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1.2.1 Purposes
This comparative study aims to evaluate the level of English majors' criticalthinking ability, and then analyzes in order to find the teaching philosophy effective on criticalthinking ability cultivation on the basis of testing results. To put the purposes of this researchin detail: ① evaluating the level of English majors' critical thinking ability; ② exploring themajor influencing factors that put impacts on English majors' critical thinking ability; and ③discussing what sort of teaching philosophy or principle should be introduced to realize theobjective of cultivating English majors' critical thinking ability. Therefore, the results of thisstudy are expected to provide theoretical and practical supports for the enhancement ofacademic discipline construction.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Concepts and Significance
Since 1960s, scholars’ constant efforts on refining their definitions of “critical thinking”(referred to as CT) have resulted in the various definitions of it. To define “critical thinking”,the most popular one is Ennis’s (1991, p. 8): “reasonable, reflective thinking that focuses ondeciding what to believe or do”.When it comes to the end of 1990s, the definitions of critical thinking and itsapplicability are under hot dispute among experts and scholars in foreign languageseducational circles. Some scholars in China have worked hard on the precision of its Chineseversion. For example, Wen Qiufang (2009) explains that the translation of “si bian neng li” isin line with Chinese mode of thinking, while “pi pan xing si wei neng li” may easily bemisinterpreted in China (2008). But after plowing through databases on the internet, theauthor found that either in journal papers or in master's theses, “pi pan xing si wei nengli” rather than the translation of “si bian neng li” in Chinese are commonly used andaccepted. Thus, when collecting Chinese literatures and documents, both “pi pan xing si weineng li” and “si bian neng li” are used as keywords.Living in an epoch of increased global competition in intelligence,western countries, especially the United States, have regarded the cultivation of criticalthinking ability as an important task for higher education in the past 20 years. Dressel andMayhew (1954) summarize four reasons for why critical thinking ability is important: “First,critical thinking is valuable as it helps foster other important goals of attending college suchas the development of moral and spiritual values, the transmission of knowledge, and thepreparation of individuals for adult life. Second, critical thinking skills provide a purpose foracquiring knowledge. Otherwise, acquired knowledge simply becomes a jumble of facts.Third, critical thinking ability is applicable to most activities and problems we encounter.Finally, while subject matter knowledge may be soon forgotten, critical thinking ability is along lasting skill.”Luo qingxu (2000) presents three additional benefits of possessing critical thinkingability: it is a necessity for the cultivation of college students' creative skills and spirits; fortheir survival and development in an information age; and also for the eradication of theirblind faith.Beyond these concrete reasons, the importance of CT and its nurturing have been greatlyemphasized both at home an本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。