scholarly journals Social Ills of (Global) Capitalism under Scrutiny in American Literature Classes: "Teaching to Transgress"

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Lilijana Burcar
Keyword(s):  
American Literature ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Systemic Understanding ◽  
Literary Pedagogy

The article foregrounds the importance of honing critical literacy through socially engaged literature. Dealing with literature in an engaged and critical way can help students to develop critical  thinking skills and a systemic understanding of burning social issues that inform their own living realities. Critical literary pedagogy and socially engaged literature play a key role in developing students’ understanding of why and how institutional racism and institutional patriarchy constitute key operating mechanisms of capitalist social relations, which is why constructs of race and gender should never be looked upon as mere add-ons, let alone as a matter of mere culture and hence individual prejudice. In this sense, the article directly challenges the prevailing postmodernist approach in mainstream studies and teachings of literature. It calls instead for the restoration of socially engaged literature to school curricula and for a return to the contextually analytical and systemic (materialist) approach towards literature.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Teaching Critical Thinking Skills through Literature in EFL Context: A Case Study in Spain

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Stefanova ◽  
Jelena Bobkina ◽  
Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Teacher Assessment ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Critical Skills

The present study investigates the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking skills through literary texts in the EFL classroom, based on the combination of reader-centered critical reading and critical literacy pedagogy. Our proposal seeks to address both language teaching and literacy education from a transnational perspective by dealing with critical thinking skills as a set of processes whose main aspects include the interpretation of the world, self-reflection, intercultural awareness, critical awareness, problem-solving, and language use. For the purpose of this study, a series of activities based on Caryl Phillips’s novel The Lost Child (2015) have been designed, following the four curricular components of Multiliteracies pedagogy (Kalantzis & Cope, 2000). Conducted in an EFL classroom in Spain, the study aims to validate the model of teaching critical skills built on working with current social issues, such as immigration, discrimination, and bullying. To evaluate the effectiveness of the model, teacher assessment and self-assessment questionnaires have been completed by the teacher and the students, respectively. A close analysis of the results reveals that both students and their teacher perceive the model as highly effective, in particular, in terms of self-reflection. Additionally, intrinsically motivating activities and frequent opportunities to discuss literary texts and relate them to current issues have proved to be highly beneficial for the students, providing them with a broader perspective that helps them interpret real-world problems properly. The assessment grid has proved effective, although for a wider application of the grid, the descriptors might have to be adapted to the students’ age.   

scholarly journals Literature and critical literacy pedagogy in the EFL classroom: Towards a model of teaching critical thinking skills

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Bobkina ◽  
Svetlana Stefanova
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Rudyard Kipling ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Critical Literacy Pedagogy

Drawing on the numerous benefits of integrating literature in the EFL classroom, the present paper argues that the analysis of a fictional work in the process of foreign language acquisition offers a unique opportunity for students to explore, interpret, and understand the world around them. The paper presents strong evidence in favour of reader-centered critical reading as a means of encouraging observation and active evaluation not only of linguistic items, but also of a variety of meanings and viewpoints. The authors propose a model of teaching critical thinking skills focused on the reader’s response to a literary work. The practical application of the method, which adopts the critical literacy approach as a tool, is illustrated through a series of activities based on the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling.

scholarly journals Critical Literacy Approach in the teaching of literary appreciation using Indonesian short stories

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
H. Halimah
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Critical Awareness ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Experimental Group

This paper presents experimental results about the use of the Critical Literacy Approach (CLA) in literary appreciation using Indonesian short stories. The purpose of the study is to find better teaching strategies to improve students’ critical thinking skills and critical awareness to comprehend the conditions of the world, including social relationships involving disproportionate power relations. This study uses the randomized pretest-posttest control group design (RPPCGD), which is a randomized design by giving pretest and posttest to the experimental group (CLA) and control group (expository). The effect of both teaching strategies is calculated through the difference between the pretest and posttest of both groups. This research involved 170 students in the Department of Indonesian Language and Literature Education of an education university in Indonesia. The results are presented in the form of analytical descriptions of paired samples test and paired samples correlations of each group. The results show that students who did a short story analysis with CLA had significantly increased critical thinking skills and critical awareness compared to students of expository strategy. The average posttest of the experimental group is 80.33, which is considerably higher than the control group, with an average of 76.13. The average increase in skills (posttest-pretest) of the experimental group is 38.71 points, and the control groups have an average increase of 31.19 points. Therefore, it is clear that the teaching of literary appreciation using Indonesian short stories with CLA is effective. The use of CLA strategies in increasing students’ critical thinking skills and critical awareness through literary appreciation of Indonesian short stories shows positive results. The results of this study can contribute to the field of learning design with new ideas to improve critical thinking skills and critical awareness of Indonesian students through effective short story analysis or fictional prose analysis.

scholarly journals Alternativas para reflexionar aspectos críticos de la ciencia en el aula-Alternatives to Reflect on Critical Aspects of Science in the Classroom

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (22) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Jordi Solbes-Matarredona ◽  
Nidia Yaneth Torres-Merchán
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Teacher Training Students ◽  
Critical Aspects ◽  
Formación Docente ◽  
Estudiantes Universitarios

Este artículo forma parte de una investigación sobre el uso de cuestiones socio-científicas a fin de promover las competencias para el pensamiento crítico en estudiantes universitarios. La primera parte presenta las apreciaciones de un grupo de estudiantes en formación docente acerca de la criticidad de la ciencia y lo que entienden por ciencia crítica. También, se presenta y se discute sobre las experiencias de algunos investigadores perseguidos debido a sus contribuciones científicas, ya que tuvieron implicaciones sociales, o cuestiones sociocientíficas.Alternatives to Reflect on Critical Aspects of Science in the ClassroomThis paper is part of a research about the use of scientific-social issues to promote critical thinking skills in university students. The first part presents the considerations of a group of teacher training students about the criticality of science and what they understand about critical science. It also presents and discusses the experiences of some researchers who were persecuted because of their scientific contributions with social implications or scientific social issues.Alternativas para refletir aspectos críticos da ciência na sala de aulaEste artigo é parte de uma investigação sobre o uso de questões sociais científicos, para promover habilidades de pensamento crítico dos estudantes da universidade. A primeira parte apresenta os motivos que levaram um grupo de estudantes de formação de professores sobre a criticidade da ciência e o que eles querem dizer com uma ciência crítica. Ele também apresenta e discute alguns investigadores perseguidos por suas contribuições científicas para implicações sociais ou questões sociais científicos. 

scholarly journals Against the Grain: Socially Just Social Science from the Standpoint of Roxana Ng (Review Essay)

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-159
Author(s):  
Elaine Coburn
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
The Political ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Relations Of Power ◽  
Varied Work

This contribution seeks to highlight the important scholarship of Roxana Ng, arguably one of Canadian sociology and political economy’s most underappreciated theorists. Like her activism, Ng’s academic work is both wide-ranging yet firmly focused on major, unjust inequalities. Her research particularly concerns the Canadian capitalist political economy but inevitably, given the embeddedness of these social relations within worldwide historical relations, stretches beyond national borders. In particular, Ng sought to unpack the everyday, intertwined – exploitative and unjust – relations of class, race, and gender, and the ways these unjust relations are articulated through migration and citizenship. This contribution situates the reception and uneven uptake of Ng’s varied work before critically analysing her contributions to understanding (1) immigrant women’s labour in Canada, (2) the complex racialized, gendered relations of power in the academy, and (3) the liberatory potential of embodied epistemologies, specifically Qi Gong meditation. In the conclusions, I consider the overall contributions and some contradictions of her work, in moving from the local to the global, and from the personal to the political.

Fostering Critical Thinking Using Instructional Strategies in English Classes

2019 ◽  
pp. 299-316
Author(s):  
Şenol Orakcı ◽  
Mehmet Durnali ◽  
Osman Aktan
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
English Classes

The aim of the chapter is to provide both theoretical and practical ideas about critical thinking development within English language teaching contexts. Encouraging language learners to be critical thinkers is important in teaching English as a foreign language. However, achieving the goal remains a challenge. Using various strategies together seem to be effective when properly implemented. Therefore this chapter outlines these strategies which include communicative language tasks, using authentic meaningful texts, using critical literacy, being aware of whole-brain learning, adopting a reflective teaching, enabling students to become autonomous, using explicit instruction, teacher questioning, using active and cooperative learning strategies, using literature in English classes, using creative drama, and adopting self-assessment. Teachers can enable learners to have critical thinking skills and more efficient English lessons by combining these strategies in a new way or by designing critical thinking activities in the classroom.

Creating Spaces for Critical Literacy for Bilingual Learners

2018 ◽  
pp. 28-46
Author(s):  
So Jung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Korean Language ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Audio Video

With heightened emphasis on critical literacy pedagogies, attention to critical literacy for young children (CLYC) has rapidly increased. Yet, there is a paucity of studies examining CLYC in bilingual settings, particularly in Pre-K contexts. Utilizing a qualitative case study design, the current study examined how early critical literacy can be implemented as a medium to help young bilinguals critique texts and develop critical perspectives about race and gender. The study was conducted in a kindergarten classroom at the Korean Language School in a Midwestern city in the US. The data were collected over a semester using multiple collection sources including audio/video recordings, observational field notes, interviews, and children's artifacts. Findings suggest the potential of early critical literacy practices in bilingual contexts to open critical conversations about race and gender with young children. The study also provides teachers with tips on how to create supportive literary environments for young bilingual children.

Creating Spaces for Critical Literacy for Bilingual Learners

2019 ◽  
pp. 1303-1321
Author(s):  
So Jung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Korean Language ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Audio Video

With heightened emphasis on critical literacy pedagogies, attention to critical literacy for young children (CLYC) has rapidly increased. Yet, there is a paucity of studies examining CLYC in bilingual settings, particularly in Pre-K contexts. Utilizing a qualitative case study design, the current study examined how early critical literacy can be implemented as a medium to help young bilinguals critique texts and develop critical perspectives about race and gender. The study was conducted in a kindergarten classroom at the Korean Language School in a Midwestern city in the US. The data were collected over a semester using multiple collection sources including audio/video recordings, observational field notes, interviews, and children's artifacts. Findings suggest the potential of early critical literacy practices in bilingual contexts to open critical conversations about race and gender with young children. The study also provides teachers with tips on how to create supportive literary environments for young bilingual children.

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