BEYOND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE: INTEGRATING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

In the contemporary landscape of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, the primary objective has shifted from mere linguistic accuracy to the development of intercultural communicative competence and higherorder thinking skills. This paper explores the intrinsic relationship between language acquisition and critical thinking (CT), arguing that foreign language classrooms are unique environments for fostering cognitive flexibility. Despite the theoretical consensus on the importance of CT, empirical evidence suggests a gap between policy and practice, often due to a focus on rote memorization and grammatical form over meaning construction. This study reviews recent pedagogical frameworks that integrate CT into L2 instruction, examining strategies such as problem-based learning, Socratic questioning, and text analysis. The findings suggest that when language learners are encouraged to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information in the target language, they not only improve their cognitive abilities but also achieve deeper linguistic proficiency. The paper concludes that for EFL education to remain relevant in a globalized world, curricula must explicitly embed critical thinking objectives alongside linguistic goals.