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iableevidence and logical consistency, even experts with sound knowledge or insight couldnot withstand. It was also true of many people in positions of authority for beingrarely dependable (Bessick, 2008). The Socrates Method is a typical way of argumentthat reveals contradiction of things. It asks thinkers to reach beyond common beliefsand explanations by challenging them to use logic and reason to support theirconclusions, which is the most well-known strategy to teach critical thinking (Paul,Elder & Bartell, 1997). However, in this period, the term “critical thinking” is notformally put forward. It is not a settled theory but a thought closely related with thenowadays concept of critical thinking. Thus it is just an early stage of CT.
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2.2 Studies on Critical Thinking at Home and Abroad
Since the early 20thcentury, critical thinking has been widely and highlyaccepted and studied by numerous scholars and researchers in western countriesrepresented by the USA. John Dewey is considered as the father of modern criticalthinking for his “reflective thinking”, from which later “critical thinking” develops.The education of critical thinking becomes the hot topic in the area of CT. It mainlyinvolves the effective training of critical thinking skills. Researchers have made alarge number of studies on questions of whether critical thinking can be taught andhow to teach. For instances, Wilen and Phillips (1995) explored the method ofcognitive reflection of critical thinking training; Paul and Adams conducted a newstudy on Socratic method (cited in Overholser, 1993); Gallagher (1988) studied thedevelopment of critical thinking with the help of Peery theory; Bacon (1993) surveyedthe feasibility of developing critical thinking with conversation courses. Most of theresearch probed into the method of training critical thinking skills. Researchersbelieved that critical thinking skills can be acquired and enhanced. And the key issuelies in appropriate methods. Four teaching methods of critical thinking are introduced:general approach, immersion approach, infusion approach and mixed approach.
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Chapter 3 Methodology.... 21
3.1 Research Design..........21
3.2 Subjects........21
3.3 Instruments.......... 22
3.3.1 Critical Thinking Skills Test.........22
3.3.2 Face-to-face Interview.......... 22
3.3.3 Training Plan of the Undergraduates.... 22
3.4 Data Collection....23
3.5 Data Analysis.......2
3Chapter 4 Results and Discussion....24
4.1 Critical Thinking Skills (CTS).....24
4.2 Curriculum Investigation.....30
4.3 Case Study on Interview......38
4.4 Discussion....42
Chapter Five Conclusion.......... 4
5.1 Major Findings.....47
5.2 Implications.........48
5.3 Limitations of the Present Study..........50
5.4 Suggestions for Future Studies....50

Chapter 4 Results and Discussion

This chapter is intended to find out answers to the research questions related topresent study. In the first section, the researcher investigates the current situation ofcritical thinking skills of English major students. Furthermore, it explains subscaleskills of critical thinking in different grades in detail. In the second section, Englishcurriculum is surveyed to figure out the relationship between curriculum and criticalthinking. In the third section, an intervie