Introducing critical thinking at High School Level to enhance the teaching of speaking

Abstract

[eng] One of the most extended fallacies is the fact that teenagers are merely impulsive beings and do not take time to consider and evaluate information; especially since they are constantly bombarded with information due to new technologies. In reality what students need is a space to demonstrate this ability freely because their opinions tend to be diminished because of their age. In general, at schools there is little room for critical thinking and speaking, that is why the proposal of this paper is to join both skills because of the strong connection these two abilities possess. As the literature review will exemplify, the implementation of critical thinking to work on the speaking skill helps students improve their confidence which enhances their speeches. In order to exemplify the joinability of these skills, students were provided with a technological paradox they had to solve in groups. After analyzing the results, students’ performance had improved greatly. Considering the great results, the use of critical thinking in diverse speaking activities is proposed as a method to ameliorate the acquisition of spoken English by Spanish high-school students.