The Role of Digital Technology in Promoting Critical Thinking at the Tertiary Level Education in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is changing and developing its life style with the touches of digital technology keeping pace with the modern world. This is no more an exception for English language classrooms where the presence of technology becomes more and more conspicuous day by day. Simultaneously, like other English Language contexts, the importance of critical thinking is strongly felt in present Bangladesh as its aim is completely opposite to the passive way of learning. In this situation, if digital tools can be used in classrooms to generate critical thinking skills among learners, better outcomes can be expected from here. So, with an aim to examine the impacts of technology in building tertiary level English language learners’ critical thinking skills, this study collected data by exploiting both quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were collected from 773 students, 41 students and 7 teacher interviewees and by observing 8 classes of 14 universities in Bangladesh. The findings of analyzed data revealed that technology plays an important role in building learners’ overall critical thinking skills along with other language skills. The data findings also pointed out different field specific barriers like, lack of advanced technology tools, insufficient training, lack of financial supports, less organized classroom practices and so forth. The participants expected to overcome all these difficulties with time-fitting and well-planned technology-based syllabus to ensure the positive impacts of technology on tertiary level learners’ critical thinking development. Keywords: digital technology, critical thinking, tertiary level education, English language teaching and learning, constructivist learning theory, Bloom’s taxonomy

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