The Meaning of Debate and Critical Thinking to Foreign Language Education: A Cognitive Perspective

摘要

This paper is intended to elaborate on the theoretical and practical importance of debate and critical thinking to the foreign language education in China's higher learning institutions. By integrating the cognitive mechanisms responsible for critical thinking and those demanded by the teaching strategies for foreign language learners, this paper maintains that debate is an ideal form to be implemented in teaching plans as well as learning schemes for foreign language students regardless of their current language knowledge and skills. In this sense, this paper aims to argue for a shift of focus from the training of language skills to the fostering of critical thinking abilities on the part of foreign language students in China.