Content-Based Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Skills in an EFL Context

This paper reports the findings of a study examining the effectiveness of promoting learners ’ critical thinking skills and EFL skills with a content-based approach. Despite little argument among theorists and educators regarding the interrelatedness between thinking and language development, in the tradition and transition of L2 teaching methodology, the integration of language and thinking has been peripheral. Language as a way of thinking and learning has been more of a pedagogical catchphrase than instructional practice. This study attempts to bridge the gap between theories and instructional practices through the design and implementation of a content-based junior high school EFL syllabus. Two groups of junior high school students participated in the study. A five-unit syllabus, including the subject areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, was designed and implemented. Data were collected via class assignments, a critical thinking assessment instrument, a questionnaire, and a teacher-constructed language proficiency test. The findings revealed significant gains in the students ’ English language proficiency test scores. Critical thinking skills and content area knowledge mastery were also found. The questionnaire results show positive responses toward the content-based EFL learning and teaching from the participating students. Based on these findings, instructional suggestions and caveats are provided.