Initiating the EFL University Students' Critical Thinking in Oral Mode through Pragma-Stylistic Strategies

The objective of this study is to analyze how university lectures use pragma-stylistic strategies to encourage critical thinking in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom during speaking activities. The study aims to analyze the types of strategies used, the ways they are used


INTRODUCTION
Higher-order thinking (HOT) or critical thinking (CT) skills are essential for college success.They enhance students' ability to analyze, evaluate, and reinforce their thinking logically.Masduqi (2006) emphasized that university students with high CT skills can effectively handle academic challenges.CT is also crucial for global development as it helps students transition from passive receivers to active learners.Folse (2006) highlighted the relationship between CT and language skills, specifically in speaking a foreign language.Speech plays a fundamental role in human communication, and it can be challenging in the EFL learning environment.
Research has shown a significant correlation between CT skills and EFL students' speaking abilities.Critical thinkers tend to perform better in oral tasks compared to their peers who lack such skills (Ramezani, Larsari, & Kiasi, 2016).Malmir (2012) confirmed the positive impact of critical thinking on the oral abilities of Iranian English learners.These findings emphasize the need for educators to use targeted teaching strategies that engage students intellectually, aiding their development and performance in speaking classrooms.
The field of pragma-stylistics is important in educational settings as it focuses on the linguistic strategies used to engage and persuade.Previous studies such as Nurhadi (2016), and Wulandari (2020) have explored how pragma-stylistic approaches can shape students' communication skills and their understanding of peace and cross-cultural dialogues.However, there is a gap in literature regarding the specific application of pragma-stylistics by educators to promote critical thinking (CT) among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students.Recent studies have started addressing this gap by examining the integration of CT in teaching curricula and its impact on language learning.A study conducted in 2022 by Isnaini, E. et al. revealed challenges such as limited CT understanding among student teachers and the need for better support in applying CT.Another study conducted by F. Bagheri (2015) found that CT training can enhance language learning strategies, highlighting the need for more comprehensive research to improve teaching methodologies and language education outcomes.This research emphasizes the importance of developing effective pragma-stylistics strategies to foster critical thinking in EFL contexts, which is the focus of the current study.This

Critical Thinking in Higher Education
Critical Thinking (CT) can be defined in various ways.Some experts argue that CT encompasses philosophical, psychological, and educational perspectives (Nikou, Bonyadi, & Amirikar, 2015).Watson and Glaser (2012) define CT as the skill of analyzing and investigating problems to gain valid results.Paul, R and Elder, L (2019) view CT as the ability to analyze and evaluate intellectual processes and how to improve them.Freeley and Steinberg (2007) describe CT as the ability to promote, analyze, and critique ideas, involving evaluating, analyzing, and criticizing information, knowledge, and problems to make valuable judgments and decisions.
Jiménez-Aleixandre and Puig (2012) discuss how critical thinking involves discriminating between claims supported by evidence and mere opinions, emphasizing the role of argumentation in supporting this capacity.They highlight that critical thinking includes developing independent opinions and challenging existing ideas, not just critiquing others negatively.These perspectives highlight the complex nature of CT, emphasizing its importance in critical evaluation and intellectual engagement.
In higher education, students are recognized for actively engaging with information, exploring its underlying meanings and implications (Bankole M. E., 2019).They seek to understand the connections between their studies and future career aspirations, performing optimally when aware of the potential outcomes of their efforts.This active engagement requires lecturers to provide creative opportunities for CT, especially in the EFL context.Lecturers should encourage students to deliberate arguments, evaluate strengths and weaknesses, and balance perspectives (Bankole M. E., 2019).CT is considered a core academic skill that enhances intellectual capabilities (Masduqi, 2006;Klimovienė, Urbonienė, & Barzdžiukienė, 2006).To foster this competence, lecturers can use strategies like pragmatic-stylistics during the teaching and learning process.This enables students to effectively analyze sources, take notes, complete assignments, and excel in other academic endeavors.

Critical Thinking and EFL Students' Speaking Skill
Spoken language ability is widely regarded as a crucial aspect of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom.In today's global era, there is an increasing demand for international communication, prompting many language students to enhance their oral skills in language classrooms.While basic oral skills are common, some students exhibit significantly higher oral communication abilities.According to Malmir (2012), those who communicate more effectively tend to achieve greater success in their academic and social lives.Folse (2006) equates the ability to convey a language orally with understanding the language itself, emphasizing that speech is the most fundamental means of human communication.Despite its importance, speaking is generally considered the most challenging skill in the EFL context, more so than the other language skills.Critical thinking has a significant correlation with and influence on EFL students' speaking skills.Ramezani, R., Larsari, E. E., & Kiasi, M. A. (2016) observe that EFL students identified as critical thinkers typically perform better in speaking classrooms than those who are not.This connection between critical thinking and speaking performance is further explored by Malmir (2012), who found that Iranian EFL learners who received critical thinking instruction demonstrated marked improvements in their oral skills during post-test interviews.Such improvements suggest that introducing critical thinking in the classroom positively impacts speaking abilities.Similarly, Sanavi and Tarighat (2014) conducted research in Tehran, which also confirmed that teaching critical thinking skills significantly enhances the speaking proficiency of Iranian EFL learners.These findings underscore the importance of high critical thinking skills for EFL university students and suggest that these skills can be effectively developed through strategic instructional methods, including the language style used by lecturers to initiate critical thinking during classroom interactions.

Pragmatics and stylistics (pragma-stylistics)
Pragmatics, a field within applied linguistics, examines language in context, going beyond grammar and semantic rules (Black, 2006).Yule (2006), defines pragmatics as the study of speakers' intentions, contextual meanings, non-literal expressions, social relationships, and the connection between linguistic forms and their use.Stylistics, a branch of linguistics, focuses on the diverse language usage found in literature.According to Turner, in Nurhadi (2016), "style" refers to literary criticism, while "istics" refers to linguistics, indicating a close relationship between language and style.Black explains that stylisticians view language in a text as a complete representation of the textual world.This perspective draws on Whorfian ideas that suggest individual languages may influence worldviews.However, it has evolved to recognize that meaning is subjective and emerges through interpretation.Different readers may interpret aspects of a text's meaning differently, challenging the idea of a single, unified meaning.
Additionally, style is also associated with a mode of persuasion in rhetoric, commonly utilized in both written and spoken discourse to effectively persuade or sway listeners and readers into embracing the speaker's or writer's message (Tarigan H. G., 2009).Keraf (2009) supports this view by describing style as the manner in which people express their thoughts through language, which in turn reflects their spirit and personality.This expression is often enhanced by figures of speech or figurative language, which involve deviations from literal meanings to achieve a desired effect (Sudjiman, P., 1986).Such figurative language is used by speakers and writers to advise and persuade others to adopt similar viewpoints.Pragma-stylistics, as defined by Hickey and cited in Nurhadi (2016), combines pragmatic elements with stylistic analysis, focusing on achieving specific goals or expressions through various linguistic and extra-linguistic means within given contexts.This field studies the integration of linguistic rules and potential to create texts that influence or persuade.Additionally, Nurhadi (2016) adds that pragmastylistics merges pragmatics and stylistics, highlighting the pragmatic aspects found within speech acts and situational contexts.

Pragmatics and stylistics (pragma-stylistics) components
Recent evidence by Nurhadi (2016) suggests that the pragmatics components are divided into three types; assertive speech acts, directives speech acts, and expressive speech acts.
In comparison, the stylistics components are categorized into six types; epizeuxis, parallelism, prolepsis, simile, chiasmus, and positive vs negative phrase.
Here are the detailed explanations of the pragmatics components mentioned.

Assertive
Assertive is a speech act describing matters of external reality.There are two kinds of assertive speech acts.They are assertive-stating and assertivesuggesting.

Assertive-stating
Assertive-stating is a kind of speech acts assertive created from performative verbs which have a function to give statements.

Assertive-suggesting
Assertive-suggesting is a kind of speech acts assertive created from performative verbs which have a function to give suggestions.
Directive-advising: Directive is a speech act containing the speaker's wish to The research gap in EFL contexts is the lack of attention given to the pragmastylistic strategies employed by lecturers to initiate critical thinking (CT) in oral mode or speaking activities.While previous studies conducted by Shanti et al. (2014), Ramezani et al. (2016), andFolse (2006) have explored the relationship between CT and speaking ability, they have not specifically addressed the pragmastylistic methods used by lecturers.This study seeks to fill this gap by conducting an in-depth qualitative analysis of the language styles used by lecturers as a means to stimulate CT development in speaking classrooms, examining how these strategies are implemented, and how students perceive them.By emphasizing the correlation between linguistic style and pragmatic language use, this study provides a novel viewpoint on pedagogical methods for EFL speaking classrooms and highlights the requirement for further investigation into the pragma-stylistic approach across diverse language abilities.

RESEARCH METHOD
This current study implements a qualitative approach constructed through a depth interview to get the data from the participants.It focuses on the participants' perspectives and experiences.Qualitative research-based interview assists in obtaining profound and detailed insights into an individual's views, positions, and life experiences (Kvale, 2007).The participants are two lecturers of the Spoken English course of the English Education Department at one of the universities in It is because purposeful sampling is valuable when the researchers try to find the participants who are expected to give information deeply in addressing the research questions (Cohen et al., 2018).In this study, all personal information from the selected participants is not presented as a part of the data to protect participants' privacy.The researcher of this study can only access the data.Besides, the selected participants are considered eligible to be respondents of this study since they have currently been assigned as lecturers in Spoken English courses at the university level where having high CT is required for all their students.
The data was taken in May 2021.By this time, the participants had been conducting the English-speaking classroom passing mid-semester of the academic year.In this case, they engaged with the students intensely and closely.The interview session was conducted for around 45 minutes for each participant.It was carried out through semi-structured interviews.The interviews were performed virtually via Zoom Meeting since they were conducted during the pandemic situation .English was used as the main communicative language during the interviews, but Bahasa Indonesia was also applied to get and to give clearer and more detailed information as well as to create a more enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere.The researcher managed the topic of the questions from general issues to specific issues relating to the main research questions of this study.
A thematic analysis (TA) was utilized in analyzing the data taken from the interviews.TA is commonly used to examine qualitative data.Braun & Clarke (2012) states that thematic analysis facilitates the researcher to evaluate and examine the dataset thru pattern categorization of the themes found in the dataset.
The researcher completed some steps in analyzing the data; (1) after conducting the interviews, the data was firstly transcribed using verbatim (2) the transcriptions were read several times to comprehensively understand the points given by the participants, to wisely avoid missing some important information and to certainly code the themes based on the determined categorization (3) the themes appeared in the dataset were coded or grouped (4) the coded or grouped themes were then accorded and compared with some theories or previous studies (5) lastly, triangulation technique was conducted to ensure and strengthen the validity of the findings.
This study followed ethical principles such as informed consent, anonymity, and confidentiality.Participants were given detailed information about the study's purpose, their involvement, and their right to withdraw without any penalty.
Consent forms were obtained, assuring the use of pseudonyms to protect identities.
All recordings and transcripts were stored securely and accessible only to the research team.A triangulation process was conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.This involved cross-verifying the findings through a comparison with existing literature, consultation with fellow researchers for peer debriefing, and member checks with the participants to confirm the accuracy of the interpreted data.This triangulation not only reinforced the validity of the research but also enriched the study's contribution to the field of EFL teaching methodologies.

RESULTS
This section presents the study findings, organized by theme related to the research questions.The results focus on three main areas: the strategies used by lectures, the methods they use to implement these strategies in EFL speaking classrooms and also the students' responses towards the strategies conducted.The results explore the effectiveness of these strategies and how they enhance critical thinking among university students.This table summarizes the pragma-stylistics strategies used by EFL university lectures to promote critical thinking among students.The strategies include:

Pragma-stylistics Strategies Used by the Lectures
Assertive-Stating, Assertive-Suggesting, Directive-Advising, and Prolepsis.These strategies are effectively used to create an environment that encourages critical thinking.They not only highlight the importance of critical thinking in language proficiency but also actively involve students in developing this essential skill.The interviews provided demonstrate how these strategies can be applied in practical ways to enhance student learning outcomes in EFL classrooms.

The Ways the Lectures Use Pragma-stylistics Strategies
The lectures agree that students in university are required to have high critical thinking moreover in EFL speaking classrooms.Therefore, they implement some strategies to initiate their students' CT during the class; one of them is through the language style delivered in the classroom.However, the ways they conduct those strategies are varied.They will be detailly described on the table 2 below.are able to improve both their linguistic skills and critical thinking abilities.This ultimately promotes intellectual growth and enhances their proficiency in communicating in English.

Students' Responses
This part focuses on lectures' perceptions of university students' responses to critical thinking strategies in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speaking classrooms.The study found that students' responses can be categorized as positive or negative, based on their English proficiency.Positive responders, who are usually more fluent, actively and critically engage with the tasks, demonstrating higher linguistic competence and enthusiasm.On the other hand, negative responders, who have limited English skills, tend to participate less and face difficulties with the critical demands of the activities.For the details are shown on the table 3 below.This table shows how lectures perceive university students' responses to critical thinking strategies in EFL classrooms.It highlights that language proficiency greatly affects student engagement.Students who are more fluent in English, known as positive responders, actively participate and show enthusiasm.On the other hand, students with lower proficiency struggle and tend to be passive.It is crucial for educators to understand these dynamics in order to develop effective teaching strategies that promote engagement and improve learning outcomes.
The researchers have compiled the data into a table to effectively summarize their findings.This helps readers understand the results more easily.The structured presentation allows for a straightforward comparison and comprehensive analysis of strategies used to promote critical thinking in EFL classrooms.For the details, shown on the table below.

The components of pragma-stylistics strategies are used by the lecturers
In EFL classrooms, lectures aim to develop critical thinking skills through pragmatic and stylistic strategies.This discussion focuses on the effectiveness of assertive techniques and directive strategies in cultivating these skills among university students.The participants mentioned on the table are categorized as assertive-stating speech acts.These speech acts form statements and are part of an assertive-stating strategy.Yule (2006) defines assertive speech acts as describing external facts.One function of assertion is to give affirmation or make statements.
In data (1), the speaker gives a statement to his students about the importance of critical thinking.Data (2) and (3) are also in the same category.These models involve expressive verbs in a functional state.Nurhadi (2016) states that verbal statements convey ideas or information in a general way, avoiding subjective attitudes of the speaker.This makes the listeners more receptive to the information.This method is about how lecturers use pragma-stylistic strategies.These strategies help students think critically and analyze deeply during speaking activities.The goal is to apply critical thinking to both real-world scenarios and abstract concepts.This approach showcases the practical application of pragma-stylistic strategies.
These strategies are used to engage students' thinking and encourage their responses in a controlled but impactful manner.
In They also use pragma-stylistic strategies to teach and discuss learning errors, providing targeted feedback based on these errors to reinforce learning outcomes.
Faridah, Thoyyibah, and Kurnia (2020) and Tai (2022) emphasize the importance of peer feedback and critical thinking integration in boosting the confidence and speaking performance of EFL students.
To sum up, lectures enhance critical thinking and communicative proficiency in EFL classrooms by using pragma-stylistic strategies.This prepares students for academic achievements and real-world challenges.The approach fosters intellectual growth and cultivates a dynamic learning environment.It encourages continuous improvement and reflective engagement.

The lectures' perceptions towards their students' response in initiating CT for their EFL university students in oral mode, in speaking context.
Most students respond positively when lectures use critical thinking (CT) exercises in class.Marzban and Barati (2016), Fahim and Sa'eepour (2011), and Grosser and Nel (2013) have found a strong link between language proficiency and critical thinking in EFL learners.Marzban and Barati (2016) state that higher language skills are essential for understanding complex concepts, which improves critical thinking.Fahim and Sa'eepour (2011) argue that teaching critical thinking in language classes enhances reading, speaking, and overall language proficiency.
Grosser and Nel (2013) added that academic language skills, like making inferences, are important for improving critical thinking, which is crucial for academic success.
These studies align with classroom observations, where English-proficient students excel in critical thinking activities, expressing ideas effectively and following instructions.
However, EFL students face challenges with grammar and linguistic structure, which affect their speaking abilities.These challenges include issues with tenses and verb usage (Dhona, 2020), subject-verb agreement (Febriyanti, 2019), redundancy reduction (Fatmanissa & Novianti, 2022) and pronunciation (Normawati et al., 2023).Musabal and Abdalgane (2023) found that language anxiety, poor classroom management, and inadequate vocabulary hinder EFL learners' oral participation.They recommend enhancing student engagement through improved rapport and tailored teaching methods.Ariyanti (2016) studied psychological barriers that affect Indonesian EFL students' speaking performance and participation.These barriers include fear of making mistakes and low selfesteem, which often lead to code-switching during discussions.The low language proficiency of some students undermines their confidence and participation in class, making it difficult for them to respond to CT initiatives.So, lecturers perceive those students with higher language proficiency respond more positively to critical thinking (CT) initiatives in oral and speaking contexts, as these students are better equipped to understand complex concepts and articulate their ideas clearly.
However, they also recognize that students facing linguistic challenges may be less confident and reluctant to participate, which affects their ability to engage effectively with CT exercises in class.The qualitative approach used does not measure the impact of the strategies quantitatively.Additionally, relying on self-reported data may not fully reflect students' development in critical thinking, and the study's short duration only captures a snapshot of the strategies' effectiveness.Furthermore, the study only considers the lecturers' perspectives and does not include students' views.To address these gaps, future research should involve larger and more diverse samples, extend over longer periods, and include both quantitative measures and students' reflections to better understand and validate the effectiveness of the strategies in enhancing critical thinking.

CONCLUSION
current study addresses the research questions as follows: (1) what components of pragma-stylistics strategies are used by the lecturers?(2) how do the lecturers use those pragma-stylistics strategies; (3) what are the lectures' perceptions towards their students' response in initiating CT for their EFL university students in oral mode, in speaking context?
the hearer or audience to do something.While directive-advising is a kind of speech acts directive created from performative verbs which have a function to give advice.Expressive-stating: Expressive is a speech act describing what the speaker feels.At the same time, expressive-stating is a kind of speech act reflecting the speaker's statements alongside a state psychologically.While the detailed explanations of the stylistics components are presented below: Epizeuxis: It is the repetition of words, phrases, clauses, or sentences directly Parallelism: It shows the meaning of parallel elements in a sentence construction Prolepsis: It illustrates the words as if the preceding events.In this case, the thought is delivered by the speaker before the event truly occurs construction.Simile: It shows an explicit comparison to something similar with other things expressed by the words: same, like, as, as if, and so on.Chiasmus: It is a kind of figure of speech in which the words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, both in the same or a modified form.It has the formula A-B-B-A.Positive vs. Negative phrase: It is the use of phrases or sentences, both positive and negative to make the language used to give a strong foundation in the mental construction.
JOURNAL OF PRAGMATICS RESEARCH -Vol 06, No 01 (2024), pp.113-147 DOI: 10.18326/jopr.v6i1.113-147e-ISSN: 2656-8020 121 Surabaya-Indonesia.They are one male lecturer named Aldebaran and one female lecturer named Andin (both are pseudonyms), aged 29 to 33.They have been experiencing as lecturers in the English field for about three years.The process of selecting the participants is accomplished within the base of purposeful sampling.
Kener, F. M. N. (2021) discovered that pragmatic tasks had a significant impact on developing critical thinking capabilities in prospective EFL teachers.They recommended further exploration of learner-centered activities that involve discussing and analysing utterances to enhance critical thinking.This finding answers the first research question, it emphasizes the use of assertive-stating components.Lecturer's frame critical thinking as essential by making factual statements.
Another way, the lecture implements group discussions and speaking clubs in the classroom to encourage student participation.The goal is to perform well on the IELTS speaking test.Topics such as hobbies, cultures, and sports are discussed in these groups, which also helps students prepare for the test.Before the main activity, students are given two minutes to speak impromptu or in a toastmaster style to freely express their ideas.Implementing critical thinking in sharing activities can be done by providing certain clues.Vogt and Short in Shanthi, Pothan, and Rao (2014) When students actively participate and discuss ideas, learning becomes more effective and helps them think critically.Speaking clubs and structured group discussions are examples of pragma-stylistic strategies.They aim to encourage active participation and critical engagement among students.Furthermore, Utari (2020) andMaulana (2022) found that EFL students face internal and external challenges when it comes to developing satisfactory levels of critical thinking.They emphasized the importance of teaching methods in influencing this process.Similarly,Warliati, et al. (2019) studied the relationship between learning strategies, critical thinking, and speaking skills.Warliati's research showed that the Discussion Strategy was more effective than the Think-Pair-Share Strategy in promoting these skills.Chen and Preston (2021) also supported the benefits of collaborative learning in enhancing students' critical thinking skills.They suggested that instructors should implement strategies to improve team collaboration.These activities not only develop speaking skills but also foster a culture of critical examination and shared learning.Moreover, creating a learning environment that allows for free interaction and discussion is important.Two lectures in the study prefer to provide instructions and questions to initiate critical thinking (CT) in their students.One lecture imitates an IELTS speaking interviewer by giving instructions or questions.This approach effectively stimulates students' CT during classroom activities (Carole F.Robinson   and P. Kakela, 2006).According to Hughes (2014), asking questions and avoiding assumptions is an indicator of CT.The lectures can give opinions on students' answers and support those opinions.This helps students become autonomous and independent, consider different perspectives, ask the right questions, weigh different points of view, challenge assumptions, acknowledge background information, imagine and explore alternatives, and develop reflective scepticism.

Since
Critical Thinking (CT) significantly give positive effects to the EFL students' speaking ability, moreover at the university level, this current study aims at (1) analyzing the pragma-stylistic strategies used by the lectures in initiating CT in their class (2) how they use those strategies and (3) how their perception on their students' response towards initiating CT in their classroom.A qualitative approach based on a depth interview was conducted to get the data from the participants.It focuses on the participants' perspectives and experiences about some issues clearly presented in research questions.The participants are two lecturers of the Spoken English course of the English Education Department at one of the universities in Surabaya-Indonesia.The study found that lecturers in speaking classrooms prefer using Assertive-Stating, Assertive-Suggesting, Directive-Advising, and Prolepsis strategies to promote critical thinking.These strategies are implemented through activities like providing texts, audio, and video stimuli, conducting group discussions, giving specific instructions, and providing feedback.Most students respond positively to these methods, showing increased motivation and engagement in critical thinking.These students are categorized as obedient, following instructions and focusing on tasks.However, a minority of students respond negatively, engaging passively and showing defensive behaviours.These students are labelled as stolid and often feel overwhelmed.The study provides insights into the strategies used in speaking classrooms to foster critical thinking, but it has limitations.It is based on data from only two lecturers at one institution, limiting the generalizability of the findings.

Table 3 . Responses Response Type Description of Response Example from Interviews
studying the effectiveness of feedback in EFL settings, it is clear that immediate and specific feedback greatly improve students' speaking skills and