Can Tho University English Department Reader- Response Criticism and Can Tho University Students’ Critical Thinking Improvement B.A THESIS Supervisors: Nguyen Thi Nguyen Tuyet, M.A Ho Phuong Thuy, M.A Researcher: Vuong Ngoc Tien Student’s code: 7032582 Class: NN0354A4 Summer, 2007 PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com CONTENTS Contents…………………………………………………………………………i Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………ii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………iii List of tables and figures……………………………………… ………………iv Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Rationale…………………………………………………………… 1.2 Research aims… ………………………………………………… 1.3 Research questions………………………………………………… 1.4 The outline of the thesis………………………………………… .3 Chapter two: Literature Review 2.1 What is Reader- Response Criticism? .4 2.2 What is critical thinking? 2.3 How s reader-response criticism related to critical thinking? 10 2.4 Why should reader-response criticism be applied in literature classes? 11 2.5 Is reader-response criticism developed in Vietnamese classroom? 13 Chapter three: Methodology 3.1 Participants…………………………………………… ……………16 3.2 Research instruments………………………………… …………….16 3.2.1 Questionnaire…………………………………………………… 16 3.2.2 Observation…………………………………………………… …17 3.3 Research design……………………………………… …………….17 3.4 Procedure of data collection and interpretation…………………… 17 Chapter four: Results and discussions 4.1 Questionnaires collection and discussion……………………….……18 4.2 Responses to literary works collected from observation…………… 29 Chapter five: Limitations, suggestions, and conclusions 5.1 Limitations………………………………………………… ………32 5.2 Suggestions………………………………………………… ………32 5.3 Conclusions………………………………………………………… 33 Appendix Questionnaires……………………………………………… ……….35 Observation sheet………………………………………………….…38 References…………………………………………………………… ……….40 PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I want to show my gratitude to the teaching staff of the English Department for their enthusiastic contribution and devotion in transferring me the knowledge during four years of study here Secondly, I would like to say thanks indeed to Ms Trương Thị Kim Liên, the very first teacher to bring me the love for literature and new way of criticizing literature The next persons I am deeply indebted to are Ms Hồ Phương Thùy and Ms Nguyễn Thị Nguyên Tuyết, my two supervisors who enthusiastically contributed and spent time to give me their precious suggestions and advice They spent their time from reshaping my research paper, providing me with materials transferring their experiences as well as correcting all of my drafts Without their valuable help and support, guidance, I would not be able to finishing my research I also wish to send me deep gratitude and sincere thanks to Mr Trịnh Quốc Lập, who also gave me with precious ideas and supply me with valuable materials I would nearly stop my thesis without his advice and suggestions I also owe debt to Mr Daniel White for his essential provision of materials and suggestions so I could complete my questionnaire Finally, I am gratitude to my friends and the forty-nine students of English ,course 30 for their cooperation in working on my research questionnaire PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine the critical thinking improvement of the third- year students of English branch, Cantho University through the Reader- Response Criticism learning method A questionnaire was designed and developed to forty-nine students of the English department for their answers to multiple- choice questions and reflections to an openended question The survey data was analyzed both in qualitative and quantitative methods to show the improvement in critical thinking of these students It was full of happiness and enthusiasm to find out that the juniors’ critical thinking has been improved much in comparison with their limitation in thinking in the previous year(2006) PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURGE Table 4.1.1 The quantity of students’ understanding about critical thinking…… 19 Table 4.1.2 The correlation between question one and question 10…………… 22 Table 4.1.3 The importance of critical thinking in the study of literature……… 24 Table 4.1.4Ways of studying literature before entering university……………….26 Table 4.1.5 Factors made students feet disgusted with literature ………… …….27 Table 4.1.6 The degree of confidence ……………………………………………29 Figure 4.1.1The frequence of using critical thinking in analyzing a literary text…25 Figure 4.1.2What students in the phase of analysis a literary work………… 25 Figure 4.1.3Techiniques applied in studying literature…………….…………… 28 PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale When we were born into this life, when we were sleeping in cradles, our mothers sang us sweet singings of the village, the bamboo trees, the flying kites, the ripe paddles in the harvest time, and so forth As we grow up, those images become more beautiful through a poem, a story, a short literary text that we read It is undeniable that through literature, we can know about new lands with fascinating sceneries, new people, new customs and practice, so literature indirectly supplies us with the cultural information Furthermore, literature helps us to understand more about every aspect of the reality- the human concerns, needs; offers us valuable lessons of moral, and thus perfects ourselves In addition, as we see that literature is one of the most important subjects in the curricula of all nations in the world However, in the recent year, in Viet Nam, students have nearly ignored this subject “The real situation that has to be mentioned is the serious decline in the interest of students in studying literature,” stated Dr Nguyen Thuy Hong in the magazine “The Gioi Trong Ta” (2006) A survey carried out in 2006 by her also showed that, among five thousands elementary and high school students, the number of students uninterested in literature made up to 47,6%, while 13,8% is the number of students like the subject, and the rest of the total feel very normal, not like or love literature In addition, in “The Gioi Trong Ta”, an article with title “An Alarm On The Uninterest Of Students In Studying Literature” by Nguyen Thi Thuan and Le Cong Minh, when these two teachers discussed the matter with some students, the students said, “Literature is unrealistic and abstract to understand” Not only these students, but I also fell into this situation When I was in high school, although I loved literature, I got bored with this subject because of the way my teachers transferred me PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com the lessons Every time in class, teachers just introduced a literary text and then read aloud the analyzed patterns for us to write down Therefore, to us, to understand and perceive as well as interpret a literary work is hard That was why I gradually did not like the subject anymore Luckily, when I became a student of Can Tho University, I had chance to expose to a new learning method in British Literature course This theory once evoked my ideas and feelings towards literary works and helped me understand their values more deeply Moreover, Mr Pham Van Dong(1973) voiced his opinion “Teaching literature is mainly to teach students how to express what they think honestly, clearly, exactly, and to set off what they want to say” Therefore, is there any “Yeast” to stimulate students get more involved in this subject? I have read a research (2006) about this problem of a student of English Department, Can Tho University In his research, he studied the theory Reader- Response Criticism and observed the reaction of students towards this theory Therefore, in my research, I am very enthusiastic to check the critical thinking improvement after more than one year implicating this literary theory in studying literature of students who participated in Long’s study in 2006 1.2 Research aim This study is carried out to examine the improvement in critical thinking of Can Tho University students, English Department, after more than one year applying the theory Reader- Response Criticism in their study of Literature 1.3 Research questions As I have just mentioned, literature fosters human’s emotional growth and takes the humanity values itself, so it is very necessary to make students interested in subject “Whether the critical thinking of students becomes more profound in compared with their reaction of the previous year” is always one of my concern Basing on this aim, I form my research question: “To what extent is English students’ critical thinking improved in their study of literature through the theory Reader-Response Criticism after more than one year?” PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com 1.4 The outline of the thesis The order of the thesis covers in five chapters Chapter One includes the rationale, and the research questions Chapter Two focuses on the literature review consisting of the theory Reader- Response Criticism, its relation to critical thinking, and its application Chapter Three describes the methodology The fourth chapter is about the results got from my methodology, and discussions My limitation, suggestions, and the conclusion will be in Chapter Five The references, questionnaire are also displayed on the last pages PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, I would like introduce the theory “Reader-response criticism”, the relation between Reader-response criticism and critical thinking, the significant of applying the theory in classes and its application in Vietnamese classrooms 2.1 What is Reader- Response Criticism? Reader-Response Criticism is one of inspiration that readers should send in comments on articles and review, readers asking for information or just wanting to share their own stories, views (wikipedia.org) In literature, Reader- Response Criticism, as its name implies, focuses on readers’ responses to literary texts This theory is against one called “New Criticism”, which was the dominant trend in English and American literary criticism of the mid twentieth century, from the 1920s to the early 1960s New Criticism adheres emphatically in the advocacy of close reading and attention to texts themselves, and their rejection of criticism bases on extra-textual sources, especially biography At their best, new critical readings were brilliant, accurately argued, and broad in scope, but sometimes they were idiosyncratic and moralistic (wikipedia.org) The notion of “ambiguity” is an important concept within New Criticism, several prominent new critics have been enamored above all else with a way that a text can display multiple simultaneous meanings In 1930s, I.A Richard borrowed Sigmund Fereud’s term “over-determination” to refer to multiple meanings which he believed were always simultaneously present in language To Richards, claiming that a work has one and only one “True Meaning” is an act of superstition (The Philosophy of Rhetoric, 1930) PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com In 1954, William K Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley published an essay entitled “The International Fallacy”, in which they were strongly against any discussion of an author’s intention, or “intended meaning” For them, the words on the page were all that mattered; importation of meanings from outside the text was quite irrelevant and potentially distracting Before 1960s, much more of literary criticism and theory had had a reader-response element than people had ever admitted However, in 1960s, Reader-Response Criticism officially appeared and seemed to be approved of by most of literary critics at that time Reader-Response Criticism is a group of approaches to understanding literature that explicitly emphasizes the reader’s role in creating the meaning and experiences of a literary work More specially, Reader-Response Criticism refers to a group of critics who study, not a literary work, but readers or audiences responding to a literary work This school emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly, in America and Germany In 1973, Holland had conducted case studies of particular readers reading and free associating to particular poems and stories when he published Poems in Persons (1973) and Readers Reading (1975) He concluded from the evidence that it is readers and audiences who shape literary experiences Reader-Response Criticism is a literary critical theory, promoted by Stanley Fish in 1980s, which suggests that a text gains meanings by the purposeful act of a reader reading and interpreting it The relationship between reader and text are highly valued in such a way that text does not exist without a reader Fish laid out his theory regarding interpretive strategies In Reader-Response Criticism, the reader and the interpretive community to which the reader belongs judge the work Reader- Response Criticism might look at the way in which different interpretive communities value a text, for historical purposes or such critics may examine the way in which some interpretive communities pose the best method for reading a text Traditionally, Reader-Response Criticism often adhered to formalist or new critical PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com Factors made students felt disgusted with literature There is a lot of new vocabulary in literary works All of the above Literary works are too long to read After reading a literary work, students not understand much about it Other ideas Number of choices 28 17 15 12 Table 4.1.5 It is undeniable that when someone learns a certain foreign language, he or she will face problems with vocabulary in literary works, which makes students be fed up with the subject, is acceptable It is believed that any literary work in any language is inclined to be long, so once we consider literature as a subject in school curricula, we have to read and to learn them However, we cannot put aside the factor that after reading a literary work, students not understand much about it because it is the result got from the students after they used the methods displayed above in studying literature It is this reason limits the critical thinking of students However, students chose this answer made up to only 12 times, while “there is a lot of vocabulary in literary works” was chosen 28 times “Literary works are too long to read” is 15 times There was times in which students thought that all of the reasons displayed made them felt disgusted with the subject and there were three students having other ideas However, when entering university students applied some new techniques, they are described in the chart below PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com Techniques applied in studying literature 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 Series1 posting answering discussing writing responses guided in small journal onto online questions groups responses forum other ways Figure 4.1.3 Among the four techniques, “posting freely responses onto an online forum” is applied most when compared to other techniques Nevertheless, “discussing in small group in class” answer is most preferred because students could share ideas to each other When they not understand very clearly, discussing in group helps them perceive the literary works easily, then they feel more confident when they share their ideas to the rest of the classes and teachers We see that because of not understanding the work, students not feel “very much” confident when their perception of a literary work is different from their friends’ and teachers’ We can see this in the table below Degree of confidence Total Percentage A little 23 46.93% Much 20 40.81% Very much 12.26% Table 4.1.6 Although, 46.93% of the total of students chose “a little” confident as their best choice, this does not mean that their extent in thinking critically is not high In fact, if they not PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com express their interest as well as their effort in studying this subject, they would choose “answering guided questions designed by teachers” answer This proves that though they not feel very confident, they still want to express and share ideas with the others 4.2 Students’ responses to literary works collected from observation Accidentally, because teachers already had introduced them the new lessons “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway, and “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell in the previous periods, when the researcher attended four literature classes to examine students’ thinking through their studying the subject, it is time for group discussion While discussing, students had chances to express orally what they thought honestly, clearly, thoroughly of the work from its theme, authors’ writing techniques, culture, moral lesson and so on besides their answers to designed questions in textbook Followings are some of their responses to literary works down loaded from the online forum and taken noted from group discussions Although Hemingway’s style of writing is rather different and unique, I finally understand more deeply about the theme of the story after perceiving it from different aspects such as the culture, morality and writing technique Followings are some of the participants’ responses to “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway “In any time war causes many problems to human beings; those are pain, or loss in body and mind It is wars that made the greatest fencer’s hand crippled, took away a solder’s beloved wife, and the nose of another miserable soldier I feel “indignant” and not know when the war-like people put away the game that loses humanity, morality I am very lucky to live in one of the most peaceful country in the world like Vietnam, so I feel really sorry for those who live in Iraq, Palestine or Israel because they really not know when guns will shoot at them Or people, who live in poor countries in Africa Always suffer from starvation, etc in addition Hemingway’s writing technique makes me think “pauses” are not merely PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com “pauses” The silence is time for the writer’s characters, his readers to think of deep meaning, a message of the book that writer wants to send to readers through his characters and every circumstance in the story I really sense and perceive the value of his artistic silence “I really admire Hemingway for his writing style, at first I found it hard to understand this story because his sentences are sort words are single I did not think that such a great writer would make so simple and single sentences However, I finally find out the “art” in his simple style of writing It is pauses that help me perceive “In Another Country” by my own way, and its pauses that shows how “In Another Country” is like War got many soldiers’ leg, hand, nose, wife, etc and war took away the respect, care, and fair behavior of the people in Italy to them who are half-dead and whose wound could never be remedied “I think although people look down on the soldiers, these wounded men should be optimistic because it is the only way to have human beings gets through all difficulties in life” Similarly, in other class students gave their responses freely after they had finished answering questions in course book Following are some of their opinions “When someone falls into desperate, he certainly awakes and struggles to protect himself or o keep their rights of human” Mr Wrights should have brought happiness to his wife because she, a woman, suffered a lot from not having any children If I were a man I would never that to my wife” “Mrs Wrights is not inhumane to kill her husband at all She is not herself after getting married to Mr Wrights because she used to be a hopeful, optimistic an active girl in the past It is Mr Wrights make her become a silent woman in general, I think Mrs Wrights is right to so” “I never think that a wife could kill her husband Whatever society we are in morality is always respected Mrs Wrights should have talked directly to her husband and they together found a suitable solution, she should not have killed him for any reasons” PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com “If someone does not feel happy with their marriage, he or she can get a divorce” From observation, I conclude that students not only reacted very quickly to questions from teachers by giving specific evidences and suitable reasons but also gave good responses by relating the works to reality, putting themselves into situation, perceiving the works from the moral aspect, and so forth PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com CHAPTER FIVE LIMITATIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Limitations During the time I worked on my thesis, I met a lot of difficulties First, it was very hard for me to find enough materials to support my literature review I searched on Internet and read many books just to look for some details for the literature review Second, I had to redesign the questionnaires many times before delivering it to the students At first, it was too long, so I thought that the participants would not have enough time to answer all of the questions Therefore, I spent three times to editing it in such a way that it still contained enough information that I wanted to get from the participants The next trouble that I encountered was that I did not have any criteria to measure critical thinking Luckily, I found out a reliable article studying about critical thinking enhancement and suggesting some ways of measuring critical thinking Hence, I could go on with my thesis Finally, if I had had more time, I would have written every part of the thesis perfectly 5.2 Suggestions First of all, students have been familiar with the theory Reader- Response Criticism, so they no longer feel “hard” to understand or to perceive thoroughly any literary works Therefore, the only difficult thing that students feel tired of is new vocabulary I suggest that students can surmount this problem by using guessing word skills that they have already learnt from the previous reading courses; or students can read books to increase their source of new words Secondly, there were many participants approving of the method “discussing in small groups in class” Therefore, it is advisable for teachers to maintain this activity so that students PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com can have more chances to raise their voices, share ideas with friends and teachers in order to train them critical thinking so that they can gain confidence Thirdly, teachers should encourage their students to post free responses to literary works onto online forum so that they can share with other friends in other classes to help them feel more confident 5.3 Conclusion Most of us can not deny that literature is a difficult subject to master, so having a suitable method to learn this subject is really necessary Reader- Response Criticism theory has brought students opportunities to reflect honestly and concisely what they think of Consequently, it indirectly brought students confidence and comfort Once they feel confident and comfortable, they are able to evaluate a problem more critically because they, schychologically, are not put pressured on In the recent year, teaching literature in Viet Nam has been improved through giving open- ended questions on examinations so as to create chances for students to express their own opinions Therefore, this theory brings up an advantage helping students in specific and readers in general interpret a literary work thoroughly and, as a result, improve their critical thinking significantly To sum up, Reader- Response Criticism has been applied and it has inspired students to learn literature effectively Therefore, it blows cool winds to refresh the teaching and learning literature and supports teachers and students to complete the syllabus comfortably This study is carried out with the purpose of investigating the improvement on critical thinking of Can Tho University students, and it is happy to know that their critical thinking is improved much owing to the theory of Reader Response Criticism PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com APPENDIX Questionnaire In order to help the researcher examine whether the critical thinking of students at Cantho University improves through their application of Reader-response criticism in the study of literature, please answer these following questions Your cooperation will be very valuable for not only the researcher but also for the later study As a reminder, Reader-response criticism is the general term that refers to a number of different approaches of modern criticism and literary theory which can be various in kinds such as individualist criticism, experimenter criticism , uniformist criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, etc that focus on the free responses of readers to literary works ( Hans Robert Jauss, 1980) Which of the following statements you think is true about critical thinking? a Critical thinking is a diverse cognitive process and associated attitudes critical to intelligent action in diverse situations and fields b Critical thinking is the capacity of unifying and making connections in one’s experience; following an extended line of thought through propositional, thematic, or symbolic development; engaging in mature moral reasoning and forming judgments of quality and taste c Critical thinking includes such act as formulating hypothesis, alternative ways of viewing a problem, questions, possible solutions, plans for investing something d Critical thinking is the individual’s ability to identify central issues and assumptions in an argument, making correct inference from data, interpreting whether conclusions are warranted on the basis of the data given, evaluate evidence, recognize important relationship, etc e All of the above To what extent you think Critical thinking is important in the study of literature? a Very much b Much c A little d Very little e Not at all How often you use your critical thinking in analyzing a literary text? a Very often b Not very often c Seldom d Never According to you, what make(s) students feel bored when studying literature? a Literary works are too long to read b There is a lot of new vocabulary in literature works c After reading a literary work, the answers to the questions are controlled too much by the teacher d After reading a literary work students not understand much e All of the above PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com f Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Before learning literature at university, how did you learn literature?( You can choose more than one) a Writing down everything analyzed by teacher and trying to learn by heart b Trying to learn readily- analyzed literary patterns in reference books c Answering mechanically questions in textbooks d Other ways: ……………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Which following technique(s) you usually apply in studying literature? Select all that you apply: a Posting your response onto an online forum where you and your friends can freely share ideas, and evaluate others’ responses b Answering guided questions designed by your teacher c Discussing in small groups in class d Writing journal responses as a way to widen your own knowledge e Other ways: ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… According to you, which technique(s) get(s) students more involved in the subject? Please state your opinion and explain why you prefer that technique (referred to question 6) ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… After reading a literary text, in the phase of analysis or interpretation, you often (you may choose more than one): a Relate the work to the real setting to understand more deeply about its theme b Learn more lessons about culture c Try to recognize the writer’s writing techniques d Apply your experience and knowledge to understand the work e Ask yourself such questions “How much does this work mean to me?”, “Do I gain intellectual or the moral understanding?” f All of the above How confident you feel when your perception of a literary work is different from your friends or teacher? a Very much b Much c A little d Very little e Not at all PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com 10 It is widely believed that at the end of the story “The Lady, or The Tiger” by F R Stockton, the tiger will come out of the opened door Do you agree with this idea? Please state clearly your opinion ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………… PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com Observation Sheet This paper is designed by the researcher to examine students’ critical thinking improvement owing to the theory Reader- Response Criticism in literature classrooms Researcher’s name: Vuong Ngoc Tien Participants: third- year letter students of English Group: Course: American Literature Duration: School year: 2006- 2007, second semester Date: Guiding the lesson: - Explain the lesson: - Ending the lesson: - Follow- up activities: PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com STUDENTS’ ACTIVITIES( GROUP DISCUSSION) Students’ critical thinking: - About teacher’s questions: - About the literary work itself: - About other students’ ideas: Students’ responses: - Group A: + During the discussion: + After the discussion: - Group B: + During the discussion: + After the discussion: - Group C: + During the discussion: + After the discussion: + Group D: During the discussion: + After the discussion: - Group E: + During the discussion: + After the discussion: PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com REFERENCES Lazere, Donald.( 1987) Critical Thinking In College Studies, Eric Digest Eric Clearing hourse on Reading and Communications skills Urbana Il, Sonoma State University Wash, Debbie and Richard Paul.( 1985).The Goals Of Critical Thinking: From Educational Idea To Educational Reading Washington DC American Federation Of Teaching Ten Dam, G.&Volman, M.( 2004) Critical Thinking As A Citizenship Competence: Teaching Strategies Amsterdam, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Elsevier Ltd Kenedy, M.Fisher, M.D., & Ennis, R.H.(1991) Critical thinking: literature review and needed research In.L.Idol, &B Fly john (Eds), Educational Values and Cognitive Institution: implication for reform Hillsdale, NJ: Lawercen Erlbaum Pascarella, E.T, and Terenzini, P.T (1998).How college affects students San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Paull, R.C Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive In A Rapidly Changing World, the 2nd revised Santa Rosen, CA: foundation for critical thinking Tyson, Louis.(1999).Critical Theory Today: Reader-Response Criticism, chapter 6, New York Connell,Jenne.(1996) Assessing the inherence of dewey’s episto mology on Rosenblatt’s reader Blackwell publishing limited Church, Gladdys Westbrook(1997) The significance of louise Rosenblatt on the field of teaching literature Virginia, Virginia Community College System 10 Booth, W.(1995) Literature As Exploration New York, MLA Press PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com 11 Dewey, J& Benltley.(1960) A Knowing And The Known Boston, Beacon Press 12 Dewell, J.(1930) Human Nature and Conduct New York, Krissenger Publishing 13 Fish.( 1980) Is There A Textbook In The Class, Cambridge Haward University Press 14 Freud.(1987) The Return Of Reader Reader- Response Criticism London, Methuen Press 15 Miall, David S, & Don Kuiken.(1998) The Form Of Reading: Emperical Study Of Literariness Poetics 25 16 Truong, TKL.( 2004) Introduction To Literature, Cantho University 17 Nguyen, NPL.(2006) The Studdents’ Reaction to Literature through ReaderResponse Criticism Can Tho University 18 http://www.criticalthinking.org 19 http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctat/corenotes.htm 20 file//H:\ critical thinking and critical pedagogy.htm 21 histos.journal@durham.ac.uk 22 Nguyen, T & Le, M.( 2006) Hoc Sinh Khong THich Hoc Ngu Van- Hoi Chuong Bao Dong!.Ha Noi:Co Quan Ngon Luan Cua Hoi Khoa Hoc- Tam Ly- Giao Duc Viet Nam 23 Nguyen, Thuy Hong.(2006) Thuc trang danh gia ket qua hoc tap mon Ngu Van cua hoc sinh Ha Noi: Co Quan Ngon Luan Cua Hoi Khoa Hoc- tam Ly- Giao Duc Viet Nam 24 Holland, N.( 1973) Poems in Persons Kentucky: University press of Kentucky PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com [...]... through Reader- Response Criticism carried out by Tran Ngoc Phi Long at Can Tho University in 2006, showed that when being asked about the awareness of reader- response theory, 52, 63% knew very little about Reader- Response Criticism while the others knew the theory However, when reading, the students’ responses toward the story “The Lady or The Tiger?”, he realized that students’ critical thinking. .. that Reader- Response Criticism has been applied so widely in literature classes in America and Europe; and has contributed a significant role in helping readers to perceive literature in their own ways In other words, Reader- response criticism is the newest approach of literary criticism approved by literature critics and readers, so has it been applied and developed in Vietnam? A study named “The students’. .. http://www.fineprint.com critical thinker through -and- through, but only to such -and- such a degree, with such -and- such insights and blind spots, subject to such -and- such tendencies toward self-delusion (Michael Screven and Richard Paul, 1985) For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a lifelong endeavor 2.3 How is Reader- Response Criticism related to critical thinking? As... text and other readers brought a host of new potential of responses and new meanings as well( Literary Theory, 1965) To sum up, we see that readers’ response criticism is really beneficial in term of improving readers’ critical thinking, Therefore its application in classrooms is very necessary PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com 2.5 Is Reader- Response Criticism. .. readers will develop their critical thinking as they PDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com can move beyond the passive learning of evaluative standards to the creation of their own standards of criticism David Bleich applied Reader- Response Criticism in the 1960’s by collecting statements of students about their feelings and associations towards stories and. .. seek and offer reasons, amendable to being well informed, willing to look for alternatives and withholding judgment when evident and reason are significant) (Ennis 1987,1991;Kenedy, Fisher, Ennis 1991) Although most authors agreed that critical thinking involves both skills and dispositions in empirical, often psychological, research attention is primarily paid to the thinking skills Pascarella and. .. which criticism involved the processing of phrases and sentences in a slow sequence of discussion, revisions, anticipations, reversals, and recoveries Also, reader s response is to the texts, it is the continuous shaping of the events of reader s mental process that slowly adjusts the thought to finally gain an understanding of the actual meaning of the text Whereas to critical thinking, the critical. .. given, and evaluate evident or authority (Furedy & Furedy,1985) Several authors also emphasized the reflective, self-evaluative nature of critical thinking, and point out that the meta-cognitive skills needed for this should be addressed in instruction (e.g.Halpern, 1998) Paul (1992) even calls critical thinking spurious when students are not being taught standards and criteria for assessing their own thinking. .. “c”, “d”, and “a” can express their thinking in the way that critical thinking is formed and developed In general, not does every answer of the open-ended question completely contain the characteristics of critical thinking that a participant chose, but those characteristics scatter alternatively in all answer of question 10 Because the participants have realized the importance of critical thinking, ... a critical consumer of information, he or she is driven to seek reason and evidence Enrich (1987) suggested that critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or to do Mathew Lipman (1988) wrote “the improvement of student’s thinking depends heavily upon student’s ability to identify and cite good reason for their opinions” As students, readers can