The current study examined the relationship between critical thinking ability and EFL university ... more The current study examined the relationship between critical thinking ability and EFL university students' reading comprehension at a university site in Iran. The main purpose of the study was to determine whether there is any statistically significant correlation between critical thinking skills and reading comprehension performance of Iranian EFL students at the university level. More specifically, it was the intention of this study to specify whether there is any statistically significant correlation between the two groups (males vs. females) regarding their reading comprehension and critical thinking test scores. To this end, 143 EFL juniors (24 male and 119 female) majoring in English language teaching were selected through convenience sampling (intact groups). The participants were from the University of Mazandaran, Iran. This study examined this relationship with the help of the participants' scores gained from (i) the translated version of Cornell Critical Thinking Test-Level Z, and (ii) their reading comprehension scores obtained from their reading course. A correlational analysis was carried out running Pearson's Product Moment Coefficient (Pearson r) and Partial Correlation. The results showed that a positive relationship existed between the students' critical thinking ability and their EFL reading comprehension. Additionally, no statistically significant difference was found in the correlations between male and female participants' critical thinking and reading comprehension. This study has some implications for EFL learners as well as curriculum developers and EFL instructors to apply critical thinking skills in the class to help make EFL reading more effective and purposeful.
The current study examined the relationship between critical thinking ability and EFL university ... more The current study examined the relationship between critical thinking ability and EFL university students' reading comprehension at a university site in Iran. The main purpose of the study was to determine whether there is any statistically significant correlation between critical thinking skills and reading comprehension performance of Iranian EFL students at the university level. More specifically, it was the intention of this study to specify whether there is any statistically significant correlation between the two groups (males vs. females) regarding their reading comprehension and critical thinking test scores. To this end, 143 EFL juniors (24 male and 119 female) majoring in English language teaching were selected through convenience sampling (intact groups). The participants were from the University of Mazandaran, Iran. This study examined this relationship with the help of the participants' scores gained from (i) the translated version of Cornell Critical Thinking Test-Level Z, and (ii) their reading comprehension scores obtained from their reading course. A correlational analysis was carried out running Pearson's Product Moment Coefficient (Pearson r) and Partial Correlation. The results showed that a positive relationship existed between the students' critical thinking ability and their EFL reading comprehension. Additionally, no statistically significant difference was found in the correlations between male and female participants' critical thinking and reading comprehension. This study has some implications for EFL learners as well as curriculum developers and EFL instructors to apply critical thinking skills in the class to help make EFL reading more effective and purposeful.
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