Portraying teacher’s metacognitive knowledge to promote efl young learners’ critical thinking in indonesia

Abstract

Since young learners have different characteristics than adults, EFL teachers for young learners should treat them differently and possess sufficient metacognitive to promote critical thinking skills. This paper aims to portray teacher’s metacognitive knowledge in EFL young learners’ classroom particularly in promoting their critical thinking skills. A case study was employed as a research design involving one class of fifth graders with one English teacher. Three instruments were used to collect data namely classroom observation, interview with the teacher and the students, and document analysis. The collected data were analysed and interpreted based on the theory of metacognition and stages in promoting critical thinking skills in EFL classroom for young learners. The findings reveal that the teacher performed three types of metacognitive knowledge, such as person, task, and strategic knowledge determining her strategies in running the class. Data from the classroom observation showed that the teacher implemented brainstorming in the opening session, showing flash cards to build students’ vocabulary and understanding toward the topic, singing English songs and roleplaying in the main activity, while closing activity was done through giving some open-ended questions directing the students to promote their critical thinking skills. Moreover, the results from the interview with teacher refer that those strategies were selected by considering the students’ characteristics, learning styles, and outcomes. Those statements were clearly strengthened in the document made by the teacher in the form of lesson plan indicating learning scaffolding started from the simplest to the most complicated activities as her belief in promoting the students’ critical thinking skills.