present study is endeavoured to answer a number of questions. The most striking ones are: To what extent does reading affect learners‟ critical thinking? How to implement critical thinking practices within the reading material? How can reading different pieces of writing helps in promoting learners‟ critical thinking? Mindful of the aforementioned questions, we hypothesise that First-Year students‟ of English critical thinking would be improved through reading. We also hypothesise that first year students of English would have positive views towards the role of reading in enhancing their critical thinking.The first hypothesis is checked by means of a quantitative method with a pre-test post-test Control Experimental group design, whereas the second hypothesis is tested through a qualitative method that is Students‟ Questionnaire.The results of the study revealed that critical thinking is indeed influenced by reading; in fact, the latter does improve it when practiced regularly. Additional findings are: the students‟ tendency to fancy short stories over other reading materials as well as their evident inclination of unrestricted studying environments. The results also showed that the majority of the students have been found aware of the importance and role of reading on improving their critical thinking.The dissertation terminates by a multiplicity of recommendations for pedagogy and future research.