Critical Thinking in ELT

Ed Newbon
13th 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.

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 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

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 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

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 Thinking Skills

Creativity/imagination
Problem solving
Decision making
Self knowledge
Critical thinking
Accessing/Analysing

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 Working Skills

Communication/collaboration
People management
Time management
Organisation
Negotiating
Leading by influence

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 Social Skills

Citizenship
Social responsibility
Cultural awareness
Social development
Respecting diversity
Networking

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 Learning Skills

ICT
Agility and adaptability
Receiving and giving feedback
Handling criticism
Innovation/exploration
Learner autonomy

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 Skills we will use through out our life……

THINKING LEARNING

SOCIAL WORKING

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 16 page brochure

Articles
Quotes
Tips
Featured
Product

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 Every Month
Infograph
Article
Video
E-lesson
Quotes
Tips

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 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

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 Manchester odd one out.

City

United

Joy

Happy

Factory

Sunshine

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 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

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 “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

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 Critical Thinking in ELT

• Distinguishing fact from opinion

• Challenging assumptions

• Keeping an open mind to different possibilities and

solutions

Day, 2003

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 Lower order critical thinking skills

•Receive
•Recite
•Direct Medium
•Transmit Knowledge
•Reproduce Knowledge

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Lower order critical thinking Higher order critical thinking
skills skills
Receive Manipulate
Recite Transform meaning
Direct Medium Solve Problems
Transmit Knowledge Construction
Reproduce Knowledge 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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………..

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 Critical thinking in literature

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 Critical thinking in literature

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 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

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 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.

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 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.

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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
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 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

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 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

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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

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 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/

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For more information Ed Newbon
Please contact Marketing Manager Middle East
M +44 (0) 7964 565933
T +44 (0) 207 418 5735
E e.newbon@macmillan.com

Thank you