Technologies of critical thinking in English lessons

According to modern requirements for education, the basic element of education is a comprehensive school, the modernization of which involves the orientation of education not only on the assimilation of a certain amount of knowledge by students, but also on the development of his personality, his cognitive and creative abilities. A comprehensive school should form an integral system of universal knowledge and skills, as well as the experience of independent activity and personal responsibility of students, that is, key competencies that determine the modern quality of educational content.

It is extremely difficult to motivate a modern student to cognitive activity, to finding a path to a goal in the field of information and communication. This happens because children often experience serious difficulties in perceiving educational material in all school subjects. The reason for this is the insufficiently high level of development of thinking and, above all, critical. And this is very important for a person in the modern world, who is entering a new century with a new look of cognitive culture, for which a “reproducing person” is a concept, in essence, outdated and uninteresting. In addition to reproductive activity, there is another kind of activity, namely, combining or creative activity.

One of the most interesting modern technologies in the field of education, which allows us to develop these competencies, is the technology for developing critical thinking. Critical thinking i.e. creative, helps a person determine his own priorities in his personal and professional life, assumes the adoption of individual responsibility for the choice made, increases the level of individual culture of working with information, forms the ability to analyze and draw independent conclusions, predict the consequences of his decisions and answer for them, allows you to develop a dialogue culture in joint activities. These factors determine the relevance of critical thinking development technology.

A student who knows how to think critically, has a variety of ways of interpreting and evaluating an informational message, is able to single out contradictions and types of structures present in the text, to justify his point of view, relying not only on logic (which is already important), but also on the interlocutor's ideas. Such a student feels confident in working with various types of information, can effectively use a wide variety of resources. The formation of critical thinking presupposes the creation of a basic attitude to oneself and the world, implying a variative, independent, meaningful position. This position significantly increases the reliability of education - because it becomes conscious and reflective and increases the communicative potential of the individual.

Thus, the relevance of using technology for the development of critical thinking is as follows:

• •    inability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired by students at school in real life situations;

• •    lack of motivation among students to cognitive activity, to search for the path to the goal in the field of information and communication;

• •    insufficiently high level of thinking;

• •    insufficient level of individual culture of working with information;

• •    inability to analyze and draw independent conclusions, predict the consequences of their decisions and be responsible for them;

• •    the inability of students to determine their own priorities in personal and professional life

• •    insufficient level of dialogue culture in joint activities

Today in various scientific studies one can find a definition of the term “critical thinking”. J. A. Braus and D. Wood define it as rational reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe and what to do. Critics are trying to understand and realize their own "I", to be objective, logical, trying to understand other points of view. Critical thinking, in their opinion, is the search for common sense and the ability to abandon one's own preconceptions. Critical thinkers are able to put forward new ideas and see new opportunities, which is very important in solving problems.

• D. Halpern defines critical thinking in his work “Psychology of Critical Thinking” as directed thinking, it is balanced, logical, and focused, it is distinguished by the use of cognitive skills and strategies that increase the likelihood of obtaining the desired result.

For all the variety of definitions of critical thinking, one can see in them a close meaning that reflects the evaluative and reflective properties of thinking.

This is open thinking, not accepting dogma, developing by superimposing new information on personal life experience. This is its difference from creative thinking. Critical thinking is the starting point for the development of creative thinking, they develop in synthesis, interdependent.

Can anyone think critically? J. Piaget wrote that by the age of 14-16 a person begins the stage when the best conditions are created for the development of critical thinking. However, this does not mean that these skills are equally developed for each of us.

In order for the student to use his critical thinking, it is important for him to develop a number of qualities, among which D. Halpern highlights:

• •    Willingness to plan

• •    Flexibility

• •    Perseverance

• •    Willingness to correct their mistakes

• •    Awareness

• •    Search for compromise solutions

The technology of critical thinking gives the student:

• -    increasing the efficiency of perception of information;

• -    increased interest in both the material being studied and the learning process itself;

• -    ability to think critically;

• -    the ability to responsibly treat their own education;

• -    the ability to work in collaboration with others;

• -    improving the quality of education of students;

• -    the desire and ability to become a person who studies throughout life.

The critical thinking technology gives the teacher:

• -    the ability to create an atmosphere of openness and responsible cooperation in the classroom;

• -    the ability to use a learning model and a system of effective techniques that contribute to the development of critical thinking and independence in the learning process;

• -    become practitioners who are able to competently analyze their activities;

• -    become a source of valuable professional information for other teachers.

The technology of critical thinking presupposes equal partnerships, both in terms of communication, and in terms of constructing knowledge that is born in the learning process. Working in the mode of critical thinking technology, the teacher ceases to be the main source of information, and, using the techniques of technology, turns teaching into a joint and interesting search.

Foreign language lessons contribute to the development of CM thanks to a variety of material and interactive approaches. The technology for the development of critical thinking through reading and writing (in abbreviated form - RCMCHP or KM) stands out among innovative pedagogical ideas as a successful combination of the problematic and productive nature of the training with the technological effectiveness of the lesson, effective methods and techniques. Using the “Critical Thinking” technology in foreign language lessons, the teacher develops the student’s personality primarily through direct learning of a foreign language, as a result of which a communicative competence is formed that provides comfortable conditions for cognitive activity and self-improvement. The teacher stimulates the interests of the student, develops his desire to practically use a foreign language, as well as to study, making it realistic to achieve success in mastering the subject.

Important is the activation of students. Each student should take part in the work aimed at updating their own experience. You can combine individual and group work techniques. For example, invite each student to recall what is already known about the topic being studied (What ways of ... do you know? What kinds of ... do you know?), Write it in the form of keywords, then share it in a pair or group, making the whole team a list of keywords, and then discuss this with the teacher.

So, in the process of implementing the call stage, it is important:

To give students the opportunity to express their point of view on the topic being studied freely, without fear of mistakes and being corrected by the teacher.

Fix all statements: any of them will be important for further work. Moreover, at this stage there are no “right” and “wrong” statements.

Combine individual and group work: individual will allow each student to update their knowledge and experience; group - to hear other opinions, state your point of view without the risk of mistakes. An exchange of views can contribute to the development of ideas that are often unexpected and productive; the emergence of interesting questions, the search for answers that will stimulate the study of new material. In addition, often some students are afraid to express their opinion to the teacher or to a large audience at once, so classes in small groups make them feel more comfortable.

The role of the teacher at this stage of the work is to encourage students to remember what they already know about the topic being studied, to facilitate a conflict-free exchange of views in groups, and to fix and systematize the information received from schoolchildren. It is important not to criticize the answers, as any student’s opinion is valuable. We emphasize the importance of this stage: all the stages of the lesson are not only interconnected, but also interdependent, and, as you know, a good start is half the battle. Call Stage Functions:

• •    motivational (incentive to work with new information, stimulating interest in setting goals and ways to achieve goals);

• •    informational (challenge to the “surface” of existing knowledge on the topic);

• •    communication (conflict-free exchange of views).

Students, interacting with each other, are engaged in posing a problem that is personally significant for them. This requires students in the vast majority of cases to independently transfer knowledge, skills and abilities to the new context of their use. Therefore, it is safe to say that students develop creative competence as an indicator of communicative knowledge of a foreign language at a certain level. At the same time, in the educational process, a situation is created in which the use by students of a foreign language is natural and free, such as it appears in their native language. It is quite obvious that in this situation the project participants are expected to be able to focus their attention not so much on the language form of the statement as on its content.

When the stated topic is unfamiliar to students, you can ask them to make assumptions or a forecast about a possible subject and object of study.

So, in the case of the successful implementation of the challenge stage in children, there is a powerful incentive to work in the next stage. It should be noted that in the choice of techniques for the lesson, a certain sequence and logic must be observed. For example, if “key terms” or “entangled logical chains” were used at the call stage, then at the reflection stage it is advisable to return to the tasks completed before reading the text and invite students to re-arrange the proposed events or concepts in a chronological or causal sequence.