Employing Questioning to Cultivate Critical Thinking Disposit ...
Abstract
Literature reading can be difficult for English learners, which then reduces their interest in reading and reflecting on the materials. Traditional English literature teaching tends to translate the story into learner’s native language for better comprehension. However, reading and thinking critically are associated with each other, and questioning is commonly adopted to help readers verify their understanding of texts. Thus, this study examined the effects of questioning strategies on critical thinking dispositions. Students’ attitudes toward questioning strategies were discussed through a quantitative analysis of surveys completed by fifty-one English-major students in a junior college in Taiwan. The results indicate that most students’ critical thinking dispositions were enhanced significantly after using questioning. In addition, whereas most students showed positive and favorable attitudes toward teacher-led questioning tasks, they revealed less desire to engage student-created questioning tasks. Pedagogical implications are provided as well.