英语论文网

2.1.1 Definition of Critical Thinking

CT is a widely accepted educational goal. Its definition is contested, but the competing definitions can be understood as differing conceptions of the same basic concept: careful thinking directed to a goal. Conceptions differ with respect to the scope of such thinking, the type of goal, the criteria and norms for thinking carefully, and the thinking components on which they focus. The literature of CT stems mainly from two academic disciplines: philosophy and psychology (Lewis & Smith, 1993). Sternberg (1986) has also identified another CT category within the field of education. These three academic disciplines have quite different way to define CT, which reflects their different concerns and emphases. 

2.2 Literature Reading Teaching

Literature reading teaching is a matter of significance in English education. There are various studies home and abroad on this area, involving listing reasons for teaching literature, illustrating the relationship between literature reading and critical thinking and exploring the effective way of teaching literature and its effect on students’ abilities.

2.2.1 Reasons for Teaching Literature

Throughout the language teaching history, there are many reasons for the inclusion of literature in teaching system. The first reason is proposed by Collie and Slater (1987) as ‘cultural enrichment’. They describe that it is true that the ‘world’ of a novel, play or short story is a created one, yet it offers a full and vivid context in which characters from many social backgrounds can be depicted. A reader can discover their thoughts, feelings, customs, possessions: what they buy, believe in, fear, enjoy; how they speak and behave behind closed doors. 

The second reason could be called rhetoric, which means that people read literature because it is believed to provide a model of good writing. A third reason for teaching literature is the ideal of mental training, promoted by F. R. Leavis (1943). It is proposed that literature trains, in a way no other discipline can, intelligence and sensibility together, cultivating sensitiveness and precision of response and a delicate integrity of intelligence. A fourth reason is that of authenticity. Duff and Maley (1990) point out that ‘literary texts offer genuine samples of a very wide range of styles, registers and text-types at many levels of difficulty’. A further reason is that literature is open to multiple interpretation, which means that only rarely will two readers’ understanding of reaction to a given text be identical. The final reason for teaching literature is that of convenience. This could be a good or bad reason. It is a very bad reason when textbooks consist only of extracts from literature, with no vocabulary or grammar, no exercises or nothing else at all. It can be a good reason if a literature text is chosen in terms of learner needs, objectives and methodology. 

Chapter Three Methodology ............................... 27

3.1 Research Questions ......................... 27

3.2 Research Participants ............................... 27

Chapter Four Results and Discussion ..................................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。