Effects of Intercultural Instruction on EFL Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills

Abstract. This study investigated the effect of intercultural instruction on the critical thinking skills of first-year Ethiopian university students. A quasi-experimental, embedded mixed-methods design was employed, involving 106 students divided in two intact classes: 52 students in the treatment group received intercultural instruction, whereas 54 students in the comparison group were taught using conventional methods. Over 12-weeks intervention, quantitative data were collected via Watson- Glaser critical thinking tests, and qualitative data were gathered through post-intervention reflective open ended questionnaires. Pre-intervention results indicated no statistically significant difference in critical thinking level between the two groups. However, post-intervention analysis using paired and independent samples t-tests revealed that critical thinking skill level of the treatment group moderately improved. The mean score of the treatment group increased from 18.28 to 19.80, t (51) =-2.97, p = 0.004, with moderate effect size (d = 0.52). In contrast, the comparison group’s scores showed a minimal increase from 18.46 to 18.77, which was not significant, t (53) = -1.35, p = .183, d = 0.12. Independent-samples t-tests further confirmed that the treatment group outperformed comparison group, t (104) = 2.70, p = .008, d = 0.53). Qualitative findings indicated that intercultural instruction fostered a positive and engaging learning environment in enhancing EFL learners’ critical thinking skills. The study concludes that intercultural instruction is an effective approach for developing EFL learners' critical thinking skills and underlines the pedagogical utility of integrating intercultural content into EFL curricula to enhance student engagement and critical thinking skills.
Keywords: Intercultural instruction; Critical thinking skills; EFL learners; Target culture; local culture; intercultural competence