Judge, Iqbal
(2018)
Developing critical thinking through practical
criticism and stylistics in the literature class.
Language and Language Teaching, 7 (1).
pp. 1-5.
ISSN 2277-307X
Abstract
Teaching English through literature at the
undergraduate level in India is assumed to have
two major goals: 1) to develop students'
proficiency in the language and 2) to help them
appreciate the "beauty of literature". In recent
time, the goal of developing higher order thinking
skills (HOTS) or critical thinking (CT) has also
been added. However, these lofty aims remain
nebulous concepts, unrealized in practice.The
usual "explain and extol" method of line-by-line
explanations of the prescribed poems and
stories, interspersed with a "discussion"of
"examination-type" questions and rhapsodies
over the "beauty" of some poetic lines does not
adequately address any of the three avowed
goals. Targeted and sustained practice in the
areas of grammar and vocabulary is still required
to develop language proficiency. Exclamations
about evocative writing in fact reinforce the
notion of subjectivity, rather than a reasoned,
objective analysis that would reveal the writer's
craft. Further, the questions commonly asked
by teachers mainly address the skills of
comprehension, recall and understanding of the
students. Their higher order thinking skillsapplication, analysis, evaluation-are hardly
touched upon.
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