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This article presents serious independent arguments why literature needs to be retained in the Indonesian ELT (English Language Teaching) curriculum. In general, ELT curriculum nowadays seems to neglect the importance of literature since the introduction of the communicative approach. Three aspects are presented in connection with why the notion may need immediate application: (1) literature brings many advantages to Indonesian ELT learners; (2) literature can be used to teach critical thinking skills; and (3) critical thinking can be used to promote tolerance. This article is developed based on mainly the ideas of literature teaching proposed by Collie and Slater (1987), Lazar (1993), and Ghosn (2002). Hence, critical thinking and tolerance are values not getting serious attention in educational processes in this country even though these values have been included in the National educational objectives for Indonesia.

Welcome to the July 2017 issue of Journal of ELT Research. This issue is accompanied by the spirit of post-Ramadan followed by Eid al-Fitr, two Islamic events bringing about many insightful meanings of life. The events in short bring humans closer to their Creator and be aware of their role as a creature. As a creature, we are always encouraged to learn, finding out the secret of His creation. In so doing, research is one of the ways to see the unseen phenomena. In terms of language teaching and learning, there are still many things we, ELT practitioners, do not know about. Research, even though it is simple, still can give a positive contribution. Our July 2017 issue touches a variety of issues in ELT which can give such a contribution.

Even though critical thinking has been included in education system in Indonesia, it is unlikely to be widely implemented in teaching-learning processes in all levels of education in this country. Indonesian ELT (English Language Teaching) can actually play a role in promoting critical thinking in education. However, the development of ELT in this country since colonial to present era does not seem to facilitate students’ critical thinking skill. This article presents historical perspective with regard to ELT and critical thinking. The first part reviews the history of Indonesian education which did not promote critical thinking, followed by the historical development of Indonesian ELT. The third part discusses socio-political condition which could be partly solved by promoting critical thinking in education and society. The final part suggests incorporation of critical thinking into English textbooks as ELT can also be used as a vehicle for teaching critical thinking.

Though critical thinking has been officially written as one of educational objectives in Indonesia as written in the Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 17 Year 2010 Regarding Educational Management and Administration, it seems that schoolteachers in this country still do not understand what it is and do not realise the importance of critical thinking for students and professionals of this country. This might be because there is no clear conception of what kind of critical thinking needed in education in this country, or it may be because Indonesian schoolteachers do not really know how to encourage students’ critical thinking as they may be still confused with this concept as mentioned above. The latest 2013 curriculum, however, seems to have accommodated the infusion of critical thinking into school subjects, as can been seen in the adoption of Bloom’s taxonomy. This article therefore attempts to argue what critical thinking can contribute to Indonesian students and people as well as proposes reading activities based on Ilyas’ critical thinking framework. This framework is the result of synthesising, examining and evaluating critical thinking taxonomies, strategies, programmes and tests.

From the Editor

This study aims to investigate the Indonesian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers’ conceptions of critical thinking. 59 teachers coming from three different provinces (Jakarta, Banten, West Java) in Indonesia participated in this study by answering open-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire asked two questions. The first question asked whether the participant recognised the term ‘critical thinking.’ The second question asked how the participant conceptualised critical thinking. The study found that only one teacher who never heard the term critical thinking. With regard to the conceptions of critical, there were some emerging themes such as analysis, evaluation, criticism, creativity, problem solving, reflection, curiosity, and even Bloom’s taxonomy. Findings of this study are similar to the critical thinking conceptions proposed by Western academics.