DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH LISTENING INSTRUCTION IN ENGLISH PHILOLOGY CLASSROOMS

Abstract

In contemporary language education, the development of critical thinking skills has become as important as linguistic competence. For students of English philology, listening is not only a receptive skill but also a key tool for analyzing information, evaluating ideas, and making informed judgments. However, traditional listening instruction often focuses on comprehension rather than deeper cognitive engagement. This study explores how listening instruction can be used to foster critical thinking skills in English philology classrooms.

The research was conducted over one academic semester with undergraduate students. A mixed-method research design was employed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Participants were divided into a control group, which followed traditional listening instruction, and an experimental group, which experienced a critical-thinking-oriented listening approach.

The findings indicate that students in the experimental group demonstrated significant improvement not only in listening comprehension but also in their ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate spoken information. Additionally, students reported higher engagement and greater confidence in expressing their opinions.

The study concludes that integrating critical thinking into listening instruction creates a more effective and meaningful learning experience. It is recommended that educators adopt interactive and analytical listening tasks to enhance both language proficiency and cognitive skills.