CULTIVATING STUDENTS’ HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN EFL CLASSES: THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER AND THE TEXTBOOK

Abstract

Incorporating higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in the process of the teaching andlearning becomes a demand of the 21st century as well as the latest senior high schoolcurriculum in Indonesia. Hence, this study aimed to know the role of the teachers and thetextbooks to promote HOTS in EFL classes. The research was a case study and took place inone of the senior high schools in East Java, Indonesia. The result of the study showed thatEnglish language teachers had an adequate understanding about HOTS. However, the teacherswere too much dependent on the materials and exercises in the textbooks. In addition, thestudents’ low level of English language proficiency was the core challenge for them tounderstand explanations or exercises developed for promoting HOTS of the students. It meansthat teachers had a crucial role to help their students understand the materials and the exercisespresented in the textbooks. To sum up, there was a symbiosis mutualism between Englishlanguage teachers and the textbooks to promote students’ HOTS.