Contemporary English language teaching increasingly aims to cultivate not only linguistic accuracy and fluency, but also transferable competencies such as critical and creative thinking. However, many classrooms still treat thinking skills as “add-ons” rather than embedding them in the core logic of instruction. This paper argues that carefully designed problem scenarios can serve as a robust pedagogical bridge between language development and higher order thinking. Drawing on research on problem-based learning, critical thinking instruction, creativity frameworks, and second language pedagogy, the article conceptualizes problem scenarios as ill structured, authentic, and communicatively demanding tasks that require learners to interpret information, evaluate evidence, generate alternatives, and justify decisions in English. A practical instructional cycle is proposed to integrate critical and creative thinking within a single lesson sequence: scenario activation, inquiry and evidence building, ideation and creative production, evaluation and decision making, communication and dissemination, and reflection and revision. The paper also discusses scaffolding techniques to support learners’ language and cognition, and outlines assessment principles that value originality while maintaining accountability for clarity, coherence, and evidential reasoning. The article concludes that problem scenario pedagogy can make thinking visible and assessable in English classrooms, provided that teachers receive support in task design, facilitation, and formative assessment practices. [1], [3], [6], [8]

Problem scenarios, problem-based learning, English language teaching

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