Kast, Clifford; (2023) Exploring Critical Thinking Development through Dialogic Discussion of Literature in English for Academic Purposes. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Critical thinking is a key objective of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Relevant elements of criticality in this pedagogical context include inference, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. These are also important elements of argumentation which, in an EAP context, are typically addressed through engagement with expository texts. For effective critical thinking development, instruction should be purposeful, persistent, explicit, contextual and personalized. Against this backdrop I conducted a qualitative study in a foundation EAP university class, which explored ways in which critical thinking may be expressed in dialogic discourse about and around literary texts. Central to the study was a six-month classroom intervention, which took the form of a weekly reading circle. This discursive context allowed participants to engage in Quality Talk, a dialogic approach to text-based classroom discourse designed to enhance critical-analytic thinking and argumentation skills. A multiple case study design facilitated examination of the critical thinking development of three focal participants. To analyze the data I employed a triple-pronged interpretive strategy which drew on Quality Talk, relevance theory, and abductive inference. The findings revealed several ways in which the focal participants expressed critical thinking. Chief among these was a progressive development in argumentative reasoning, evident in the steady qualitative improvement of participants’ elaborated explanations over the duration of the course. This increasing sophistication in reasoning appeared to be fostered by the lively dialogic atmosphere, in which divergent viewpoints were both encouraged and challenged. Not only did participants’ arguments become more substantive as a result, but notably more cogent. Another key finding was an improvement in participants’ critical thinking dispositions, reflected in an increased propensity towards inquiry and reflection. These outcomes demonstrate both the value and efficacy of a literature-based discussion forum in EAP pedagogy, which bolsters the case for making such an instructional approach an intrinsic part of an EAP syllabus.

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