비판적 문해력 함양을 위한 영어 동화 수업 대학생의 인식 변화 분석

Enhancing University Students’ Critical Literacy through English Fairy Tales

This study aims to investigate how critical literacy instruction using English fairy tales influences Korean university EFL learners’ critical thinking and interpretive skills. Thirteen first-year students participated in a three-week instructional program centered around the fairy tale Cinderella (Usborne Young Reading, retold by Susanna Davidson). Instruction was based on Paul and Elder’s (2006) critical thinking framework, emphasizing learners’ ability to identify and critically analyze implicit assumptions, underlying ideologies, social implications, and perspectives within the text. Qualitative analysis of pre- and post-test responses revealed notable improvements in learners’ critical literacy, particularly in their awareness and examination of gender stereotypes, appearance-based biases, and power structures reflected in the narrative. However, individual variations indicated that some learners exhibited minimal or no improvement, highlighting the necessity for tailored instructional approaches to effectively foster higher-order critical thinking. These findings suggest that English fairy tales serve as valuable educational materials for enhancing critical literacy and higher-order interpretive abilities among university EFL students. Implications for teaching practices and directions for future research are also discussed.