Implementing Problem-Solving Activities to Enhance Critical Thinking Among EFL Young Learners

ABSTRACT:This action research aimed to identify to what extent the implementation of problem- solving activities enhances EFL young learners’ critical thinking. The participants were 15 students from PINJ (Programa de Inglés para Niños y Jóvenes) from Universidad de Antioquia. Actions consisted in the creation of problem-solving activities around subtopics related to students' realities and context: gender role issues and gender inequality within the families; elder mistreatment and abandonment; and violence on Mother’s Day. The activities were developed introducing the issue, its causes and consequences, encouraging students to propose solutions from their point of view. Data collection instruments included a teacher journal, a student survey, and an interview with my CT. Findings suggest that problem-solving activities fostered students’ critical thinking, participation, motivation, and language skills.

• Autores: Serna Vélez, Ingrid Gisela
• Tipo de recurso: Trabajo de grado de pregrado
• Fecha de publicación: 2021
• Institución: Universidad de Antioquia
• Repositorio: Repositorio UdeA
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:bibliotecadigital.udea.edu.co:10495/23574
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/10495/23574
• Palabra clave: English language-Study and teaching-Foreign speakers; Critical thinking; Motivation; Problem solving; Motivación; Pensamiento crítico; Resolución de problemas; http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85043710; http://vocabularies.unesco.org/thesaurus/concept17110; http://vocabularies.unesco.org/thesaurus/concept390; http://vocabularies.unesco.org/thesaurus/concept7517
• Rights: openAccess
• License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/