A Comparative Study of Critical Thinking Skills of EFL Learners and Humanities Students

Abstract

Managing the unprecedented challenges of information age requires self-sufficient individuals with basic critical thinking abilities whose meta-cognitive knowledge is to be enhanced through educational modules. Critical thinking is known as a cognitive activity for the aim of perception and evaluation of findings, as well as phenomena on the basis of skills, such as reasoning and analysis. This is a comparative study to determine level of critical thinking skills of EFL learners and compare them to the skills of humanities students. To this end, California Critical Thinking Skills Test- Form B was used as the instrument to obtain the required data from 235 EFL and Humanities students of B.A., within the age range of 20-28, randomly selected from Islamic Azad University. The CCTST-Form B comprises 34 multiple-choice questions with one correct answer in five aspects of cognitive skills of critical thinking. The data was coded and transferred into SPSS software. The results of the study showed that EFL students were not different in terms of their critical thinking skills based on grade and gender, while gender in Humanities students was associated with different skills; and Humanities students reported lower level of critical thinking skill when compared with EFL students.