Teachers’ role in developing EFL learners’ critical thinking skills at a Saudi University : challenges and opportunities

Abstract EN

Teaching thinking skills is important for learning and social practice and teachers around the world are encouraged to integrate thinking skills in teaching.

However, little is known about teachers’ conceptions, beliefs, and practice about integrating thinking skills in foreign language instruction.

The purpose of this paper is to examine Saudi EFL teachers’ understanding of thinking skills in EFL classrooms through the analysis of (N=76) selfcompleted questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with (N=8) teachers.

Data analysis focuses on bringing all the data together to generate an in-depth understanding about how teachers conceptualise thinking skills and how these skills are perceived to be supported in subject learning.

This study suggests that EFL teachers in a Saudi Arabian context find it difficult to define thinking skills and hold fragmented and insufficient understanding about the concept.

The teachers also demonstrated overall positive attitudes towards integrating thinking skills in language classrooms, although some of them do not believe thinking skills should be promoted exclusively in language classrooms.

The findings also revealed that teachers believe that thinking skills can be taught, and especially through reading and writing.

Moreover, integrating thinking skills in teaching is closely related to the focus of the English subject, curriculum, class time and textbooks.

There is a strong case for arguing for immediate teacher training to develop both content and pedagogical knowledge of teaching critical thinking skills in language teaching classrooms.