Development of the Objectives/Descriptors/Evaluation Criteria for Teaching Critical Thinking and Intercultural Competence in Foreign Langauge Education

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The aim of this project is to develop a framework, teaching materials and evaluation tools for critical thinking and intercultural competence for Japanese university students. We started out constructing objectives and criteria tailored to the Japanese EFL situation, first by referring to the FREPA items widely used in Europe and secondly, looking into various critical thinking tests available in North America. The initial, tentative list of descriptors has 29 items in 3 sections: knowledge, attitudes and thinking skills required to solve problems in intercultural communication. These items were validated both qualitatively and quantitatively for adequate modifications and adjustments after conducting questionnaire surveys and interviews with many teachers and students. We have also created the teaching materials and assessment tools for different types of courses based on the proposed objectives after a series of piloting, finally arriving at several generalized instructional models.