Facilitating Critical Thinking Skills in International Students

In countries throughout the world, rote learning remains standard practice. This seems especially true in Asia, where preparation for intensive college entrance exams can leave little time for unrelated activities. The presenter, who has spent over ten years teaching English in three different Asian countries, is quite familiar with rote learning and its effects on student learning and culture. These experiences have challenged him to seek out prepared resources and create activities aimed at facilitating more original, critical thought among university students. Since 2006, the speaker has been engaged in teaching classes that encourage fresh approaches to learning in both South Korea and the United States. His presentation will detail experiences living abroad that have shaped his own views regarding critical thinking in a cross-cultural setting. Further, it will demonstrate how, while living in an international context, the presenter has sought to encourage students’ critical thinking abilities through the utilization of newspaper articles, scenes from popular western movies, and culturally relevant short answer test questions. A final aim of this presentation is to provide attendees with concepts they can utilize in American university classrooms