‘Dance with shackles on’: Navigating critical thinking in English language classrooms during COVID-19 and beyond

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has significant social, educational and psychological impacts. While teachers are key agents to promote CT at the curriculum level, little is known about how English language teachers engage with CT in the wake of COVID-19. Drawing on teacher interviews and classroom observations, the study found that the participating teachers navigated the various affordances and constraints of COVID-19 and implemented CT instruction primarily by integrating CT skills in language learning and assessment, emphasizing skepticism, fostering reflection and hope, and legitimating students’ voice in the online environment. It suggests that teachers should be conscious of the affordance and constraints of online teaching and attend to students’ emotions and life experiences at the curriculum time to transform students into critical thinkers who can agentively, responsibly and positively engage with their situated reality.