OVERVIEW

Critical thinking is rather like broccoli: not necessarily easy to describe (though we know it when we see it) and not to everyone’s taste, but good for us. Yet although critical thinking is a key skill for the modern world, students and teachers often find it challenging. In this workshop, we will analyze the kinds of critical thinking exercises commonly found in ELT textbooks and examine some of the typical issues that people have with critical thinking tasks. We will then discuss various solutions to these issues, including adapting techniques from “demand high teaching” and finding ways to modify textbook exercises so the barrier to entry is lower and the benefits to doing it are greater.