PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CRITICAL THINKING BEFORE AND AFTER TAKING A COURSE ON CRITICAL THINKING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
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Keywords

Critical thinking in English language teaching course, pre-service language teachers, perceptions, self-efficay, infusion approach

Abstract

With the benefits of critical thinking (CT) in language education, there has been a call for an explicit focus on CT in language teacher education. This study investigates pre-service teachers’ perceptions of a course named ‘Critical Thinking in English Language Teaching’, especially what changes they had after the course. The 2020-2021 cohort of pre-service teachers of an English Teacher Education program at Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University were the participants of the study. Questionnaires and group interviews were used to collect the data about the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of CT and CT teaching before and after the course. The findings showed that the participants reported a change in their understanding of CT. They reported more confidence in the pedagogical aspects of CT instruction. The study contributes to the literature about the effectiveness of the infusion approach to CT instruction from pre-service language teachers’ perspectives and proposes some implications for a similar course on CT in the English language teaching context.

https://doi.org/10.26459/hueunijssh.v132i6D.7027
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