A Preliminary Study on Critical Thinking Skills and Reading for Learning Level of Secondary School L2 Learners

Abstract

This preliminary qualitative study examines the development of critical thinking skills and the level of reading for learning among secondary school L2 learners. The study involved two 15-year-old high-proficiency L2 learners from a Malaysian secondary school, using three qualitative instruments: think-aloud protocols, reflective journal writing, and structured interviews. Data were analysed according to the five stages of Reading for Learning – decoding, understanding, comparing, evaluating, and revising ideas. The participants read a narrative text selected from the KSSM Form 3 Close-Up B1 Students Book by Healan and Gormley (2018), entitled Survival in the Andes. Findings showed that both learners demonstrated critical engagement, particularly in making judgments and drawing connections with prior knowledge. However, the highest cognitive stage, revising one’s ideas, was not observed during think-aloud sessions but emerged in reflective journals and interviews, indicating a time-delayed cognitive transformation that may be due to the amount of time participants spent doing independent research. The study highlights the multidimensional nature of critical thinking in L2 reading and underscores the importance of using multimodal, reflective approaches to foster deeper learning and cognitive development