A Study On The Correlation Between High School Students’ Perceived English Classroom Environment And Critical Thinking Disposition

As students in school spend most of their time in the classroom,English classroom environment which is a part of the classroom will have an effect on students’ physical and mental development.Based on sociocultural-historical theory,field dynamic theory and human environment theory,this study uses questionnaires and interview to investigate210 grade-two students who are from a high school in Nanchang.It investigates the current situation of high school students’ perceived English classroom environment and critical thinking disposition,finds out the correlation between them,and offers some suggestions for cultivating students’ positive critical thinking disposition.The research questions of this study are:(1)What is the current situation of high school students’ perceived English classroom environment?(2)What is the current situation of high school students’ critical thinking disposition?(3)What is the correlation between high school students’ English classroom environment and critical thinking disposition?The findings are:(1)High school students are satisfied with their English classroom environment in general.Among the five dimensions of the English classroom environment,teacher support ranks first,indicating that students have a good relationship with their English teachers.It is followed by class order,task orientation,students’ cohesiveness,and cooperation.(2)High school students’ critical thinking disposition is at the middle level,and they have a positive critical thinking disposition on the whole.As for the two categories of critical thinking disposition,the mean value of social critical thinking disposition is higher than that of academic critical thinking disposition.In terms of its eight dimensions,open-mindedness is at the top,followed by cognitive maturity,justice-orientedness,truth-seeking,inquisitiveness,analyticity,systematicity,and self-confidence.(3)High school students’ English classroom environment has a significantly positive correlation with critical thinking disposition,and the five dimensions of English classroom environment also have positive correlations with critical thinking disposition.Based on the findings,in order to establish a harmonious English classroom environment and cultivate students’ positive critical thinking disposition,the study provides some implications for English teachers.First,teachers need to pay attention to the important role that peers play in students’ learning and development so as to improve students’ cohesiveness and cooperation.Second,teachers are supposed to assign tasks according to students’ learning levels,so that students’ higher-order thinking can be trained.Third,teachers are supposed to treat students equally and give students support in time to protect and promote students’ confidence.Forth,teachers are supposed to establish a democratic leadership style,which makes students willing to think and dare to express their ideas.