Cultivating Critical Thinking in Literature Classroom Through Poetry

Authors

  • Mahmoud Azizi Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; University of Mazandaran, Mazandaran Province, Babolsar, Iran
  • Neshat Azizi Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; University of Mazandaran, Mazandaran Province, Babolsar, Iran
  • Elwira Lewandowska Department of Modern Languages, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; University of Bielsko-Biała
  • Yulia Nickolaevna Gosteva Department of Russian language, The Institute of Russian language; RUDN University
  • Peter Majda Theological Institute in Spišské Podhradie. Spišská Kapitula 12, 053 04 Spišské Podhradie The Catholic University in Ružomberok

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2022.1.285.298

Keywords:

Critical Thinking, Literature, Poetry

Abstract

Aim. The development of learners' CT is considered to be one of the most important skills in today’s fast pacing world.   It has also been regarded as the mainstay of and an important component of literature teaching. However, this is one of those areas that was overlooked mainly in eastern culture in general and in the EFL classrooms in particular.  

Methods. To this end, to foster learners' critical thinking skills, a poetry program was specifically designed to draw learners’ attention towards the significance of CT. Through a case study approach,  
a poetry program with a focus on culture-specific information was incorporated into the course. Four female students were engaged in a number of tasks in which they gradually learned to think critically through reflecting on and evaluating the assigned poems. A checklist was generated and used to observe and rate students’ CT before and after the intervention through teacher diaries.  

Results and conclusion. Analysis of the case study data indicated that students’ CT had improved and they developed good critical habits as a result of their involvement in the intervention. Thus, it was concluded that poetry could be regarded as a useful and effective source for developing critical thinking skills among students.  

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Author Biographies

  • Mahmoud Azizi, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; University of Mazandaran, Mazandaran Province, Babolsar, Iran

    Mahmoud Azizi got both his BA and MA from the University of Tehran and received his PhD from CUP in India. He has been teaching English language and literature at different Iranian universities for over 25 years. He is currently an academic staff member of the Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages and Director of the Office of International and Scientific Cooperation (OISC) at the State University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran. His research interests are Shakespearean Studies, 18th Century English literature, Romantic and Transcendental literature, and 20th-century drama.

  • Neshat Azizi, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; University of Mazandaran, Mazandaran Province, Babolsar, Iran

    Neshat Azizi is a BA graduate in English Language Teaching (ELT) from the Department of English Language and Literature of the University of Mazandaran. So far she has translated many books and has taught at different language institutes. Her research interests focus on using literature in teaching a foreign language as well as the notion of critical reading and thinking.

  • Elwira Lewandowska, Department of Modern Languages, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; University of Bielsko-Biała

    Elwira Lewandowska holds a PhD in English Didactics earned at the Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia She works as an assistant professor at the University of Bielsko-Biała. Her research concentrates on the various aspects of SLA and L2 use, with the main focus put on teaching English as a lingua franca and transversal skills.

  • Yulia Nickolaevna Gosteva, Department of Russian language, The Institute of Russian language; RUDN University

    The researcher’s scientific interests include the problems of a researcher specializing in organisation, administration of the educational process, problems of socio-cultural and academic adaptation of students, methods of foreign language teaching, linguodidactic assessment, ethnomethodics, and intercultural linguodidactics.

    Yulia Nickolaevna is now actively interested in issues relating to the specifics of digital technology's integration into the educational system during pandemic COVID 19.

    She is the author or co-author of scientific papers, textbooks and monographs (4 in the last 5 years) that represent the findings of her research. She actively participates in a number of international conferences in order to convey the findings of her work. She is a member of the Russian society of Russian language and literature teachers (ROPRYAL).

  • Peter Majda, Theological Institute in Spišské Podhradie. Spišská Kapitula 12, 053 04 Spišské Podhradie The Catholic University in Ružomberok

    Peter Majda is a graduate of Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia). He completed his BA degree at the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin (Poland) in the field of Pastoral Theology and subsequently completed his Doctorate at the Faculty of Theology in Košice (Slovakia) at the Catholic University in Ružomberok (Slovakia) in the field of Catholic Theology and was habilitated at the University of Prešov in Prešov (SR) in the field of Catholic theology. The author is the rector of the Bishop Ján Vojtaššák Seminary in Spišské Podhradie (SR) and, among others, the moderator of the Theological Institute in Spišské Podhradie, and is a professional advisor to the Commission for the Clergy of the Bishops. His research interests comprise i.e. pastoral theology, rhetoric,  spiritual literature and mass media communication He is a member of the editorial and professional boards of many domestic and foreign journals.

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Published

2022-06-30

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2022): Journal of Education Culture and Society

Section

EXPRESSION

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Copyright (c) 2022 Mahmoud Azizi, Neshat Azizi, Elwira Lewandowska, Yulia Nickolaevna Gosteva, Peter Majda

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How to Cite

Azizi, M., Azizi, N., Lewandowska, E., Gosteva, Y. N. ., & Majda, P. . (2022). Cultivating Critical Thinking in Literature Classroom Through Poetry. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 13(1), 285-298. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2022.1.285.298

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