Techniques fostering the formation and development of critical thinking skills in a learner alongside providing a creative atmosphere in the English classroom.

Techniques fostering the formation and development of critical thinking skills in a learner alongside providing a creative atmosphere in the English classroom.

by Ihor Yelisieiev

It`s my belief  that developing such skills as flexibility, fluency, complexity, originality, curiosity, risk taking, elaboration and imagination are important for the development of learner’s creativity. Challenging questions or open-ended questions alongside with choosing appropriate strategies and teaching techniques with various games and activities, short classroom ones in particular, develop critical thinking and creativity that gives a rise to individual ability to think and make correct decisions independently.

It should be emphasized that people who think critically try to live reasonably, rationally and empathically. By thinking about everything objectively, they are able to easily solve complex problems and tasks, process information, and take opinions into account.

Methods of critical thinking form the ability to work in pairs, small groups, quickly and efficiently process any text, and flexibly enter the situation. The creative problem-based nature of English language teaching contributes to the development of imagination and a sense of novelty.

I am confident that it is very important how a teacher starts the lesson. The beginning of the lesson is the activation of the thinking process. Learners’ understanding of what they will do in the classroom and how well they will do it depends on how the educational goal is set. The teacher should use the methods that allow them to set their own goal based on the topic of the lesson. Here I suggest using such methods as «brainstorming» and «forecasting». I believe that a teacher should use various methods, from the simplest to the most complex: from those that involve working in a team to those that require a certain level of self-organization, when learners first work with the teacher as a partner, and then in groups on their own. For example, when in team groups I offer «hints» that relate not only to the content, but also to the procedure. Using the «gallery overview», learners develop their skills of linking new information with the products of their activities. The game «Magic Microphone» teaches express a positive or negative reaction when conducting a discussion on a burning topic or problem. Having a certain life experience and a point of view on the world around them, learners can implement their ideas through creative projects. The implementation of the project helps them analyze new information, read additional literature, train and show their leadership skills. To make an interesting and exciting project, you need to think critically, respond quickly to opponents’ questions, and take an active public position. The following are examples from my practice on working with certain topics:

Learning Foreign Languages:

• Make a list of ideas on how you can make learning English more like learning your own language.
• Make up a project «What makes a good teacher of a foreign language».

School Life:

• Agree or disagree with the following statements: «Classmates are of more important influence than parents on a child’s success at school»; «When you are having a fun you are not learning»; «All you need is ignorance and confidence then success is sure» (Mark Twain); «Success makes life easier, it doesn’t make living easier» (Bruce Springsteen).

Crime and Punishment:

• Do you agree or disagree with the following sayings: «Punishment should fit the crime», «An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth»?

Leadership:

• Create a portrait of a leader as you see him/her to be. Explain your choice.
• Discuss with your partner who can be a leader in your class. Give reasons to support your answer.

Thus, I`d like to emphasize that interactive methods in the educational process allow to intensify the process of understanding and creative use of knowledge in solving practical problems; learners form productive approaches to mastering information; establish friendly relations with the teacher; increase motivation in solving the problems discussed; give an emotional boost to their research activities. Moreover, in an interactive atmosphere, each learner is successful, benefits from the result of teamwork, and the whole process becomes interesting.