THE ROLES OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO THE UNIVERSITY SUCCESS FOR FELTE ULIS STUDENTS: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES

The article explores the crucial role of critical thinking skills in achieving university success for students in the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpretation University of Languages and International Studies (FELTE ULIS). Through the lens of students perspectives, the article highlights how these skills are essential to academic achievement, professional growth, and personal development. The study delves deeper into the various strategies used by students to enhance their critical thinking capacity, such as problemsolving, analyzing information, and evaluating arguments. By shedding light on the significance of critical thinking skills, this article offers valuable insights into the key factors that contribute to academic success for students in FELTE ULIS.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER THE ROLES OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO THE UNIVERSITY SUCCESS FOR FELTE - ULIS STUDENTS: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES Supervisor: Nguyễn Thuỵ Phương Lan (Ph D) Student: Đặng Thị Linh Course: QH2019.F1.E19 Ha Noi, 2023 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP VAI TRÒ CỦA TƯ DUY PHẢN BIỆN ĐỐI VỚI SỰ THÀNH CÔNG BẬC ĐẠI HỌC CỦA SINH VIÊN KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI: TỪ QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA SINH VIÊN Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thuỵ Phương Lan (Ph D) Sinh viên: Đặng Thị Linh Khoá: QH2019.F1.E19 Hà Nội, 2023 STATEMENT OF ACCEPTANCE I hereby state that I, Dang Thi Linh, class 19E19, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (fast-track program) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan, or reproduction of the paper Signature Hanoi, May 5th, 2023 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Principally, I would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Mrs Nguyen Thuy Phuong Lan, Ph.D – my supervisor in this graduation paper, for her detailed instruction, valuable comments and advice on progress, which is a determining factor in the fulfillment of this research Her profound knowledge and advice have enlightened my insight into the topic and her incentive has inspired me to conduct the study passionately Another appreciation I would like to make is to the students at the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies for spending their valuable time and effort participating in the survey and the interview This research can not be completed without their contribution Last but not least, I want to thank my family and friends, who have provided me with emotional support Without their understanding and care, I would not have been able to make an endeavor to finish this research project ABSTRACT Critical thinking is thought to be one of the most crucial factors that influence students’ educational performance Thus, what should be investigated are learners’ perceptions of the relationship between critical thinking skills and their achievement at school This paper, therefore, aims to study the key components of critical thinking that students, specifically students from the Faculty of Foreign Languages Teacher Education (FELTE) at the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), perceive as important to their university success Besides, the research also focuses on investigating the extent to which critical thinking skills contribute to their achievement on the university journey Survey questionnaires and informal interviews have been chosen as the main data collection instruments of the study The questionnaire was administered to 158 fourth-year FELTE-ULIS students Then, the interviews with students have been conducted to triangulate the collected data from the survey The results of the analyses revealed that critical thinking and all its components, which are: (1) understanding the arguments, (2) evaluating the arguments, (3) analyzing the evidence, (4) considering alternative perspectives, and (5) making decisions, correlated significantly with the FELTE-ULIS students’ university success Furthermore, it also showed that critical thinking contributes to their achievement in university to an extremely high extent The findings of this research may provide valuable insights into how important students have to be better equipped with critical thinking skills to enhance their university performance and achieve their academic goals Keywords: critical thinking, university success, students’ perceptions LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 1, Understanding The Arguments, to their General Capacity and Knowledge Table 2: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 1, Understanding The Arguments, to their Career Capacity Table 3: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 1, Understanding The Arguments, to their Autonomy Capacity and Responsibility Table 4: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 1, Understanding The Arguments, to their Professionalism Table 5: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 2, Evaluating The Arguments, to their General Capacity and Knowledge Table 6: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 2, Evaluating The Arguments, to their Career Capacity Table 7: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 2, Evaluating The Arguments, to their Autonomy Capacity and Responsibility Table 8: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 2, Evaluating The Arguments, to their Professionalism Table 9: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 3, Analyzing The Evidence, to their General Capacity and Knowledge Table 10: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 3, Analyzing The Evidence, to their Career Capacity Table 11: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 3, Analyzing The Evidence, to their Autonomy Capacity and Responsibility Table 12: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 3, Analyzing The Evidence, to their Professionalism Table 13: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 4, Considering Alternative Perspectives, to their General Capacity and Knowledge Table 14: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 4, Considering Alternative Perspectives, to their Career Capacity Table 15: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 4, Considering Alternative Perspectives, to their Autonomy Capacity and Responsibility Table 16: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 4, Considering Alternative Perspectives, to their Professionalism Table 17: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 5, Making Decisions, to their General Capacity and Knowledge Table 18: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 5, Making Decisions, to their Career Capacity Table 19: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 5, Making Decisions, to their Autonomy Capacity and Responsibility Table 20: Students’ perspectives about the role of the component 5, Making Decisions, to their Professionalism LIST OF ACRONYMS FELTE: Faculty of English Language Teaching Education ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Research aims and research questions 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Contributions of the research 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 An overview of Critical thinking 2.1.1 Definitions of Critical thinking 2.1.2 Components of Critical Thinking 2.1.2.1 Halpern's Model of Critical Thinking 2.1.2.2 The Paul-Elder Model of Critical Thinking 2.2 Student’s university success 2.2.1 Definitions of the Student’s university success 2.2.2 Aspects of student’s university success 2.2.3 The output standards in the University Standard Training Programs for FELTE-ULIS students Review of related studies 2.4 Relevant theories and frameworks 2.5 Research gaps CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions restated 3.2 Sampling 3.3 Research design 3.4 Data collection 3.1 Questionnaire 3.2 Interview Data analysis CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Students’ perspectives on the role of critical thinking components contributing to their university success 4.1.1 Students’ perspectives on the role of “Understanding the Arguments” 4.1.2 Students’ perspectives on the role of Evaluating the arguments contributing to their university success 4.1.3 Students’ perspectives on the role of the component Analyzing the evidence contributing to their university success 4.1.4 Students’ perspectives on the role of Understanding the arguments to their university success 4.1.5 Students’ perspectives on the role of Understanding the arguments to their university success 4.2 Students’ perspectives on the extent that critical thinking contributes to their university success CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Recapitulation 5.2 Implications 5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further study REFERENCES CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research problems and rationale In the information and technology era, good thinking is considered an important key to life success (Huitt, 1995; Thomas & Smoot, 1994) Living in an ever-changing and increasingly complex world requires people to think about all aspects such as the social, political, and ethical challenges of everyday