The Role of Authentic Texts in the Development of Critical Thinking in English Teaching

This study investigates the role of authentic texts in fostering critical thinking skills among English language learners, addressing the need for structured pedagogical approaches. The research evaluates how adapted authentic materials enhance language learning through lexical, communicative, and audio-linguistic methodologies, emphasizing their cultural, and cognitive significance. The study employed the approach combining content analysis with statistical comparisons using Sherman’s test and Phillips’ test to assess perceptions and critical thinking development. The study involved 120 Ukrainian university students. The results demonstrated strong agreement among both teachers (97%) and learners (93%) regarding the benefits of authentic texts. Participants showed high proficiency in completing tasks of varying complexity, achieving success rates of 98% for simple tasks, 95% for creative tasks, and 89% for complex tasks. These outcomes highlight significant improvements in objective text analysis, logical reasoning, self-organization, and problem-solving abilities. The findings suggest that integrating authentic texts into EFL curricula effectively cultivates critical thinking while promoting cultural and linguistic competence. Recommendations include adopting the tripartite lexical-communicative-audio-linguistic framework across language programs, selecting culturally diverse materials, and expanding research to include students at different proficiency levels for broader validation.