Empowering Thai EFL learners as critical thinkers and skilled writers: a genre-based approach with critical pedagogy

Critical pedagogy has gained recognition as a powerful tool that empowers learners by encouraging them to critically examine the unequal distribution of power and social structures that privilege certain groups in their society. However, despite its application across various educational contexts, the implementation of critical pedagogy in EFL writing classrooms, particularly within EFL settings, remains understudied. To address this gap, this study explored the integration of critical pedagogy (CP) and a genre-based approach (GBA) in an EFL writing classroom to empower Thai EFL learners and develop their critical thinking and writing skills. To achieve this, a Critical Pedagogy Writing Model (CPWM), which integrated Freire’s problem-posing concept with GBA principles, was developed and implemented in an Academic Writing course with 32 Business English major students at a university in Bangkok. Based on a mixed-methods approach, a critical thinking development assessment form and paragraph writing pretests and posttests were utilized to examine students’ critical thinking, and argumentative essays were used to evaluate their writing ability due to the impact of the CPWM. Moreover, reflective writing, a classroom observation checklist, and a sociopolitical consciousness development assessment form were employed to explore students’ empowerment and their sociopolitical consciousness. Furthermore, a questionnaire on attitudes towards the practices of CP and GBA and semi-structured interviews were used to investigate students’ attitudes towards the instructional practices based on CP and GBA. Findings revealed significant improvements in students’ critical thinking and writing abilities after the intervention, along with the enhancement of their empowerment and sociopolitical consciousness. This research contributes to the field of EFL writing instruction, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining CP and GBA and offering new insights into the challenges and possibilities of critical writing pedagogy in the Thai context.