Sociological Explanation of Critical Thinking as an Effective Way of Teaching English Reading Skill among Young Iranian EFL Pre-Intermediate Learners

Abstract

This study considered the sociological explanation of critical thinking on teaching reading skill among young Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. For this purpose, 40 pre-intermediate learners, 19-30 years old, were chosen after administering a non-probability sampling design from classes at Foreign Language Institute in Babol. These 40 participants were randomly allocated to two groups (one experimental and one control group) each comprising of 20 persons. The participants received a pre-test connected to reading skill separately to ensure that they failed to have previous knowledge. The experimental group received the treatment associated critical thinking to learn reading skill. Then the participants were asked to answer IELTS Reading Test. But control group just received the usual instructions as before. After the treatments, the same pre-test was given to the participants as post-test to evaluate the effect of treatment. After collecting and analyzing the data, the results indicated that critical thinking had a positive effect on teaching reading skill in in English.