Utilizing Literature Focusing on The Short Story as a PedagogicalTool for Critical Thinking in English Education
Fumi Takegami
Abstract
This paper addresses the pivotal role of critical thinking (CT) skills and underscores its
relevance in university education. A praxis-oriented approach forms the backbone of thisstudy, emphasizing the practical implementation of theoretical perspectives. It specificallyfocuses on employing literature as a pedagogical tool to cultivate CT skills, outlining practical strategies and classroom lessons utilizing short stories as a vehicle for CT skill development with carefully scaffolded activities employed in the author’s course. The insights ofgleaned from student feedback obtained via questionnaires provide valuable perspectives
on the effectiveness of the CT skill development in university education. Furthermore, itemphasizes the necessity of pedagogical expertise for successful implementation of CT.
Keywords: critical thinking, university education, literature, pedagogical tool, English Mediated Instruction, English proficiency

Introduction
In the university curriculum, it is important not to overlook teaching critical thinking (CT)skills. There has been an ongoing debate whether CT should be taught as a stand-alone
course or if it should be integrated with the course content of a specific subject. Regardless, both are relevant to the importance of incorporating CT development in the university
curriculum. This paper will focus on using literature as a pedagogical tool to enhance CT
skills for Japanese English majors in a stand-alone course delivered in English. However, it is also relevant to courses specifically designed to integrate CT skill developmentin subject-specific literary courses. It begins by first offering a baseline definition of CT
and amplifies its essential role in university-level education. The study then discusses thehighly complementary role that literature plays in developing CT skills, and specificallyfocuses on the genre of the short story as a most applicable resource. The paper stresses the49

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import of pedagogical knowledge required of the educator for successful implementationof using literature as pedagogical tool for CT skills development. Classroom lessons arethen outlined to illustrate suitable pedagogical knowledge and the effectiveness of using
short story for CT skill development.
The study embraces a praxis-oriented approach in its design. “Praxis” in this context refers to practical implementation of the theoretical perspectives discussed in the paper. Practical strategies for effective integration of short stories for developing CT skills,
which include carefully scaffolded activities that were used in the author’s course, areshown. This implies that the discussion not only places an emphasis on theory, but also explores practical applications of the concepts discussed. Finally, the paper presents feedback
obtained from a questionnaire administered to students in the course to gather insights into
their perspectives.
Defining CT
The concept of CT has been in existence for more than 2,500 years, going back to the ancient Greeks when they began to consider episteme, critically reflecting on the foundationsof knowledge by inquiring how do we come to know what we know. In a sense, CT is ametacognitive process of thinking about thinking that can lead to forming logical judgements about an issue at hand (Dwyer et al., 2014).
John Dewey (1910), a renowned American educational philosopher, emphasizedthat CT should be open to exploring knowledge claims in a manner that should include asystematic and holistic thought process involving cognitive and psychological attributes
that one methodically undertakes. He described CT as an inquiry-based, “reflective thinking” process that involves an:“[a]ctive, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form ofknowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions towhich it tends, constitute reflective thought” (1910, p.6)
Dewey’s inquiry-based approach prioritized the importance of learning in education to focus on the knowing process as a subjective experience more than the final aims of curriculathat stress the transmission of knowledge as objective facts that should be memorized. The
former involving the learner as an involved, active participant; the latter as a detached, pas-

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sive recipient. Consequently, he characterized knowledge claims in academia to be better
thought of as “warranted assertions” stressing their dynamic nature rather than thinking ofthem as unchanging or static, rigid pieces of information or as “artifacts or pieces of deadwood of the past” (Boyles, 2006, p. 15). A leading scholar on the development of CT, Edward Glaser (1941), furthered Dewey’s description of the concept.
Glaser also placed CT within both psychological and cognitive domains, addressing the active, dynamic nature of the concept. He posited that the critical thinker shouldtake control of the process through determined effort to examine beliefs and knowledge
supported by evidence as having:(1) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems andsubjects that come within the range of one’s experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods(p.5).
In the eighties, the role of CT in education gained momentum. By that time, aplethora of definitions of the concept had emerged from various disciplines of philosophy,
education, and psychology (Lai, 2011). Consequently, educators sought to come up with ashared understanding of CT and its application in education. Peter Facione, a leading figure
in CT research in education, organized a panel of 46 prominent educators in the field of
CT. This panel affiliated with the disciplines of Philosophy (52%), Education (22%), theSocial Sciences (20%), and the Physical Sciences (6%) collaboratively arrived at a sharedunderstanding of CT, its essential skills, and personal qualities. They concluded:
The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason,
open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases,
prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly incomplex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as
precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit. (1993, p.2)
According to this description, the experts concluded that CT encompasses two areas: cognitive abilities and affective attitudes, both of which are needed to cultivate and to nurture

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individuals into critical thinkers. These conclusions point out that CT requires a holistic
understanding of the concept. A critical thinker must have cognitive skills to systematicallygather, analyze and interpret information and at the same time have the dispositions to approach knowledge claims with curiosity, balancing skepticism with open-mindedness. The
consensus of the experts on the panel concerned with advancing CT in education further
substantiated the definitions provided by Dewey and Glaser.
The role of CT in University Education and EFL Instructed Courses
As defined above, CT is at the core from which knowledge building and knowledge creation emerge. Taken from this perspective, the development of CT skills is a fundamental
component of education at the university level from various standpoints centered on cognitive development by challenging students to think independently about complex issues.
It equips students with the skills of conducting research, problem solving, and constructing
coherent arguments, all of which prepare them to adapt and contribute to the world aswell-informed global citizens. These features are relevant to teaching academic subjects
in an EFL educational environment, where students are further developing their language
acquisition skills while simultaneously learning the subject content of a course. In America, integrating language and content is referred to as immersion; in Europe the integrationof language structures and content is named ‘content and language integrated learning’(CLIL).
An umbrella term for the integration of language acquisition with content learning
has been labelled English Mediated Instruction (EMI). In a study based in the Universityof Oxford’s Department of Education, EMI was defined as, “The use of the English language to teach academic subjects in countries or jurisdictions where the first language ofthe majority of the population is not English” (Dearden, 2015, p.2). Thus, EMI is a morecomprehensive label for the integration of language structures and subject knowledge.
When EMI is used for teaching “academic subjects” in higher education, CT
should play a vital role. This is the case of the English department, where this study takes
place. As indicated in its curriculum policy, learning through English (i.e., EMI) is expected to be carried out in the department’s courses, including literature and the developing
students’ CT skills. Since English literature courses are mandatory academic subjects in thedepartment, this research will illustrate how teaching literature through EMI can be used
to further the development of students’ language proficiencies, literary knowledge, and CT

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skills.
Next, a look at the benefits of developing CT skills through the content of literature will be addressed. Subsequently, the discussion will center on clarifying why the shortstory is a rich source to foster CT while also showing its appropriateness as an effective
medium for EMI courses.
Facilitating CT through Literature
It can be said that the literature is most conducive to developing CT skills. Lazare positedthat “literature…is the single academic discipline that can come closest to encompassing
the full range of mental traits currently considered to comprise critical thinking” (1987,
p. 3). He argued that the framework of literary criticism mirrors the cognitive process a
critical thinker should go through involving the mental dispositions “to follow an extended
line of thought through propositional, thematic, or symbolic development…and to be perceptive of …multiple dimensions of form and meaning” (p.3). In the classroom, throughcritical reflection, literature is “a powerful motivator” (Duff and Maley, 1990, p. 6) because
the narratives draw students into forming their own personal judgements and discussing
them with others.
In sharing with others, students encounter multiple viewpoints and self-reflect on
their previously held thoughts and beliefs. Thus, as students discuss the themes in literature
representing a variety of scenarios, they are engaged in higher order critical thought. Theyevaluate scenes and outcomes; are open to accept other ways of thinking; and participate
in knowledge building by a critical process of creating their own interpretations through asystematic process of constructing meaning grounded in the narratives. Collie and Slater(1990) identify four primary reasons to use literature to teach English in the EFL classroom. They include using authentic material, cultural enhancement, language improvement, and personal engagement. Although these features also apply to teaching literature
to non-native English speakers, there are caveats.
While literature is highly complementary to teaching CT skills, it poses a challenge
when it is conducted in EMI classrooms with non-native speakers. Complex linguistic
structures and vocabulary can be problematic. Moreover, the assorted themes, metaphorical descriptions, culture-specific connotations, characters, and their underlying motivations that are commonly woven into literary narratives can present the non-native students
with a formidable task of processing the text layered with complexity, such as novels or the熊本県立大学共通教育センター紀要

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prose of poetry. For these reasons, the genre of short story can be effective.
Short story as an appropriate genre to develop CT through EMI
A proposed solution offered in this study is to use authentic short stories as an introductory
approach to EMI in literature courses with attention to developing CT abilities. Teaching literature as an academic subject in university requires the use of authentic materials,
and this should apply to a stand-alone CT course using an EMI approach as well. Graded
readers abridged for language learners would be inadequate. For example, using graded
readers to introduce the classic novels would undercut the students’ skills to analyze thetext, thoroughly. Abridged texts are thinned down versions that sacrifice depth, nuances,and symbolisms that the author intended to convey.   
However, the dilemma for EMI in literature is that authentic works of novels andpoetry are difficult for non-native learners to process as stated above. If that were notenough, the challenge is intensified when teachers are expected to foster students’ CT skills
along with literary comprehension of authentic materials. One way to rectify this situation is to use short stories in EMI. Because they are concise, they immediately engage
the non-native reader in an efficient manner exploring various narratives through offering
diverse cultural contexts while improving the learner’s language abilities and CT skills.
Nonetheless, these benefits can also be deceptive as “they do not offer extended contextual
support and repetition which longer texts do” (Duff and Maley, 1990, p. 7). To compensate,
it is important to familiarize students with the structure of short stories. and to carefully
select stories that suitably match their learning potential levels.
As a prerequisite to help students to cognitively process the content of a short story,
it requires knowledge to recognize the structure of the genre. The most common elements
and descriptions are shown below:
Table 1. The most common elements of a short story
Plot
Sequential events of a
Action begins immediately with an opening
narrative that tell the central incident; rising action, climax, and then
theme of the story.
possible winding down and ending can be
abrupt—with or without resolution.
Character

People (or animals) involved Only a few characters (often two or three).
in the action of the story.

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Setting

Represented by time(seasonal, historical), place,environment.

The action usually happens with one
location and often one time frame.

Conflict

A struggle or issue (usuallyone) between the characters
who are often at opposite
ends.

Two types: Internal conflict taking place
inside the psyche of a character; external
conflict outwardly happening between thecharacters.

Theme

The central idea/message ofthe story; usually one single
theme.

E.g., relationship issues, gender issues social
or political issues and values.

From the author’s experience, short stories with abrupt and or ambiguous endings
provide particularly fruitful opportunities for creative activities in EMI, and for coursesthat include CT development. Often the stories end suddenly and are open ended. Thatis, the stories are left open to the readers’ reflections and interpretations. A parallel can be
drawn within the art form of painting. For example, realism in a painting sets out to capture
as accurately as possible the true nature of an object or objects, such as still life paintingsof fruits, which allow the viewer to appreciate the realness of the fruit. The technique of theartist is meant to be appreciated with no intention to engage the viewer in imagining what
the images of the object are. On the other hand, an impressionistic, abstract style painting
invites viewers to use their imaginations to interpret emotions or construct what objects
they see in the painting. In this sense, abstract paintings are more open-ended to engagement and interpretation compared to realism style of paintings.
Similarly, short stories that end abruptly engage the reader to abstract their own
interpretations. Moreover, as a part of learning the structure of short stories, it should bemade clear that they can finish open-ended, with the intention of leaving it up to the reader
to put the pieces together. To avoid bewilderment, the teacher should prepare the students
not to be frustrated or confused when confronted with endings where the answers cannot be
assessed from the text. Instead, the students can be asked to reflect on the story and comeup with their own interpretations as they would do if viewing an abstract painting. Having
students go through a process of self-reflecting on events and actions in a story, forming
plausible views and testing them out with other students are steps toward CT skill development.
In addition to familiarizing students with the elements of a short story, the selectionof appropriate stories is essential for EMI and CT skill development courses. One category

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of the genre, referred to as literary minimalism is an example that should be considered,primarily. Writers who have contributed to the literary minimalism style are Ernest Hemmingway, Anne Beattie, Samuel Beckett, Joyce Carol Oates, and Raymond Carver. Minimalist stories emphasize simplicity, with shorter sentences, less vocabulary, and value
brevity of stating characters thoughts or feelings and events, in which the latter are often
about every day, ordinary happenings. Greaney (2012) further gathered several salient aspects of what has been defined as literary minimalism to be inclusive of:…unresolved, even slight narratives which reveal more than they resolve; the use of
unadorned language and the rejection of hyperbole; a detached, even ‘absent’ narrator; a more abundant use of dialogue; fewer adjectives and, when used, not extravagant; showing, not telling as a primary means of communicating information; aninterest in the accurate depiction of the everyday; and a focus upon the present tense.
The conciseness of the storytelling with spare direct prose, centering on the human experience offer linguistic support and at the same time space for constructive engagement of thereaders to do reflective thinking about the content. Therefore, selecting short stories thatare minimalist in their form are highly suggested.
A short story that captures the minimalism style used in this study (see further below) is by Kate Chopin (1850-1904) titled, Story of an Hour. Chopin’s writing is at the coreof the development of the early minimalist style. Clark writes that the images in the story“establish a set of aesthetic guidelines that call for precision and austerity, two of the primary tenets of the mode” (2012 p.105). Chopin was an independent thinking woman livingin the Victorian Era. Her writings were groundbreaking, revealing the complexities of the
lives of women in a time when women’s rights and freedoms were suppressed. Her works
challenged the oppressive societal expectations of women in that era, drawing the attentionof those involved in the feminist movement then and now. Interestingly, Chopin, being
highly independent and individualistic, did not align herself with feminist movement, andcritics argue that she did not want to be categorized as a feminist writer because she felt
it would diminish the larger humanistic themes of her work (Zea, 2005). Regardless, sheconveyed the deep emotional conflicts of her feminine characters within ordinary moments
while critiquing society with concise language, artfully using the minimalism style.
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to develop literary understanding and CT skill development. Next, a praxis-oriented look at
an EMI course focusing on CT skills development is described by depicting actual lessons
the author used that focused on CT skills development through the short story.
Pedagogy in practice: CT skills development activities through short story
In this section, lessons designed and carried out by the author in practice are presented.
A summary of the story selected, and an emphasis on pedagogical knowledge needed to
conduct the lessons are given. This will be followed by a step-by-step description of theactivities.
The activities occurred over five 90-minute classes as a part of a CT skills development course. There were 18 students, who were majoring in the department of English.
The activities centered on the above-mentioned Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. It was
selected because of its minimalism style (having a little over 1,000 words) and content.
The story immediately begins when a young woman with a heart condition, referred to as Mrs. Mallard by the narrator to emphasize the loss of individual identity ofwomen in that era, learns of her husband’s reported death by a train accident. After initiallybeing struck with grief, she goes off to her room to be alone. There, sunk in the chair of herroom, she stares outside from the window. Suddenly and unexpectedly, life springs forthand bubbles up from within her in a way she hadn’t noticed so impactfully before with vibrant images of blue skies, spring growth on trees, birds chirping, a voice in the distance ofsomeone singing. All these images merge into a thought that had existed only in her deep
subconscious as Chopin writes:
She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” The vacant stare and thelook of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright.
Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her
body.
The above text enters the story after 500 words. In that short amount, the protagonist goes through a jumble of conflicting emotions. The reader learns her husband was
killed, she was deeply distraught, never to see “the face that had never looked save withlove upon her”, and then now has feelings of exhilaration for her newly discovered freedom. In a little less than 500 words later, the story ends abruptly when there is a knock at

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the door, and upon seeing her husband, she collapses and dies. The doctor reported that thejoy was too much for her heart.
The conflict over constraints a woman felt between societal expectations of womenin the Victorian Era and the yearning for independence are tragically symbolized in the lifeof the husband and the death of Mrs. Mallard. The story is relevant to exploring genderissues as indicated in the passage depicting a momentary sense of freedom triggered by the
belief of her husband’s death:
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live forherself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence withwhich men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crimeas she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
Consequently, the story was chosen to have students further explore gender issues
through activities designed to further develop their CT skills.
To present the students with a task in an EMI to reach their learning potential goalof conducting systematic CT analysis as an extended activity from the story to researchgender issues, and report on them requires appropriate pedagogical content knowledge(PCK). According to Shulman (1987), teacher knowledge consists of two domains: Knowing the content subject matter of “what” to teach and the pedagogical knowledge of “how”
to teach it. At university, teachers have subject matter knowledge, but equally important is
to have appropriate knowledge of pedagogical skills to deliver the content, in a way thatallows students to critically engage with the material.
The impact of appropriate PCK is seen by McMillen (1986, p.23) as he noted, “Itreally boils down to whether teachers are creating an environment that stimulates criticalinquiry.” For example, a much relied on mode of instruction at university is based ontransmission of knowledge using monologic lecture type approaches in which students are
the passive receivers of content. However, this mode of instruction is not a pedagogicallyappropriate environment for CT skill development (Takegami, 2023). Teachers themselves
need to do “reflective thinking” on their instruction and be willing to improve on their
PCK. An effective means to teaching CT is to take a constructivist approach because thelatter involves students in active learning to build on knowledge through dialogic, collab-

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orative, inquiry-based learning. This is illustrated below in the lessons structured to help
learners achieve the goal set for them to explore and report on gender issues. A constructivist approach with scaffolding (Bruner et al. 1976) techniques through sequential steps wereapplied to assist students in their performance (Tharpe and Gallimore, 1988) to meet thelearning goal within their zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978), that is, learning
occurs most effectively within this zone, through interactions and guidance that help thelearner grasp concepts or skills that were initially beyond their individual capacity. The
steps, which were culminated in the CT reports, are presented below and explained.
・Scaffolded steps of the lessons
Step 1: Introduce Elements of a Short Story
Students were familiarized with the elements of the short story as shown in Table 1., including the comparisons to the art form of abstract paintings.
Step 2: 1st reading of story for linguistic comprehension
Students read the story in class.
Step 3: Lexical and metaphorical focus
Linguistic knowledge of students was enhanced by having them (1) go through the story
eliciting unfamiliar vocabulary words and searching their meaning; (2) searching for metaphorical descriptions they encountered in the text and wanted to discuss, such as:(a) There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair into thisshe sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed
to reach into her soul; (b) But she felt it, creeping out of the sky; (c) she was drinking
in a very elixir of life through that open window; (d) of joy that kills.  
Step 4: Sociocultural context: Background of story for critical analysis
Before the 2nd reading, students were given an activity that explores the societal and cultural factors, which shape the narrative, characters, and theme of the story.
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Students now reread with social and cultural perspectives of the era in which the story takes
place.
Step 6: Literary development: Questions to think deeper about content
1. The external (outsider) view: Write a paragraph of about 100~200 words describing
how the visual information in this picture [a picture resemblance of Mrs. Mallard
sitting in a chair looking outside from the window] connects to a scene in the story.
In other words, if Josephine [Mrs. Mallard’s sister who comes to her room worrying
about her] saw this scene what would she think?
2. The internal (insider) view: Write a paragraph of about 100~200 words describing
Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts at this moment in the story. In short, if you were inside themind of Mrs. Mallard, what would she be thinking?
Step 7: CT development (1): Then and Now
Students were asked to compare societal expectations of women in the late 19th century to
the present.
Step 8: CT development (2): Students look at possible gender issues today
Students were presented with a mind map asking them to write anything about gender issues. Then, their ideas were elicited and written on board.
Step 9: CT development (3): Explore and identify a proposed existing gender issue What?
Why? How?
In this higher order development stage after viewing ideas on gender issues, students were
tasked with the epistemological CT challenging question: How do we know what know?
They chose a proposed gender issue and used it as an example to explore the claim “Howdo we know it?” by going through a CT exploratory process.
To scaffold the activity, students were given a PowerPoint template consisting of
8 slides helping them to cognitively structure and present their reports. The slides wereorganized and outlined in a way to introduce the topic, show data points, analyze and interpret them, make informed judgements, and the final slide asked students to make twoFumi Takegami: Utilizing Literature Focusing on The Short Story as a
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discussion questions.
Step 10: Report findings
Students present findings in class and participate in a dialogic discussion about them responding to the discussion questions formed by the presenters.
Step 11: Feedback (survey)
The final step of the study was to hear from the 18 students about what they thought ofthe course design to enhance their CT skills through the short story. For this purpose, an
exploratory designed questionnaire was conducted to gain insights into asking what they
thought of the material and how helpful were the scaffolded steps.
The first set of three questions focused on literary comprehension of the story
in chronological order of when they were presented in the scaffolded steps of the lessons. Question one targeted Step 1, familiarity with elements of a short story; question
two looked at Step 4, to elicit critical reflections within the story content, and question 3
focused on Step 6, intended to provide a sociocultural context to enrich comprehension.
The results are subsequently shown below:
1. How much did the structure (elements) of short story activity
help you better understand The Story of an Hour (5= very much; 1= not at all)

5

4

3

2

1

11

7

0

0

0

2. How much did the external (outsider) view and the internal (insider) view activity
help you to know better understand The Story of an Hour?

5

4

3

2

1

9

7

2

0

0

3. How much did the information about women in the Victorian era help you to know
better understand The Story of an Hour?

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5

4

3

2

1

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1

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The results of the scaffolded steps to help the students understand the material were
overwhelming positive with almost all the respondents indicating the activities were highly
helpful for them to comprehend the story content from the perspective of honing their literary skills.
The next set of questions targeted the steps of the course that went beyond the story
content to activities that assisted their higher order CT skill development by focusing on
gender issues. Respondents were asked to expand on their choice as well. Selected comments representative of similar responses were selected and presented by numerical choice.
Question looked at Step 7, aimed at having the students make connections to women in thepast to their situations in the present. Questions 5 and 6, directly connected to the Steps 8
and 9 by drawing attention to the gender issue topic, preparing for their reports, and how
useful was the PowerPoint template to help them cognitively structure their presentations.
4. How much did the comparing societal expectations of women in the late 19th century to the present contribute to your learning?

5

4

3

2

1

10

6

2

0

0

Selected examples of students’ responses to choices:(5) Now we can professionally get our job and have our careers. Though this story, I
learned how women have fought for their freedom.
(4) Still, we have a lot of gender gap. So, there is expectation to make our society better.
(3) We still have Gender issues in our society. I have learned that there is historical relationship.
Responses to the questions showed a large upward learning curb. They also demonstrate

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a critical understanding of the historical relationship with gender issues, and that there arestill equality issues.
The following question 5 and 6 focused on Step 9, which prepared them to do form a gender issue topic, systematically research it and then present it to the class.
5. How much did the exploring your gender issue project contribute to your criticalthinking skills?”

5

4

3

2

1

10

7

1

0

0

Selected examples of students’ responses to choices:(5) Though this project, I have researched how the idea of femininity and the role of women
have emerged and changed or not changed through the history with my partner.
(4) I realized that there exists a lot of gender problems. I think we should have open minds
to listen to many opinions, accepting them and then making our judgement.
(3) It helped me gain the ability to think about things from a different perspective.
The respondents very favorably viewed the gender issue project. Their comments showed
they saw the value of looking at both sides of an issue, which is an important CT skill.
6. How helpful was the PowerPoint template to present your report?

5

4

3

2

1

10

6

1

1

0

Selected examples of students’ responses to choices:(5) I was able to learn the steps from investigation to analysis.   
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(3) The flow for presentation was clear(2) There is no graph shown on the template.
Most of the students saw the template as very helpful for them to cognitively structure their reports and presentations. The first three selected comments above represented
almost all responses indicating the template provided an effective heuristic for gathering
information and framing their research. In the last comment (2), the student expected aformatted graph to input data. However, since the students were free to choose their gender
topic issue and gather data accordingly, a preformatted standardized graph would not havebeen appropriate.
In question 7 below, the aim was to focus on Step 10. In that step, the activity was
designed to give students a chance to discuss and critically reflect on their research by discussing outcomes with classmates.
7. How much did the discussion about your report findings contribute to your criticalthinking skill development?

5

4

3

2

1

10

7

1

0

0

Please briefly explain how?
(5) I noticed something that I didn’t notice on my own.
(4) I think I have new ideas by learning to flexibly accept other people’s opinions into myown.
(3) I found it very difficult as there were some parts that I did not agree with positively.
The responses show the significance of taking an active, interactive approach bygiving students opportunities to discuss their work. The selected comments for (5) and (4)represent the value of taking a dialogic approach in the classroom to develop CT skills.
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without experience in classroom discussions, might see comments that oppose their views
as confrontational.
Questions 8 and 9 target students’ perceptions on how they generally thought theactivities assisted their performance them to make progress in the EMI course; and how
they helped them to increase their English skills, respectively.
8. Overall how much did the activities help you in this class conducted in English?

5

4

3

2

1

10

8

0

0

0

9. Overall how much did the activities help you to improve your English?

5

4

3

2

1

11

6

1

0

0

The results of questions 8 and 9 were highly favorable targeting their overall views of how
successful was the course to help them to learn English and study in an EMI course. Next,
the focus was on CT skills.
10. Overall how much did the activities help you to improve your critical thinking
skills?

5

4

3

2

1

11

7

0

0

0

Selected examples of students’ responses to choices:(5) The existing schema or social setting should not be discussed in term of “right or not
right “but “why and how”
- I had a question about something I had never questioned before, and after researching thereason, my understanding deepened.
- CT is associated with the emerged idea though discussion. Though discussing and in
discussion, we can actually apply CT skill.

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(4) When we considered abstract expressions, it was interesting to see that there were manydifferent ways of understanding them within the class. I thought that exchanging opinionsfrom different viewpoints without being bound by one idea might give rise to new ideas.
-I think it helped me improve my ability to think about the essence of a problem and makedecisions.
As mentioned, several responses were selected from the two numerical choices as
this question directly targets CT, which is the premise of this paper. Results of this question
further confirm the responses of question 7. Students felt the course enabled them to havea significant understanding of CT and advanced their CT skills.
In the last two questions, the focus was on gaining insights into how students
viewed the role of literature for CT development and their overall assessment on the effectiveness of the course to improve their CT skills. In the latter question, the students wereasked to explain their choice.
11. Do you think using literature is a good way to improve critical thinking skills?

5

4

3

2

1

9

8

1

0

0

12. Did this course help you improve your understanding of critical thinking?

Yes

No

18

0

Selected examples of students’ responses to choices:
YES:-I used to think that CT was about looking at things by first criticizing them, but I havecome to think that CT is about thinking objectively from various angles and standpoints.
-This was the first time for me to learn that it is possible to think about something withouta correct answer.

Fumi Takegami: Utilizing Literature Focusing on The Short Story as a
Pedagogical Tool for Critical Thinking in English Education

67-I started to feel that it was important to try to find out for myself what was causing the
problem, without being bound by fixed ideas.
The responses to the above two questions confirm the usefulness of using the literary genre of short story to enhance students CT skills. The responses to the whole survey
significantly draw attention to the course design using an inquiry-based, active learningpedagogical approach in the form of scaffolded activities that engaged the students in every
step of the course activities. Results affirm an appropriate pedagogical approach that uses
carefully scaffolded activities will lead to assisting students to meet their learning goals andpotential. In this case, the development of their CT skills.
Discussion
This paper set out to underscore the crucial role that the development of CT skills shouldplay in a university setting. Regardless, if it is taught as a stand-alone course or as a component of an academic subject-focused course. The emphasis mainly centered on literatureand using the short story as a robust genre to increase CT skills among Japanese English
majors. A common understanding of CT built on its historical development based on theperspectives of scholars such as Dewey, Glaser and Facione was presented. The motivation for this study was formed on showing the relevance of CT in university education,
especially in EMI by noting its educational value for cognitive development and language
acquisition. The paper acknowledges the challenges of using literature for CT development in an EMI course, and proposes the genre of short story. It is deemed appropriate
for non-native speakers because of its concise text and efficient elements of one plot, few
characters, limited setting or situation, and often concluding open-ended, which can berichly exploited for CT and language skill development. These features of short stories arefound in the concept of literary minimalism and deemed appropriate when selecting shortstories for students in EMI courses aimed at CT development. Kate Chopin’s Story of an
Hour presented as a case study embodies this style.
The paper articulated a praxis-oriented approach, bringing theoretical views on
CT development in an EMI course into the classroom. Practical implementation was introduced in the pedagogy in practice section, detailing a five-session CT skills development
course centered around Chopin’s short story. The importance of teachers to possess suitable PCK was stressed with the presentation of the scaffolded steps, which included ele-

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ments such as introducing short story components, linguistic comprehension, metaphoricalfocus, sociocultural context exploration, and critical analysis. Through carefully scaffolded
activities, the praxis-oriented approach was applied as students were given the necessary
supports to reach their higher order CT learning potential goal of analyzing gender issues
by comparing historical and contemporary perspectives, and reporting findings. To betterhelp teachers assist students in achieving this end, university faculty development programs should be enlisted. Professional development for teachers should be an ongoingeducative and reflective process. The positive results of the questionnaire administered to
students in this study can be a motivator for teachers to enhance their PCK.
    Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has focused on importance of integrating CT skills into the university EMI curriculum, whether it is in a stand-alone course or integrated within specificsubjects. The emphasis was on the compelling use of literature, particularly short stories,
as a pedagogical tool for enhancing CT skills among Japanese English majors. First, anhistorical description of CT, drawing from various renowned researchers in the field, further presented a baseline understanding required for effective CT skill development. The
discussion highlighted not only the potent role that short stories can play, but also thechallenges in using them. The literary style of Minimalism was found to be conducive for
introducing the genre. After providing insights into what subject content to teach; the study
showed how to teach it. Therefore, the study argues for a praxis-oriented approach demonstrating a theory to practice implementation. Carefully scaffolded steps were sequentially presented providing a structured approach for educators, who are willing to cultivate
CT skills through literature. This inclusive approach supported by feedback from students
demonstrates effectiveness of integrating literature and CT development into the university curriculum. It also establishes the saliency of effective faculty development to further
teachers’ PCK so that they can adopt strategies for effective implementation. Implicationsin this study, establish the need for future research focusing on the richness of literature asa robust approach to developing CT skills, and the necessity for appropriate educational
practices.

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