The Impact of Critical Thinking Skills in Learning EFL

Abstract

Literature suggests the potential of the significant impact of Critical Thinking Skills (CTS) on enhancing EFL learning but researches on the effects of each CT skill in foreign language pedagogy is limited. This study aims at a better understanding of the relationship between each CT skill, selected for this research, and learning English as a foreign language (EFL secondary school learners). A quantitative research design was adopted in Abither El Ghifari Secondary School on 40 third year students, with an Adapted California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) as measurement tools of quantitative data, and first term English exam results of the participants. The research findings confirmed that three are different levels of the learners’ critical thinking as a whole and in each of the three studied CT skills (deduction, analysis and problemsolving). The study also revealed that these three skills are independent from each other, in other words, no one of them impacts the other. Moreover, the research showed that deduction is the most influential CT skill in this age category and at this school level. Implications and limitations of this research, as well as suggestions for future research are also discussed accordingly.