DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH ENGLISH READING: A METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

This research investigates the pedagogical effectiveness of integrating critical thinking (CT) development technologies into the English language reading process for high school students. The study addresses a significant gap in secondary education, where reading is often limited to literal comprehension rather than analytical evaluation. Conducted at Secondary School No. 35 in the Turakurgan district of the Namangan region, the research involved a pedagogical experiment with Grade 9-B students. The methodological framework synthesized international strategies, such as the INSERT method, Socratic questioning, and Bloom’s Taxonomy, with the cognitive-communicative approaches of Uzbek scholars like J. Jalolov and G. Bakieva. Quantitative results indicated a 24.4% increase in students' analytical proficiency, particularly in the domains of inference and evaluative synthesis. The findings suggest that when reading is treated as an active inquiry process, students demonstrate higher linguistic confidence and kognitive maturity. The study concludes with practical recommendations for EFL teachers in Uzbekistan to transition from traditional rote-learning to an inquiry-based instructional model.