علیرضا کربلایی

Critical thinking is a fundamental cognitive skill that significantly influences our thought processes. Without it, reaching impartial and accurate conclusions becomes challenging. This skill holds profound importance in educational settings. The focus of the present study was to examine how teaching critical thinking skills enhances the critical thinking and reading comprehension abilities of Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. A group of 40 in-service EFL teachers from Farhangian University in Iran underwent pretests on reading comprehension and critical thinking. Critical thinking interventions were systematically integrated into the course curriculum at 4-week intervals. Following the instructional period, posttests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the critical thinking intervention program. Results indicated a notable improvement in both the knowledge and attitudes towards critical thinking. Moreover, the program positively impacted the students' reading comprehension levels, particularly their ability to critically approach reading comprehension tests. This highlights the significance of creating an environment where students feel comfortable expressing their thoughts without the fear of judgment. Educators play a crucial role in fostering optimal critical thinking behaviors and attitudes through effective modeling. Promoting a culture of open expression and critical thinking is key to nurturing well-rounded learners.

Vocabulary plays a pivotal role in second language learning and development. Concordance-based methods are considered as new techniques for improving teaching materials and motivating learners to improve their language ability with authentic texts. To this end, the present study aims to enhance the effect of Innovative Concordancing Instruction (ICI) on vocabulary knowledge by integrating principled instructional approaches. The participants included 90 university students at undergraduate level in Islamic Azad University in Tehran, Iran. First, after giving a proficiency test, the students were divided into innovative concordancing, traditional concordancing and control group. The participants in both experimental groups were given eight-week vocabulary instruction, while no special vocabulary instruction was considered for the sample in the control group. Based on the results, ICI had both better immediate and delayed instructional effects on increasing receptive and productive knowledge although the students in instructional groups improved in terms of receptive and productive knowledge. The present study could present some implications for teaching vocabulary when designing vocabulary curricula and developing materials for EFL learners and teachers.