Critical Thinking and International Research Students

The role of critical thinking in EAP has been the subject of heated debate among scholars and EAP practitioners for at least twenty years. In the centre of this debate there are several principal issues: whether critical thinking is a culturally-specific phenomenon, what role is played by language in critical thinking and whether critical thinking is a generic or a subject-specific skill. These issues have a direct impact on teaching English for Academic Purposes in general and on teaching international PGR students in particular.
In this presentation I would like to discuss the repercussions this debate has on teaching critical writing to international PhD students.
The presentation will
• provide an overview of the on-going debate in the area of critical thinking
• look into the special teaching needs of postgraduates
• discuss some possible ways of overcoming cultural difficulties in teaching critical thinking to postgraduate researchers.