Wegrzecka-Kowalewski, Eva
(2018)
CRITICAL THINKING IN INTENSIVE LANGUAGE PROGRAMS FOR
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN U.S. UNIVERSITIES.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This dissertation examines how critical thinking skills are addressed in university-level intensive
language programs for international students in the United States. The theoretical framework for
this study was built upon Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Three research questions inquired
about language instructors’ ability to conceptualize critical thinking, integration of critical
thinking into intensive language programs curricula and assessment tools, and obstacles in
implementation of critical thinking in language instruction. Twenty-one instructors from
intensive language programs for international students at six research universities in the
Northeast part of the United States participated in this study. The data collection instruments
were a questionnaire and follow-up interviews. A qualitative data analysis using a coding scheme
revealed that the majority of the participants did not have a strong conceptualization of critical
thinking and had difficulty in articulating critical thinking as a cultural construct. The analysis
also revealed that the instructors from intensive language programs with re-designed curricula
that included critical thinking as learning and instructional objectives reported a high success rate
in preparing international students for academic challenges unlike the instructors from language
programs that follow a traditional structure-oriented approach to language teaching. Some
instructors from structure-oriented language programs reported that they developed their own
critical thinking materials to infuse language instruction with critical thinking instruction. Other
CRITICAL THINKING IN INTENSIVE LANGUAGE PROGRAMS FOR
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN U.S. UNIVERSITIES
Eva Węgrzecka-Kowalewski, PhD
University of Pittsburgh, 2018
v
than their programs’ focus on language assessment, obstacles in implementing critical thinking
into language curricula listed by the instructors included a lack of textbooks encouraging critical
thinking, resistance from administrators and other instructors to re-design language curricula,
students’ lack of motivation to learn critical thinking, and difficulty of teaching and evaluating
critical thinking. With no other studies existing on teaching critical thinking in intensive
language programs in universities in the U.S., this study offers pioneering evidence and
implications for (a) stronger implementation of critical thinking skills in language support
programs for international students planning to pursue academic degrees, (b) reconceptualization
of the notion of academic literacy to include critical thinking, (c) development
of critical thinking instructional materials and textbooks for language instruction, and (d)
training in critical thinking instruction in teacher education programs and professional
development initiatives.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Wegrzecka-Kowalewski, Eva | evw7@pitt.edu | evw7 | |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
27 September 2018 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
12 June 2018 |
| Approval Date: |
27 September 2018 |
| Submission Date: |
27 September 2018 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
179 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Instruction and Learning |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
critical thinking, international students, academic literacy |
| Date Deposited: |
27 Sep 2018 21:44 |
| Last Modified: |
27 Sep 2018 21:44 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/35367 |
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