Development of Critical Thinking Skills for Macedonian Language for Professional Purposes 2 During the Online Teaching Period

The aim of this paper is to present the results of our analysis regarding the development of critical thinking skills for the subject Macedonian language for specific purposes 2, research conducted in the online teaching period in the academic 2019-2020. The appearance of COVID-19 virus in March 2020 and the pandemic that it caused seriously affected the educational process. But the well-established Google Meet and Google Classroom platforms have proven to be a solid foundation for teaching in extraordinary circumstances at SEEU. Our goal in the past period was mainly aimed at developing and improving the critical thinking skills which are clearly defined in the syllabus. Definitions of the term critical thinking are given, as well as the results of our research regarding the development of critical thinking skills during online teaching. In terms of methodology, for each skill an exercise was given, which was assessed by the professor and the students received feedback. Our research covers 7 critical thinking skills. An analysis is emphasized as one of the key skills for developing critical thinking. The ability to apply established personal, professional and social rules and criteria reflects students’ ability to present information in their own way. In the modern world, access to information is readily available. The development of critical thinking by mastering the skill of logical reasoning was aimed at establishing correlations and conclusions that are supported or determined by the above data in the form of a debate on the criteria for successful professional communication. The ability to distinguish is emphasized as one of the skills for developing critical thinking. The novelties in the future should be mainly focused on the main challenge, which is the motivation of the students for active participation because according to our expected results there was more pressure for their activity on Google Meet, but they showed significant interest in the exercises that affected the final grade (according to our previous experience, that was characteristic for the period of teaching with physical presence).

The active involvement of the students, but also the additional engagement of the professors in these extraordinary circumstances will contribute to a quality and smooth mastering of the skills for critical analysis.