ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we argue that critical thinking in ELT involves both thinking ABOUT the language itself and thinking THROUGH the language (using English as a semiotic tool for thinking about other topics). We report on the use of teacher questions to promote critical thinking in 7 high school English classrooms in Indonesia. Each teacher participant was observed and audio-recorded in 3 to 7 classes. The data shows that teachers frequently prompted thinking ABOUT the language (64% of questioning sequences), although they predominantly asked lower order questions requiring students to recall information. Teachers were also able to promote critical thinking THROUGH the language (36% of sequences), especially if they disrupted the typical IRE (initiate-respond-evaluate) pattern of discourse and avoided ‘refrain’ questions in which students chorus an answer. Nevertheless, these teachers missed many opportunities to move learning forward through the use of questions which could promote higher order critical thinking.
