Vietnamese EFL Students’ Critical Thinking In An English Literature Course

Do Na Chi

doi:10.29333/ejecs/899

Authors

Do Na Chi An Giang University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/899

Keywords:

critical thinking, discipline, English Literature, genre

Abstract

While critical thinking is one of the ultimate requirements for students and is integrated into assessment practices in higher education, there has not been a definitive view of what it means and how it can be achieved. This limitation challenges students when they neither recognize the need to demonstrate critical thinking nor successfully perform it. To reconceptualize critical thinking in higher education, this study emphasizes how critical thinking is defined, performed, and evaluated in an English Literature course in Vietnamese higher education. Following the analyses of the course documents, the students’ writing with the lecturer’s comments, and the interview with the lecturer, the study revealed the distinctive view of critical thinking in relation to the characteristics of the writing genre and the Literature discipline. For critical thinking being discipline-oriented and genre-based, successfully performing critical thinking was also found challenging to the students given their limited understanding of the lecturer’s conceptualization of critical thinking in this particular course. This study therefore suggests pedagogical implications to support the explication of this concept to students to improve their academic performances.

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Author Biography

Do Na Chi, An Giang University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City

Do Na Chi is a lecturer in the Faculty of Foreign Languages, An Giang University, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. He teaches Academic Writing, English Linguistics, and Cultural Studies. His research interests include second language writing, English for academic purposes, language and identity, discourse analysis, and intercultural rhetoric.

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