The Cultivation of Critical Thinking in the Teaching Process of College English
As one of the compulsory basic general education courses in China’s higher education institutions, College English focuses on cultivating moral integrity and nurturing talents, and promotes overall improvement in foreign language proficiency and intercultural competence. For College English teaching under the traditional curriculum framework, it is challenging to enhance the critical thinking ability of college students in terms of teaching content, teaching mode, educational goal and resource construction. In light of theories related to critical thinking and its connection with College English teaching, together with current research issues of critical thinking development, the paper suggests five cultivation ways. According to the “Guidelines for the Integration of Ideological and Political Education into Higher Education Curricula”, an education mechanism with comprehensive objectives to practice is formulated, which aims at fostering high-quality talents able to distinguish the cultural differences between China and other countries, objectively analyze the information, communicate Chinese culture, national condition and regional achievements in English, and have critical thinking ability.
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