Abstract:

The article deals with the issue of critical thinking and information communication technologies (ICTs). In our modern 7D environment critical thinking is becoming a key-skill of every person, in general, and an English learner, in particular. In Russia, ICTs have been recognised as a new mechanism to increase quality and equity in education, which is a new challenge for both basic and life-long learning.

The aim of this article is to clarify the idea of critical thinking in English studies and highlight the ways of its development on the basis of ICTs.

We understand critical thinking as a succession of following cognitive processes: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating; suggest the ways of enhancing them with the help of free access online applications. The study introduces the importance of integrating ICTs as a learning tool into English classroom and suggests how the results might be used in modern higher education learning environments.

The article also reviews students’ attitudes to ICTs and the role of the teacher in the ICT classroom while developing students’ critical thinking skills.

Keywords:

Critical thinking, language learning, information communication technologies.