Skills: Reading

Connecting Reading and Writing

Critical thinking is in vogue in the EFL/ESL field at the moment, and at a recent conference I saw myriad materials touting the development of students’ critical thinking skills. The question, however, is whether these materials actually follow through on their claims or are simply roses by other names with very little innovation. I can say that the Weaving It Together series from Cengage blends actual development of critical thinking skills, on multiple levels, with reading and writing development. The format across the four levels is similar, with increased difficulty coming in the length of readings (one page in level 1 and 2 up to three pages in level 4), writing products (paragraphs in level 1, paragraphs to basic essays in level 2, full length essays in levels 3 and 4), and level of analysis required in the tasks (level 4 ends with analysis and interpretation of fictional work). Levels 1 and 2 are appropriate for low intermediate (high school EFL) while level 3 would be appropriate for mid to high intermediate (university level EFL). Level 4 is solidly for high intermediate to advanced level learners, because the combination of analytical and linguistic demands will be more than lower level students can likely handle. These are also good texts for adult students, or for those in a university ESL classroom in which they are learning to write.
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