100 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education Volume 3, Issue 4, 2025 ISSN (E): 2993-2769 The Essence of the Concept of "Critical Thinking" And Methods of its Formation Khayatova Nigina Ikromzhonovna Teacher Toshpulotova Sitora Student Introduction Critical thinking is a type of thinking – about any subject, content or problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking through the skillful use of the structures and intellectual standards inherent in thinking. The set of key skills required for critical thinking includes observation, the ability to interpret, analyze, draw conclusions, and make evaluations. Critical thinking applies logic and also relies on meta-knowledge and broad criteria of intelligence such as clarity, plausibility, accuracy, significance, depth, breadth and fairness. Creative imagination, value orientations and, to a lesser extent, emotionality are also components of critical thinking. Critical thinking involves agreeing to strict standards, which entails effective communication and problem-solving skills, and a commitment to overcoming our natural egocentrism and sociocentrism, which is important in a debate when, under certain circumstances, we need to agree with the opponent's opinion. Most successful people constantly think about how to develop logic, creativity, and concentration, forgetting that developing critical thinking should probably be a priority task. Critical thinking has nothing to do with finding flaws or mistakes, on the contrary, it allows you to be productive, rational, and seek explanations for previously incomprehensible data. It is important not to be afraid to set problems for yourself and solve them successfully, to think about the subtext, and ultimately, to have an open mind. I would like to add that the DCTRW technology (“Development of Critical Thinking through Reading and Writing”) is successfully used to develop critical thinking. This technology was developed in the mid-90s of the 20th century. American scientists and educators J. Steele, K. Meredith, C. Temple. The technology contains in its arsenal a huge number of techniques (strategies) that contribute to the education and training of thoughtful readers. A multitude of techniques makes it possible to make the lesson diverse and bright. The DCTRW technology includes three stages or phases. These are "Challenge - Understanding - Reflection". The first stage is a challenge. Its presence in each lesson of the AL is mandatory. This stage allows: a) to update and generalize the student's existing knowledge on a given topic or problem; b) to arouse a stable interest in the topic being studied, to motivate the student to study; c) to encourage the student to actively work in class and at home. 101 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us The second stage is understanding. Here are other tasks. This stage allows the student to: a) receive new information; b) to understand it; c) to correlate with existing knowledge. The third stage is reflection. The main thing here is: a) holistic understanding, generalization of the information received; b) the appropriation of new knowledge, new information by the student; c) the formation of each student's own attitude to the material being studied. Thanks to this technology, students' self-esteem increases, reflection develops, and a need for learning new things appears. The DCTRW technology brings the teacher to teaching the child to solve the problem, and, consequently, there is a gradual transition to the possibility of implementing problem- based learning. The essence of the DCTRW can be expressed by the psychological law identified by L.S. Vygotsky, according to which the teacher must follow one rule: "...before explaining - interest; before making to act - prepare for action; before addressing reactions - prepare an attitude; before communicating something new - cause an expectation of something new..." In addition to this technology, the technology of educational discussion can be used to develop critical thinking in French lessons. By creating problem situations during the discussion, thinking is activated, cognitive interest is formed, skills of a search, research approach to solving theoretical or practical problems are developed, the goal of teaching a foreign language is achieved - communicative competence. Educational discussion in a foreign language Speaking about the development of critical thinking, it is necessary to disclose the concept of "educational discussion", its types, goals and objectives. This type of activity fully realizes the possibility of forming a critically thinking personality. The professional work of modern specialists in various fields of activity presupposes not only the ability to determine the direction of the search, conduct an analysis and make a responsible decision, substantiate their point of view, give a qualified assessment, but also active and creative communication with colleagues. In the era of globalization, along with professional knowledge, skills and abilities, Communicative skills necessary for interpersonal and intercultural cooperation both within their own country and at the international level are valued. If earlier, when teaching a foreign language, they talked about the possibility of transferring knowledge, today it is obvious that knowledge is not transferred, but is formed in the process of personally significant activity. Knowledge itself, outside of certain skills and abilities to use it, does not solve the problem of a person's education and his preparation for real activity outside the walls of an educational institution. For successful acquisition of a foreign language, a favorable learning and educational environment must be created, which presupposes considerable flexibility in defining goals, taking into account the personal interests and individual characteristics of the student of foreign languages, the psychological characteristics of the age of the students and the creation of prerequisites for greater independence and activity of learning. In the process of learning a language, students are put in a situation of choice, an appeal to personal experience, feelings and emotions is used, which encourages them to express their own opinions and assessments, makes them think independently and draw conclusions, which is especially important in senior classes, due to the reasons listed. We consider the method of educational discussion to be one of the most effective methods of forming and developing communicative competence and critical thinking of students. The method of discussions as one of the methods of problem-based learning is increasingly used in foreign language classes, mainly because it allows students to organically integrate knowledge from different fields when solving a problem, provides an opportunity to apply language knowledge and skills in practice, while generating new ideas. Teaching a foreign language in general, which includes a wide variety of speech and thinking activities, contributes to the formation of the ability to think clearly, critically perceive information, highlight the main idea in it and find means and arguments to confirm and 102 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us justify it, and therefore facilitates the understanding of any theoretical material. Conscious mastering by students of the relevant didactic material presented by the teacher presupposes possession of the skills of argumentative perception of speech. In addition, mastering the norms of rational speech communication and the rules for conducting discussions forms a responsible attitude to speech, which is one of the most important requirements for modern students. Methodology The research utilizes qualitative methods to evaluate pedagogical methods that teach students critical thinking skills. The study relies mainly on literature analysis of scholarly research from critical thinking theory as well as language pedagogy and educational psychology disciplines. The research analyzes the hands-on deployment of "Development of Critical Thinking through Reading and Writing" (DCTRW) technology within educational classrooms. The effectiveness evaluation of the three-phase DCTRW model: Challenge, Understanding, and Reflection uses classroom observations and reflections. Foreign language instruction in French education uses educational discussions as a tool to develop analytical thinking skills among students besides helping them improve communication ability and learn to share personal ideas, and the study employs theoretical models along with educational methods in order to investigate the integration of critical thinking within language education programs. Results and Discussion Students demonstrate improved engagement together with enhanced comprehension and reflective thinking skills when their education adopts the DCTRW technology (Development of Critical Thinking through Reading and Writing). Students increase their active participation in the learning process by completing the Challenge Understanding Reflection stages because these stages help them develop analysis interpretation and evaluation skills. Foreign language education especially French has established educational discussions that help students develop critical thinking abilities effectively. The teaching method demands students to voice their ideas while defending them while showing critical listening to others which develops their fluency in communication and independence of thought. The two approaches create an atmosphere which motivates learners to advance into self- reliant students who solve problems paralyzed and make decisions independently. 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