Developing Critical Thinking Through Literature-Based English Teaching: Methods and Impacts

Abstract

The goal of this qualitative study is to understand how literature-based English instruction can scaffold the development of students’ critical thinking skills. Five English instructors from two different geographical contexts in Iraq and the United States were interviewed. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews, we explored instructors’ strategies, experiences, and perceptions regarding the use of literary texts to prompt critical thinking in language-learning settings. The instructors, two of whom had PhD degrees and three of whom had master’s degrees, described a range of strategies, such as extensive open-ended discussions, critical questioning, and cross-cultural comparisons, that engaged their students in higher-order thinking. Instructors consistently reported that literature-based instruction prompts students to substantiate how and when they begin to question their own assumptions, analyze multiple points of view, and draw connections between the themes examined in a text and real-life situations, thereby engaging them as critical thinkers. This paper discusses these implications and their relevance to current pedagogical frameworks and the literature on critical thinking, as well as implications for curriculum design and considerations for teacher education programs. This study adds to a growing body of research advocating for the contextualization of literature in the language classroom as a means of producing not only linguistically competent learners but also critically aware individuals.