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Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
215
The Correlation between Critical Thinking Skills and Vocabulary Mastery
in Critical Listening and Speaking Class
Vita Febia Pratiwi
English Language Education Study Program Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
Mercu Buana Yogyakarta University
Vitafebiapratiwi1@gmail.com
Daniel Ari Widhiatama
English Education Study Program of Universitas Mercu Buana Yogyakarta
daniel@mercubuana-yogya.ac.id
Corresponding author: daniel@mercubuana-yogya.ac.id
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to find out the relationship between students critical thinking and
vocabulary mastery in Critical Listening and Speaking classes at a university in Yogyakarta. This
research focused on knowing the relationship between students' critical thinking and vocabulary
mastery of semester 4 students at a university in Yogyakarta. The population of this study were fourth
semester students who were taking Critical Listening and Speaking courses. This research employed
is quantitative design. In collecting data, researchers used questionnaires and tests. The research
sample consisted of 15 students at an English Education Study Program. A vocabulary test using
https://www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/english-level-test/vocabulary was used to investigate
students’ vocabulary mastery. Meanwhile, a formative assignment was employed to gain students’
critical thinking level. To analyze the data, Pearson product moment correlation was used. The
exploration discoveries show that there was a positive correlation between critical thinking skills and
vocabulary mastery in CLS class with Sig. = 0.934. In this way, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is
acknowledged and null hypothesis (Ho) is dismissed. The importance of this assertion is a basic
critical thinking skills impacts vocabulary mastery.
Keywords: Critical Thinking Skill, Vocabulary Mastery, Correlation
A. Introduction
Language is the most crucial communication tool in life for humans to speak with one
another (Paranduk et al, 2021). Learning continues to evolve, both during the implementation
process and as comprehension abilities improve. Learning in the 21st century is not limited to
cognitive talents. Students are expected to develop a variety of personal and social abilities.
Students must grasp critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication abilities. It
is crucial to cultivate one of the four abilities, notably critical thinking skills. Various studies
have extensively examined critical thinking skills, such as developing critical thinking
abilities through problem-solving concepts (Alfayez et al, 2022).
Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
216
Critical thinking is a significant issue in modern education today. The goal of learning to
think critically in science or other studies is to improve students' thinking skills, thereby
preparing them better for success in the world. At school, students are required to be able to
think critically. Before trying to solve a problem, make sure students must know the root of
the problem being discussed. To identify and find problems, you must collect as much data as
possible in the field. You have to take responsibility for the problem because it won't go away
on its own. Critical thinking is a form of human reasoning that includes clear reasons and
specific goals. When you think critically, you seek reasons or explanations for an event,
analyse the other side of a problem, attempt to solve the problem, make conclusions, and
determine a scenario based on facts (Pirozzi, 2003).
Probably, among other researchers, Ennish’ (1998) This study, which stated that crucial
is a logical, deliberate process that connects both talents and attitudes, would be the most
appropriate definition. In his study, Ennish (1998) conceptualized critical thinking as a
person's reflective action to: (1) look at an information source's credibility; (2) look for
conclusions, reasons, and assumptions; (3) look at the quality of an argument, including its
acceptability, reasons, and evidence; (4) form and defend an opinion on a problem; (5) ask a
question to clarify information; (6) plan the experiment and look at the design of the
experiment; (7) explain which terms fit the context; (8) be open-minded; (2009) carefully
conclude something. Heijltjes, Gog, and Paas (2014) with their examination asserted that
express guidance would function admirably when it is joined with adequate practice. The
constructs for assessing students' critical thinking ability would be these elaborations.
Students must master two major factors when studying English: language skills and
language components (Hampp et al, 2021). Language abilities include listening, speaking,
reading, and writing, while language components include vocabulary, syntax, and
pronunciation (Olii, 2021). Finnochiario (2010), defines vocabulary as the content and
function of words in a language that has been thoroughly learned so that it can be used to
perform any communication act. Learning vocabulary is an important part of learning a
foreign language because new words' meanings are often stressed, whether in the classroom
or in books (Alqahtani, 2015). Vocabulary and critical thinking are important classroom skills
for students. Critical thinking and vocabulary mastery being the significant rolein learning.
Today critical thinking is a significant expertise throughout everyday life, and that educators
need to coordinate a portion of its critical components into their study halls (Haghgoo, 2012).
Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
217
Ku (2009) in Mansoor and Ali say that critical thinking gives students the skills they need
to deal quickly and effectively with the ever-increasing changes of the modern world.
Students need to learn to develop flexible intellectual skills related to learning vocabulary in
order for them to develop this level of competency instead of just memorizing what is written
in textbooks (Fahim and Komijani, 2011). Kamali and Fahim (2011), discovered that
participants' comprehension of unfamiliar vocabulary items was significantly improved by
critical thinking. Mirzai (2008), reported that lexical inferencing and critical thinking are
significantly linked. Learners' critical thinking skills were found to significantly and
positively correlate with their knowledge of L2 vocabulary (Fahim and Komijani, 2011). By
stating that the only capacity we can use to learn is human thinking, learning and thinking It
is possible to draw the conclusion that CSL students would learn L2 vocabulary more
effectively and profoundly if they utilized critical thinking skills.
Based on observations made by researchers at a university in Yogyakarta for the Critical
Listening class, the researchers found that students with high critical thinking skills in class
have good vocabulary mastery, whereas some students have poor vocabulary mastery and
low critical thinking. In this context, low critical thinking abilities mean that students
typically think in unclear, imprecise, and erroneous ways (Bassham, 2011).
Based on the explanation, the researcher is interested in performing a study that correlates
critical thinking skills with vocabulary mastery. Language learners must utilise the lexicon
accurately and critically. One of the most significant components of language is the lexicon,
which is also known as vocabulary. Wilkins as quoted by Thornbury (2002) states that
without mastering vocabulary, it is impossible for someone to convey something and
communicate. These statements mean, if students do not know any vocabulary it will cause
them to be unable to say anything and communicate in English. Aside from studying
vocabulary, which is an important aspect of learning English as a foreign language, critical
thinking is a priority in educational aims. Based on the background above, the researcher
intends to examine the correlation between critical thinking skills and vocabulary mastery.
Critical thinking skills tests and vocabulary mastery tests will be conducted. From the data in
the form of test results, researchers want to know the correlation between critical thinking
skills and vocabulary mastery.
B. Research Methodology
Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
218
The researchers used quantitative research to examine the issue at hand. The
review utilized the correlational plan. A connection is the estimation of the co-reletionship
between at least two factors utilizing correlational measurement to explore the exact level
of their relationship (Latief, 2014). A scatterplot, according to Ary et al (2010), shows the
direction of the association between the variables. A positive association is indicated by a
scatterplot with dots running from lower left to higher right. A negative association is
indicated by a graph with dots running from upper left to lower right.
The relationships between two or more variables in a single group are the focus of
correlational research. The degree of the relationship is represented by the correlation
coefficient, which ranges from 0 to 1, and the direction of the correlation is indicated by (-
) denoting a negative correlation and (+) denoting a positive correlation. The participants
of this study were the student of English Language Education Study Program in one of
private universities in Yogyakarta accredited with B by National Accreditation Board for
Higher Education who took the Critical Listening and Speaking (CLS) class. There will be
15 students participating in this research consisting of 3 males and 12 females.
The researcher conducted a critical thinking test to determine the critical thinking
level of the students. In this research, the test consisted of 18 items essay question list
about critical thinking. Before giving the test, the researcher explained the procedure for
10 minutes and continued by giving the test. All the measurement aspects were then from
Ennish’ (1998). The vocabulary test website can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/english-level-test/vocabulary. This website was
choosen due to according to Alqahtani's theory (2015) regarding aspects of vocabulary
mastery. To find out the scores of critical thinking skills tests owned by Critical Listening
and Speaking (CLS) class students, the researchers used an assessment based on theory
from Facione (2015) which includes six pains, namely interpretation, analysis, evaluation,
inference, explanation, and self-regulation.
The scale had a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of .863, indicating that its internal
consistency validity was very high (Pallant, 2016). Researchers used the SPSS 25.0
application to test the correlation between Critical Thinking Skills (X) and Vocabulary
Mastery (Y). The basis for the decision is if the value of Sig. < 0.05, then it is correlated. If
the value of Sig. > 0.05, then it is not correlated. For the degree of relationship, if the
Pearson Correlation value is 0.00-0.20, it means there is no correlation. If the Pearson
Correlation value is 0.21-0.40 then the correlation is weak. If the Pearson Correlation is
Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
219
0.41-0.60 then the correlation is moderate. If the Pearson Correlation is 0.61-0.80 then the
correlation is strong. If the Pearson Correlation is 0.81-1.00 then the correlation is perfect.
Previous research was carried out by Mansoor Fahim and Ali Komijani (2005),
tried to measure the connection between L2 Vocabulary Learning Strategies, L2
Vocabulary Knowledge, and Critical Thinking Ability. The outcome of the review showed
that there is positive connection among the factors. Fobserve is greater than Ftable as a result
of the measurement. It indicated that the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative
hypothesis was accepted. Then, the research by Noushin Boroushaki (2016) entitled
“Critical Thinking Ability and Vocabulary Learning Strategy Use: The Case of EFL
Learners in an ESL Context”. The findings demonstrated a significant connection between
the application of vocabulary learning strategies and critical thinking. The focus on critical
thinking and similarities between this and previous studies are similar to correlational
studies. However, there are also some differences, such as the fact that previous
researchers found a correlation between English proficiency and other language elements.
As a matter of some importance, Lazuardy Wulan Mulia (2021) entitled "The Correlation
Between Critical Thinking Skill and Vocabulary Mastery of the Tenth Graders of SMA N
2 Semarang". The findings of this study are the normal analyse test scores for critical
thinking were 0.096 and 0.094 for vocabulary mastery. It is obvious that H0 is acceptable
for critical thinking because 0.096 > 0.05. Thus, both critical thinking data distribution and
vocabulary mastery were normal. Then, linearity revealed that the sign is 0.136, indicating
that H0 is accepted for linearity because sign 0.136 > 0.05. As a result, the relationship
between dependent and independent variables was more definite. The linearity analysis
was linier as a result of the regularly variable data distribution. As a result, the association
in this study will be examined.
Thinking critically in terms of a particular quality is basically good thinking that
meets certain accuracy and adequacy criteria (Lai, 2011). As factors, Facione proposes six
cores of critical thinking Interpretation, Analysis, Evaluation, Inference, Explanation, and
Self-Regulation (Facione, 2011).
C. Results and Discussion
Before the researchers took the data, there were some activities conducted in
the classroom First, the researcher made initial observations. In this observation, the
researcher found that in the Critical Listening and Speaking (CLS) class, students
Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
220
who had critical thinking skills tended to have good vocabulary mastery and students
who lacked critical thinking skills tended to lack vocabulary mastery. Furthermore,
after knowing the conditions in the field the researcher conducted a vocabulary test.
The test was conducted using the web from oxford.com. The researcher distributed a
link containing a vocabulary mastery test and students were given instructions for
doing the test. On the website the test will automatically provide scores, levels and
percents after students have finished working on the vocabulary mastery test. The
next procedure that the researcher carried out after the vocabulary mastery test was to
conduct a critical thinking ability test for CLS class students. The researcher made a
blueprint for this test based on Ennish' (1998) theory to determine the level of
students' critical thinking skills. After carrying out both tests, the researcher obtained
data in the form of scores and levels of students' vocabulary mastery and scores of
students' critical thinking skills. After obtaining the two data, the researcher
conducted a data normality test and a data linearity test to fulfill the requirements in
order to be able to carry out a correlation analysis between critical thinking skills and
vocabulary mastery. To get the correlation, the researchers used the SPSS 25.0
application with pearson correlation analysis.
1. Results
Table 1. Test of Normality
Shapiro-Wilk
Statistic
df
Sig.
Vocabulary Mastery
.914
15
.155
Critical Thinking Skill
.892
15
.072
The table above shows the results of the Shapiro-Wilk normality tests. This study
looked at Shapiro-Wilk because the participants were <100 students' vocabulary skills,
namely (0.155). Meanwhile, students' critical thinking skills are (0.072) as shown in sig. It
can be said that the data is normally distributed because N > 0.05. Because of that, Inferential
statistical procedures can be performed to see if the X and Y variables are correlated with
each other.
Table 2. Linearity Test
Model
B
Std. Error
Beta
t
Sig.
(Constant)
5.750
1.727
3.330
.005
Critical Thinking
.901
.095
.934
9.454
<,001
The hypothesis that I propose in this simple linear regression analysis is:
Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
221
Ha: There is a positive significance correlation between Critical Thinking Skills (X) and
Vocabulary Mastery (Y).
H0: There is no positive significance correlation between Critical Thinking Skills: (X) on
Vocabulary Mastery (Y).
Based on the output above, it was known that the significance value (Sig.) <.001,
<probability 0.05, it can be concluded that H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted, which means
that "There is a positive significance correlation between Critical Thinking Skills (X) and
Vocabulary Mastery (Y)".
Table 3. The Correlation
Critical Thinking Skills
Vocabulary Mastery
Critical Thinking Skill
Pearson
Correlation
1
.934**
Sig.
<,001
N
15
15
Vocabulary Mastery
Pearson
Correlation
.934**
1
Sig.
<,001
N
15
15
Based on the table above, the correlation coefficient of .934 indicates a strong positive
relationship between " Critical Thinking Skills" and " Vocabulary Mastery." As one variable
increases, the other variable also tends to increase. The significance level of less than 0.001
(Sig. < 0.05) suggests that this relationship was not likely due to chance, and the correlation
was statistically significant.
2. Discussion
From According to the findings described above, the ability to think critically had a
correlate with language mastery. The correlation had a positive and a perfect degree of
correlation. The obtained correlation coefficient, or Sig. is 0.934, It was within the Pearson
Correlation range of 0.81 to 1.00. be a result, the relationship was referred to be a perfect
correlation. The alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted, while the null hypothesis (H0) was
rejected. According to the research findings, the alternative hypothesis, which stated that
there were a correlation between critical thinking skills and vocabulary mastery in Critical
Listening and Speaking classes, was accepted, whereas the null hypothesis, which states that
there is no significant correlation between critical thinking skills and vocabulary mastery in
Critical Listening and Speaking classes, was rejected. In other words, the better the students'
critical thinking skills, the greater their vocabulary mastery. The sign value is 0.934, which
Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
Publisher: Yayasan Karinosseff Muda Indonesia Volume 3 Number 3, 2023
Page 215-223
222
indicates that there were a perfect correlation between pupils' critical thinking and vocabulary
mastery.
According to the idea, students' critical thinking skills are favourably and strongly
connected with their L2 vocabulary knowledge. Learners' critical thinking skills were found
to significantly and positively correlate with their knowledge of L2 vocabulary (Fahim and
Komijani, 2011). Second, consider if learning foreign vocabulary items has a critically
significant effect on participants' understanding of the text. Students need to learn to develop
flexible intellectual skills related to learning vocabulary in order for them to develop this
level of competency instead of just memorizing what is written in textbooks (Fahim and
Komijani, 2011). Third, there is a strong link between critical thinking and lexical inference
Mirzai (2008), reported that lexical inferencing and critical thinking are significantly linked.
Students with strong critical thinking abilities can actively participate in mastering
terminology.
D. Conclusion and Suggestion
The overall calculation of variables X (student critical thinking) and Y (vocabulary
mastery) results in a totally correlated positive correlation. It suggests that there were a
substantial association between pupils' critical thinking and vocabulary mastery. r had a value
of 0.934. This indicates that the Alternative Hypothesis (Ha) had been accepted and the Null
Hypothesis (Ho) had been rejected. As a result, there were a considerable positive association
between the two variables. In this situation, students have a perfect critical thinking
relationship or influence on their vocabulary mastery. In the following study, a more in-depth
investigation of students' critical thinking will be conducted. Looking for things that can have
a big impact on understudies' basic thinking abilities and tracking the impact of each on their
vocabulary mastery. The extra scientist proposed developed the appropriate, used different
portions of the vocabulary mastery test, and used different tests, not just polls and tests, but
also interviews.
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Jadila: Journal of Development and Innovation E-ISSN: 2723-6900
in Language and Literature Education P-ISSN: 2745-9578
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Page 215-223
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