Developing critical thinking of future foreign language teachers by means of socio-cultural text

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of the formation of socio-cultural competence on the base of teaching critical thinking within the discipline in philology department. The importance of students’ socio-cultural competence formation with some elements of critical thinking is caused by our society inconsistencies, and that’s why in this discussion, we explain how socio-cultural text could be organized, and what exercises could be used, which have contributed to general understanding of critical thinking. The characteristics of the components of socio-cultural competence are outlined in the paper with the use of effective methods and technologies.

This paper will help you to:

• define critical thinking at a simple and more complex level;
• explain it to yourself
• explain it to your students
• find ways to encourage the development of these skills in your classroom 

Need of modernization of the general and higher education in Kazakhstan according to the international standards caused a need forsubject experts with a high level of intercultural competence. High education has to be directed on training of specialists, realizing the growing interdependence between the people and the nations, ready to participate in dialogue of cultures. All process of training has to be directed to a socio cultural focus.

Socio cultural development of students by means of foreign languages promotes formation of skill to communicate, a speech step, impartiality in opinions and estimates, readiness for joint activity with people of different views irrespective of their ethnic, racial and social origin and religion. It creates prerequisites for studying of cultures of carriers of the learned language [1].

Certainly, the problem of foreign language teaching at universities is very challenging. Any language has its cultural heritage. Consequently, language teaching shouldn’t be limited to a certain set of rules. Studying a foreign language, students acquire new values, beliefs, behavior patterns; they broaden their world viewpoint, develop intellectual abilities and tolerance. Learners who study a foreign language have to master a number of competences: linguistic, pragmatic, sociocultural.

Sociocultural competence includes context, stylistic and cultural suitability of verbal activity and awareness of non-verbal communicative peculiarities. Sociocultural competence is an integrative personal quality. It furthers the connection of theoretical knowledge with practical skills and strategies of behavior [2, 231]. It enables to understand the context in which the language is used by native speakers and choose language forms to achieve a desired communicative effect [3, pp. 45-48]. Scholars put forward the following stages for the formation of sociocultural competence:

1. acquaintance with the sociocultural environment of the studied language;
2. acquirement of sociocultural competence in educational conditions;
3. acquirement of sociocultural competence in real conditions [4, 73].

Special attention should be given to the formation of learners’ communication skills, cultural competence and positive attitude towards another culture with self-assessment [5, p. 539]. The development of sociocultural competence in language teaching supposes a communication-oriented approach [6, pp. 40-41]. Sociocultural competence anticipates the knowledge of another culture, respect and tolerance towards others [4, p.75]. Sociocultural competence includes a deep-rooted knowledge of everyday-life situations (like the solving problem), values and beliefs.

Today, any foreign language should be taught as a phenomenon of social and cultural reality with the main elements of critical thinking. Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought out. It is a way of thinking in which you don't simply accept all arguments and conclusions you are exposed to but rather have an attitude involving questioning such arguments and conclusions. It requires wanting to see what evidence is involved to support a particular argument or conclusion [7, pp.52-53]. People who use critical thinking are the ones who say things such as, 'How do you know that? Is this conclusion based on evidence or gut feelings?' and 'Are there alternative possibilities when given new pieces of information?'

Additionally, critical thinking can be divided into the following three core skills:

• Curiosity is the desire to learn more information and seek evidence as well as being open to new
• Skepticism involves having a healthy questioning attitude about new information that you are exposed to and not blindly believing everything everyone tells
• Finally, humility is the ability to admit that your opinions and ideas are wrong when faced with new convincing evidence that states otherwise [8, pp. 362-365].

Teaching Critical Thinking by Formation of Socio-cultural Competence in at the center of the learning philology in many English speaking universities is the idea that academic thinking requires balanced judgment reached through exploring multiple points of view [3, p.46]. It is believed that a simplistic right or wrong approach is limiting and listening to alternatives is likely to lead to a better outcome. This more complex way of considering issues is often referred to as “critical thinking”, and is a term that is used widely in further and higher education. There are many different interpretations of what this may mean but a useful definition is the idea of looking at issues from a number of perspectives [9, pp. 9-11].

One of the first myths that we need to dispel is that any one of us reaches a point where we no longer need to keep questioning the world around us. Using our critical mind is an ongoing process which continues throughout our lives. We all have biases (areas of thinking where we have a ‘blind spot’). Therefore, critical thinking is about becoming aware of our biases and challenging our own thinking. In that respect teachers and students have much to learn from each other. Students preparing for university studies will have their own beliefs on a variety of subjects. As teachers we need to find ways to naturally tap into this wonderful resource by asking the right questions and providing ample space for discussion. In that setting, there is no right or wrong answer. As a teacher you can find ways to do this which respect the specific context in which you are working.

At university level, it is hoped that students are able to notice these biases in the writing and speaking of others, as well as consulting expert opinion and research in the formation of their own ideas. It is also hoped they will learn to spot inferred as well as literal meaning. This demonstrates they are able to exercise critical judgment. Whenever you are working with a spoken or written text, try to help your students notice biases and read between the lines. When they are in discussion with each other, try to help them become more selfaware about their own viewpoints in relation to those around them. Many university and content courses also have components which teach these skills and provide opportunities to practice and refine them, as it is assumed not all students, either home or international, arrive fully prepared.

At a deeper level, there is another stage of critical thinking which relates to how students process the information they have unpacked. If students are looking at a text about global warming, they may have discussed it and agreed there is a need for action in the interests of protecting future generations. The lesson might end at that point. Alternatively opportunities could be provided to consider what can actually be done to remedy the situation. Much critical thinking focuses on revealing other perspectives and ways of viewing issues that lie behind a common sense view of the world. As a teacher, it is important to allow students to explore the area of responsibility (i.e. in the case of global warming, who is to blame? Is it larger organizations that produce pollution on a mass scale or the individual in their home? Are they equally responsible?). Thus, having chosen the socio-cultural text, taking into account the level of English the following stages of tasks have been made. They are divided into six main parts:

1. Global readingskill means understanding the general meaning of what you are reading. It can be compared to selective comprehension, which means understanding specific information in the text, and detailed comprehension, which means understanding everything. Global, selective and detailed comprehensions have parallels with the three reading skills of skimming, scanning and intensive
2. Example
3. The learners have read a story and now try to recreate it by putting jumbled sentences into the correct order.
4. In the classroom
5. Various activity types can test global comprehension. Learners can be asked to sort out jumbled versions of a text, as in the example, produce or complete summaries, answer comprehension questions that test general understanding, such as ‘true or false statements, and suggest
6. Close reading skill promotes careful analysis of text while building the 21st Century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Students contemplate a key question as they read engaging passages on a common topic, and then participate in small-group and whole-class discussions. All students read a connecting passage to apply knowledge gained from reading closely and discussing the 
7. Open-ended questions. Language is one of the most powerful tools available to teachers. We can use language to stretch student’s curiosity, reasoning ability, creativity, and independence. One effective way to do this is by asking open-ended questions—those with no single right or wrong answer. Instead of predictable answers, open-ended questions elicit fresh and sometimes even startling insights and ideas, opening minds and enabling teachers and students to build knowledge
8. Case studies.Unlike traditional lecture-based teaching where student participation in the classroom is minimal, the case study method is an active learning method, which requires participation and involvement from the student in the classroom. For students who have been exposed only to the traditional teaching methods, this calls for a major change in their approach to learning. Study cases help to:
9. develop and raise critical thinking (application/synthesis/evaluation) and reflective learning in the learner;
10. develop problem solving skills;
11. improve the student’s organizational skills – as case studies are sometimes very dense in information, the key is to condense this information into logical sections and organize them so that a clear picture of the problem/issue can be understood;
12. Statements of discussion. Class discussions can motivate students while also helping them retain knowledge and develop effective problem-solving
13. Writing ought to be the easiest of the four skills for students. Unlike the listener or the reader, the writer controls all the words. And unlike the speaker, the writer can plan what to produce well in advance; then once the writing is produced, they can go back, check it, and revise it. And yet, many students struggle with writing more than with the other skills.
14. Process writing is a method of approaching this skill that allows students to take advantage of the opportunities writing offers. Process writing is generally agreed to mean that the writer follows these steps: brainstorming; organizing; drafting; editing / revising;
15. As a sample of work with sociocultural text focused on developing critical thinking the following text and assignment are

Around the world

Essay.Write an essay on the topic: «Wedding ceremony in my culture”.Plan a paragraph about a wedding day. Look back at your brainstorm and decide what information to include. Write your essay. Your paragraph should be 100-125 words.Exchange paragraphs with a partner. Consider your essay’s comments and rewrite your paragraphs. Use a dictionary to check the spelling of any words you are unsure of. 

Conclusion

In generally, such types of various tasks in class can help to tease out these differences but some teachers may be fearful of asking students to take this step. However, a critical classroom should not be teacher led but student centered. The teacher should facilitate student thinking by asking the right questions rather than taking a strong position themselves that may make some students feel uncomfortable. It may be the first time some of your students have been in a classroom discussion like this. Encouraging disagreement in a supportive and cooperative atmosphere is at the heart of what a university setting will eventually offer them.

As teachers, we can always find a way to introduce critical moments into our classroom by using the resources around us, such as reading and listening texts, and connecting them with outside events. University requires students to make those connections and to read widely to explore important issues further. Before going into the classroom, look at the material for that day and find at least two or three opportunities to design activities that challenge the accepted way of thinking about a particular subject. Developing critical thinking skills takes time and patience – a little and often approach will undoubtedly help bring these important skills to life in your classroom.

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