The effects of Internet-assisted Language Learning (IALL) on the development of ESL students' critical thinking skills

The primary concern of the present research was to investigate the effects of an Internet-Assisted Language Learning (IALL) environment on the development of L2 students' critical thinking skills. A total of 77 students of Diploma in Hotel Management at UiTM Terengganu, Dungun Campus, Malaysia were involved in this study. This sample was divided into three groups, namely full, partial and non-IALL environments. Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT), Level X, was administered as the pre-post-test to measure the development of critical thinking skills of L2 students. The CCTT scores revealed that students who were exposed to the full IALL environment improved significantly in their critical thinking skills as compared to those in the partial and non-IALL environments. When the various sub-skills were measured, the analysis showed that they improved the most in the connecting skill, an element of the higher order thinking skills. The present study concludes that using the Internet in language classrooms helps to create critical English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Thus, language teachers should not have any reservations in incorporating internet in their classrooms. The study recommends that future work should investigate whether IALL environment can also significantly help to foster students' creative thinking.