The Relationship between Critical Thinking and L2 Grammatical and Lexical Knowledge

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between critical thinking and L2 grammatical knowledge on the one hand, and the relationship between critical thinking and lexical knowledge on the other. To fulfill this objective, a 60-item vocabulary and grammar subtest of the TOEFL test and an 80–item Watson Glaser Critical Thinking questionnaire were distributed among 150 male and female Iranians studying English as a foreign language at Azad University in Takestan, Iran. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation procedure. The result of data analysis indicated that the correlation between vocabulary and critical thinking was not statistically significant. The correlation between grammar and critical thinking was not statistically significant either, but there was a strong trend towards a positive relationship.