Chapter 9: Reflective Journaling as a Tool to Critical Thinking: Non-Conformist Voices of Pakistani Learners of English

Teacher-centered pedagogy grants authority to teachers where questions, voices and observations of students are considered secondary (Paris & Ges-pass, 2001). In a country like Pakistan, where teacher-centered pedagogy is dominant, students are supposed to be good listeners and teachers hardly listen to students. However, as this study argues, when students with variant first language(s) are allowed to share their unheard voices through reflective journaling, it helps the students to develop their critical thinking skills. In this study, students were encouraged to share their stories with the class and students shared their critique on their family practices, societal norms and stereotypical behaviors. Thirty-five senior year university undergraduate students participated in reflectivejournaling which they wrote weekly for a period of six months as a part of a critical thinking course. Simultaneously, students had to meet their advisors for one hour every week, where they could share their academic and personal issues with a designated faculty member allotted to them. These conversations, comprising 16 hours in total, along with their journal entries constitute the data. The study concludes that teachers’ ears to students’ voices can not only help in understanding their social problems, but also enable them to work for social change and channel their energies for betterment of society rather than becoming frustrated.