CRITICAL THINKING AS A TOOL FOR TEACHING LISTENING IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM AT THE UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

The article highlights the need for technical university students to improve critical thinking skills in listening at foreign language lessons. Critical thinking skills in the context of teaching English at high school are analyzed. Critical thinking refers to the ability of individuals to think and make the right decisions on their own. Critical thinking is used for learning a foreign language for a long time. Currently, the increase in critical thinking is one of the challenges facing teachers of foreign languages because of its critical importance in class. Three phases of critical thinking (evocation, meaning realization and reflection or thought) that relate to the three stages of work with the audiotext (before listening, while listening and after listening) are considered. Particular methods of critical thinking for students while teaching listening in the classroom on the subject “Introduction into English for technical purposes” are suggested. Such techniques as “table-KWK”, “thin and thick questions”, “keywords”, “tree predictions”, “insert”, “blog”, “Daisy Bloom”, “writing poetry”, “letter on a circle” and “essay” are offered. Each method is provided with guidelines for the teacher on the use at foreign language lessons. Finally, this article concludes the importance of using the above mentioned methods of critical thinking as they contribute to preparing students for future careers.