JALT Critical Thinking SIG Forum at PanSIG 2026
Date: Sunday, May 24th, 2026
Time: 10:50-11:55
Room: 606
The JALT Critical Thinking SIG would like to invite everyone to join us for the JALT Critical Thinking SIG Forum being held at PanSIG 2026, which is taking place at Chukyo University in Nagoya, Japan from May 23rd to May 24th, 2026. Three speakers will present on diverse approaches to critical thinking in language education. The featured speakers are:
Ariel Tabak / Temple University
From “Gotcha” to Growth: Using Logical Fallacies to Build Safer and More Engaged Discussion Spaces
Logical fallacies instruction often risks taking on a combative dimension, where students call each other out for mistakes. This can result in fewer students feeling comfortable speaking up during class. This presentation argues that teaching logical fallacies can reduce that risk when fallacies are framed not as a “gotcha” taxonomy, but as shared rules of engagement that make participation safer and more welcoming. I introduce an early-semester sequence in which students learn a set of fifteen high impact fallacies, framed as tools of self-assessment and a correction norm of gentle repair, used to seek stronger and truer arguments. Students then identify fallacies and practice respectful correction through scripted dialogues that intentionally include fallacious moves and modelled repair language. This allows students to experience respectful disagreement and soft argument correction from opposing sides of an argument within the safety of an assigned text. Next, students write their own brief dialogues from prompts, intentionally embedding fallacies and practicing respectful correction strategies. When students practice naming fallacies and correcting them respectfully with “training wheels” first, arguments get cleaner, students become more willing to speak, disagree, and revise, and they come to understand that errors in reasoning are a repairable and normal part of growth.
John Shaw / Westgate Corporation
Why Did This Make Me Angry? Media Literacy for A2 University Students
Social media increasingly promotes short videos designed to provoke strong emotional reactions. While morally provoking content leads to increased engagement (Brady et al., 2017), there is limited classroom-based research on how low-proficiency learners engage with and regulate such content. This presentation reports on a short instructional intervention designed to develop emotional and critical media literacy among A2-level university students in Japan.
Learners completed a pre-lesson mixed-methods survey measuring emotional reactions, trust in online videos, and interaction habits. They then viewed a deliberately provoking social media video and completed guided reflection tasks focusing on emotional response, source, intent, and missing information (Pennycook et al., 2021). After explicit instruction in critical viewing and emotion regulation strategies, learners watched additional videos and completed a post-lesson survey.
Results indicate that learners initially underestimated their emotional susceptibility yet demonstrated strong emotional reactions to the model video. However, by the end of the lesson, learners showed calmer viewing, attention to intent and authorship, and greater confidence in emotional regulation. The presentation demonstrates that media literacy instruction is feasible and effective in a single A2-level lesson. Attendees will leave with a replicable lesson framework and classroom strategies for teaching critical engagement with emotionally charged digital content.
James D. Dunn / Meiji University
From Mechanics to Meaning: MDA-Based Game Design for Critical Thinking in EFL
This presentation explains the procedure the author used for a three-phase game-design-based learning activity grounded in the MDA (Mechanics–Dynamics–Aesthetics) framework to foster critical thinking and language use in the EFL context. Drawing on principles from Ludic Language Pedagogy influences, the classroom activity design employed three scaffolded printouts: an explicit introduction to/explanation of foundational concepts in game design (MDA theory); an individual task in which learners constructed a simple game by analytically mapping mechanics to anticipated player dynamics and aesthetic experiences; and a collaborative task in which small groups negotiated, revised, and synthesized individual designs into a shared, original game. The sequence was structured to help students progress from the lower-order thinking skills (e.g., comprehension and application) into the higher-order thinking skills of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, including analysis, evaluation, and creative synthesis. Learners were required to critically examine how modifications to rules, constraints, and resources altered gameplay dynamics and, in turn, their desired aesthetic experience. English was primary medium for instruction, design, and peer negotiation, making English integral to the activities. This presentation argues that MDA-informed game design tasks offer a robust framework for integrating critical thinking, motivation, and authentic communicative practice within EFL instruction.