Creative Reading's Impact on EFL Learners' Critical Thinking and Reading Comprehension

Evolving trends of the new millennium towards being equipped with particular skills stipulate that individuals are obliged to procure critical thinking skills (henceforth CTSs) for their intellectual development. Cultivation of creativity in pedagogies contributes to sustaining critical thinking. Considering age and gender stereotypes, the current research set out to cast light on whether EFL learners’ CTSs and reading comprehension skills (henceforth RCSs) can be ameliorated through employing creative reading practices to help learners think beyond the conventional boundaries to fully grasp the author's intent and derive meaningful insights. To achieve the goals, sixty homogeneous EFL learners were randomly distributed to control and experimental groups within a framework of quantitative and true-experimental method using pre and post-test design. Before the intervention, the pre-tests revealed no statistically significant difference between CTSs and RCSs of the two groups. Over three months, experimental group (EG) (n=28) and control group (CG) (n=32) received creative reading and regular reading instructions, respectively. At the end of the instructions, the results demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the level of CTSs and RCSs of two groups. Based on the findings, the EG's CTSs and RCSs improved after receiving the intervention, although no significant improvement was found between performances of CG on pre- and post-tests. Furthermore, the older EFL learners of EG outperformed younger ones, though male and female learners did the same. These findings highlight the effectiveness of creative reading in fostering critical thinking and comprehension skills in EFL contexts, suggesting valuable pedagogical implications for educators seeking to enhance learners' cognitive abilities. This research contributes to the field by demonstrating that creative reading practices significantly enhance critical thinking and reading comprehension skills among EFL learners, suggesting that integrating creativity into language pedagogy can lead to improved cognitive outcomes and better prepare learners for complex intellectual challenges.