Methodic aspects of the development of critical thinking of ESL students majoring in Pedagogical education

We focus on the problem of the need to develop critical thinking of ESL students majoring in Pedagogical education and the insufficient development of theoretical and technological tools for the effective implementation of this process. Taking into account the peculiarities of pedagogical foreign language education, the authors view critical thinking as a special kind of thinking aimed at solving the most significant educational, developmental, cognitive and educational tasks. We believe that this type of thinking should be based on the implementation of analytical mechanisms that ensure the establishment of regular connections between all components of the process of foreign language education and the introduction of a system of methodological tools aimed at the development of critical thinking skills. We highlight the problem of developing critical thinking based on the use of a system of methodological tools implemented in all types of speech activity – listening, speaking, reading and writing. The purpose of this research is to present the technological aspects of the development of critical thinking in pedagogical foreign language education and the development of educational and methodological support aimed at the implementation of this process in training future ESL teachers. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that it presents examples of specially designed exercises for the development of critical thinking in all types of speech activity. Such exercises should be used in the process of training future foreign language teachers in order to form and develop their critical potential.