Critical Thinking Development Among Students of Economic and Managerial Majors at Foreign Language Tutorials

The article is dedicated to the critical thinking skills development of students of economic and managerial majors in foreign language classes. The relevance of this topic is due to the fact that since the beginning of the war in 2014, our society needs not only highly qualified military personnel, but also specialists and experts of economic and management profiles (public administrators, managers, economists, financiers, accountants) who are able to think outside the box and critically, make important decisions and represent our country in the international arena, that is, those specialists who have not only hard skills but also soft skills (soft or interdisciplinary skills).It is noted that the issue of insufficiently effective development of critical and out-of-the-box thinking of economic and managerial majors remains open, since these skills are needed to perform the simplest tasks: writing answers in job applications, taking personality tests or interviews, as well as for managing departments, writing analytical reports, signing contracts with domestic and foreign colleagues. It is noted that despite the scholars' works dedicated to critical thinking development in general and in foreign language classes in particular, insufficient attention is paid to critical thinking development among students of economic and managerial majors in foreign language classes. After all, it is these specialists who will take part in the post-war recovery of our country, involving international partners. The aim of the article is to determine the role of foreign language classes in critical thinking development and to suggest the ways to develop these soft skills in the classroom. The authors consider the scholars' viewpoints critical thinking and the of critical thinking skills development in foreign language classes. A comparative description of conventional thinking and critical thinking is given. Having more than 10 years of experience in teaching the foreign (English) language for specific purposes, the authors share examples of developing critical thinking skills through working with texts (pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading activities), brainstorming (helps students to ask questions in English correctly), microphone method (helps to develop students' speaking skills) case studies method (involves a comprehensive analysis of specific situations, their discussion and students' familiarisation with different approaches to problem solving using critical thinking through argumentation and proving their own opinions.), business games (the objective of these games is to simulate students' future professional activities and to play out situations that they may encounter in future their professional work.), the project method (is aimed to teach students to look for specific information). It is noted that the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale invasion have made adjustments to the educational process. Classes are held in a mixed format. Zoom and Google meet platforms are used for online learning. Messengers and various online platforms are also used. It is concluded that foreign language (English) classes play an important role in the development of critical thinking skills of future specialists in economic and managerial majors.