An Analysis of Instruction used in Relation to Higher Order Thinking Skills Hots in an English Textbook for Junior High Schools

Abstract

Make students think critically is very rare and difficult to apply. If the learning process is implemented properly by using good teaching materials, students' critical thinking skills can be improved. It aimed to describe the kinds of instructions in the textbook related to HOTS that can arouse students' critical thinking. This study applied a qualitative approach. The researcher investigated the instructions of an English textbook and used the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy as a reference during the study. It used an EFL textbook for the eighth grade students entitled "When English Rings a Bell" the revised edition 2019 published by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. The descriptive analysis method was used. The textbook fulfilled a critical thinking component, which is indicated by many instructions appear in Bloom's Taxonomy category are at the high level of thinking i.e. analyzing, evaluating, and creating. It can be seen from Chapter 2 up to Chapter 13. There were many instructions containing higher-order thinking levels needed. It is quite suitable for the application of HOTS to eight-grade students, the instructions in the textbook contain many action verbs that correspond to the high-level thinking. Although the textbook is good enough for learning, the English teachers are suggested to use additional sources for students and the teacher must be the active role to develop students' critical thinking skill.