Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Vol.6. No.4 December 2015 Pp. 419-431
Arab EFL Students’ Application and Awareness of Critical Thinking in College Writing: A Case Study
Eman Al-Dumairi
Hebron University
Nida’ Alhaq Al-Jabari
Hebron University
Abstract:
This paper sheds light on the necessity of engaging critical thinking skills in teaching college writing to EFL students at university. The study investigates students’ attitudes towards writing, the challenges they face when writing paragraph assignments in terms of generating and organizing ideas. It has been noticed that students’ performance in English college writing is not satisfactory not just for linguistic reasons but for lacking critical thinking skills. Many studies focused on the grammatical and vocabulary problems that face Arab EFL learner’s when writing in English. Albeit, this research takes us a step further and even more pedagogical than just linguistic. It addresses the difficulties that students face when writing assignments that require them to argue, analyze, infer and judge. Results show that students’ inefficient writing is due to their lack of critical thinking skills which are neglected throughout their writing experience at high school.
Key Words: college writing, critical thinking, EFL classrooms, self-confidence