STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE BENEFITS OF INTEGRATING CRITICAL THINKING ACTIVITIES INTO AN ENGLISH FOR TOURISM COURSE

Critical thinking has been acknowledged as one of the key competencies essential for all students in the 21st century. Proficiency in this crucial skill significantly influences how well students prepare for their careers in the competitive global environment of the tourism industry. That is why, at the Faculty of Tourism, Hanoi Open University, we recognize the great importance of fostering this skill among our students. We consistently incorporate relevant critical thinking activities into our lessons on various subjects in our training program. As the faculty's English lecturers, the researchers have noticed many benefits of this integration in our English classrooms. However, understanding our students' perceptions of these advantages should help confirm the expected outcomes. As a result, we decided to apply critical thinking activities throughout 14 English lessons with clear objectives, then tracked down our students’ perceptions of the benefits of this integration via a survey at the end of the course. The results underscored that it helped them not only improve their English proficiency but also enhance their soft skills.