Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Teaching Conversational English: Techniques for Unconscious Competence Versus Development of Thinking Skills

  • Published:
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the role of critical thinking and unconscious competence in the implementation of effective communication during group discussions, debates and dialogues. The necessary conditions for creating an effective educational environment conducive to the development of students’ conversational skills are demonstrated. An educational experiment was conducted with the participation of 75 third-year students from the School of [BLINDED], [BLINDED], during which the students practiced both critical thinking and unconscious competence in the process of group discussions. The conducted survey at the beginning and end of training, was determined the degree of use of critical thinking skills and unconscious competence in the process of finding answers to arguments during debates, discussions and disputes. The results of the surveys showed that in the process of speaking, critical thinking skills are used more often (79%) than unconscious competence (21%), but at the same time, students considered that unconscious competence (81%) is more effective in debates and discussions, than critical thinking (19%). It was concluded that critical thinking skills are easier and faster to learn to participate in a constructive discussion than the skills of unconscious competence, the development of which must take place in an authentic learning environment for a longer period. The results of the study confirmed that the participation of students in the conversation class increased their ability to analyze, critically evaluate, argue, unconsciously respond and understand the interlocutor. Therefore, it is important to invest additional efforts and create conditions for open, flexible and comfortable communication of students using modern pedagogical methods aimed at developing students’ thinking skills of a higher order. The findings can be useful in the field of language teaching, psychology, and linguistics, as well as become the basis for the development of new curricula using collective discussions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Data will be available on request.

References

  • Ahmed, S. A. E., & Ibrahim, M. E. E. (2023). The impact of critical thinking in improving students’ learning: A case study of students in the English Department, College of Science and Arts, Tanumah, King Khalid University. European Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 11(1), 10–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alsaleh, N. J. (2020). Teaching critical thinking skills: Literature review. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 19(1), 21–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouzar, S. (2019). Issues in teaching speaking to EFL Learners. Education and Linguistics Research, 5(1), 70–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, M. P., & Markarian, W. C. (2015). Dialogic teaching and dialogic stance: Moving beyond interactional form. Research in the Teaching of English, 49(3), 272–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campo, L., Galindo-Domínguez, H., Bezanilla, M. J., Fernández-Nogueira, D., & Poblete, M. (2023). Methodologies for fostering critical thinking skills from university students’ points of view. Education Sciences, 13(2), 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cinganotto, L. (2019). Debate as a teaching strategy for language learning. Lingue e Linguaggi, 30, 107–125. https://doi.org/10.1285/i22390359v30p107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dantas, L. A., & Cunha, A. (2020). An integrative debate on learning styles and the learning process. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2(1), 100017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derum, A. B., & Arip, M. (2022). Relationship between higher order thinking skills (KBAT) and creative thinking skill (KBKRE) among form 1 students. Psychology and Education, 59(1), 494–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dougherty, J. (2018). Teaching academic conversation to improve proficiency. UW-River Falls: TELSOL. Doctoral dissertation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunaway, C., & Lewis, C. (2021). Using a collaborative academic conversation approach to improve language and literacy. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(6), 1413–1423. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-21-00068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunston, C. (2017). The Effects of University Conversation Groups on English Language Learners. Master’s Thesis. California State University.

  • Fenyi, D. A., & Jones-Mensah, I. (2022). Higher order thinking skills in English language teaching: The case of colleges of education in Ghana. Linguistics Initiative, 2(1), 13–32. https://doi.org/10.53696/27753719.2124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finn, P., Brundage, S. B., & DiLollo, A. (2016). Preparing our future helping professionals to become critical thinkers: A tutorial. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1(10), 43–68. https://doi.org/10.1044/persp1.SIG10.43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fukuta, J., & Yamashita, J. (2023). The complex relationship between conscious/unconscious learning and conscious/unconscious knowledge: The mediating effects of salience in form–meaning connections. Second Language Research, 39(2), 425–446. https://doi.org/10.1177/02676583211044950.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hidayat, R. H., & Lestari, Y. B. (2022). Challenges teachers face in applying high order thinking skills. In 3rd Annual Conference of Education and Social Sciences (ACCESS 2021) (pp. 61–66). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-21-3 _ 8

  • Khamis-Dakwar, R., & DiLollo, A. (2018). Critical thinking in facilitating the development of cultural competence in speech pathology: A training module based on a review of resources on Arab Americans. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 3(14), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1044/persp3.SIG14.5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick, A., & Lixun, W. (2020). Is English an Asian Language? Cambridge University Press.

  • Lee, H., Parsons, D., Kwon, G., Kim, J., Petrova, K., Jeong, E., & Ryu, H. (2016). Cooperation begins: Encouraging critical thinking skills through cooperative reciprocity using a mobile learning game. Computers & Education, 97, 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.03.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, S. (2021). Conversational implicature instruction as a pedagogical strategy for English majors in a chinese context: A pragmatic-analysis of its effectiveness. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 11(10), 1279–1287. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1110.16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mao, Z. (2022). The cultivation of critical thinking in English teaching in Chinese college education. In 2022 International Conference on Science Education and Art Appreciation (SEAA 2022) (pp. 1369–1378). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-05-3_164

  • Meston, H. M., Galloway, P., E., & McClain, J. B. (2021). They’re the Ones who hold the Answers”: Exploring educators’ and students’ conceptions of academic conversation. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 64(4), 409–419. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohammed Elhassan, I. B., & Adam, M. I. (2017). The impact of dialogic teaching on English language learners’ speaking and thinking skills. Arab World English Journal, 8, 49–67. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3094525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muhammadiyeva, H., Mahkamova, D., Valiyeva, S., & Tojiboyev, I. (2020). The role of critical thinking in developing speaking skills. International Journal on Integrated Education, 3(1), 62–64. https://doi.org/10.31149/ijie.v3i1.41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nappi, J. S. (2017). The importance of questioning in developing critical thinking skills. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 84(1), 30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nippold, M. A., & Marr, E. (2022). Philosophy for adolescents: Using fables to support critical thinking and advanced language skills. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(3), 786–802. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_LSHSS-21-00142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nurhayani, N., & Retnowati, H. (2022). Higher-order thinking skill oriented learning: Are teachers and students ready? JNPM (Jurnal Nasional Pendidikan Matematika), 6(2), 291–302. https://doi.org/10.33603/jnpm.v6i2.6167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pishchukhina, O., & Watson, M. (2021). Tools and techniques to stimulate higher order thinking in online learning. In D. Maga, & J. Hajek (Eds.), Proceedings of 30th Annual Conference of the European Association for Education in Electrical and Information Engineering (EAEEIE-2021), Prague, 1–3 September 2021 (1 ed., pp. 188–193). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/EAEEIE50507.2021.9530851

  • Purnama, Y. I., & Nurdianingsih, F. (2019). The impact of higher Order thinking skills (HOTS) instructions in teaching EFL speaking skill from the perspective of students’ motivation. Lingua Cultura, 13(4), 313–319. https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v13i4.6105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pustika, R. (2021). A conversational analysis encountered by English young learners: A pedagogical experience. Indonesian EFL Journal, 7(1), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.25134/ieflj.v7i1.3997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, P. S. (2019). The importance of speaking skills in English classrooms. Alford Council of International English & Literature Journal, 2(2), 6–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapanta, C. (2021). Can teachers implement a student-centered dialogical argumentation method across the curriculum? Teaching and Teacher Education, 105, 103404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rezaee, M., & Farahian, M. (2015). Subconscious vs. unconscious learning: A short review of the terms. American Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 2(3), 98–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rshtuni, K. (2015). Teaching Conversational English with Feature Films. Doctoral dissertation American University of Armenia.

  • Sholikah, E., Suprihadi, S., & Nuraeningsih, N. (2021). Relationship between higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) and English achievement. Prominent, 4(1), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.24176/pro.v4i1.5791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobkowiak, P. (2016). Critical thinking in the intercultural context: Investigating EFL textbooks. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 6(4), 697–716. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2016.6.4.7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syafryadin, S., Wardhana, D. E. C., Noermanza, N., Rofi’I, A., & Awalludin, A. (2022). Students’ perspective and problems in implementing higher order thinking skill (HOTS) in speaking for presentation class. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 18(1), 477–487. https://doi.org/10.52462/jlls.196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trausan-Matu, S. (2019). The polyphonic model of collaborative learning. The Routledge international handbook of research on dialogic education (pp. 454–468). Routledge.

  • Walters-Williams, J. (2022). H-CUP: Increasing higher order thinking skills levels through a framework based on cognitive apprenticeship, universal design and project based learning. Creative Education, 13, 2878–2902. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2022.139181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. M. (2022). The research on critical thinking teaching strategies in college English classroom. Creative Education, 13, 1469–1485. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2022.134090.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of International Studies, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an City, China

    Mingshuang Liu

Authors
  1. Mingshuang Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mingshuang Liu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

This research has no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, M. Teaching Conversational English: Techniques for Unconscious Competence Versus Development of Thinking Skills. J Psycholinguist Res 52, 1707–1719 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-023-09970-3

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-023-09970-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation