This paper presentation seeks to encourage teachers to no longer view literature as something not practical for ESL/EFL students, but as a necessary part in building students’ English skills. Teachers will learn how to feel more confident in their ability to help students use modern literature, such as “The Alchemist,” to express personal thoughts and listen attentively to others. This session will enhance teachers’ capacity to more easily comprehend their students’ personal experiences as it relates to the novel’s young protagonist coming of age during a travel adventure.

1. Thinkers’
Alchemy
Using “The Alchemist” to Stimulate
Critical Thinking

2. Hello Everyone!
Monique Simpson
English & Writing Instructor
Yachay University for Experimental
Technology & Research
Yachay, Ecuador
MSimpson@yachaytech.edu.ec

3. My C.T. Research
• 2008: Began teaching literature in EFL/ESL class because
native teachers were doing this as supplement work at
my university in Costa Rica.
• 2009: “Deeply alarmed” feeling while teaching in Ecuador.
My students were neither unintelligent nor
unmotivated; they simply lacked the skills to critically
think.
• 2010: “Living Globally: Thinking Critically in the Universal
Language” workshop at 18th PeruTESOL Convention &
III English Seminar (Ecuador)
• 2012: While teaching in South Korea, I reflected on how I
taught “The Alchemist” in class.
• 2013: Published “A Thinker’s Alchemy: Using ‘The Alchemist’
to Stimulate Critical Thinking.”

4. Today We Will:
• Talk about critical thinking
• Discuss literature in ESL classroom
• Explore the novel, The Alchemist
• Look reading activities to stimulate critical
thinking
• Have a raffle for a new copy of The Alchemist
• Enjoy life a little bit more 

5. Let’s talk about C.T.
“What can the strong critical thinkers do
(what mental abilities do they have),
that the weak critical thinkers
have trouble doing?”
-Peter A. Facione

6. Critical Thinkers?
What can they do well?

7. Critical
Thinking
&
Humor
in EFL
Monik Vinueza
3rd EFL Convention
Uni. Técnica del Norte
Ibarra, Ecuador
June 2015

8. Beyer (1985) ability to gather,
evaluate and use information
effectively.
• It involves thinking skills: judging,
posing and solving problems
Smith (1990) reflecting , arguing, and
proposing different alternatives of
solution
• It means … not taking everything
for granted……
• Open your eyes
• Develop skills
• Activate your curiosity, motivation
and mental skills

9. 6 Critical Thinking Skills
Peter A. Facione
1. Interpretation - ability to comprehend and express
the meaning or significance of a wide variety of
material.
2. Analysis - identifying the intended and actual
inferential relationships among forms of
representation intended to express some type of
information.
3. Evaluation - assessing the credibility of statements
or other representations; and assessing the logical
strength of the actual or intended inferential
relationships among forms of representation.

10. 6 Critical Thinking Skills
Peter A. Facione
4. Inference - identifying and securing elements
needed to draw reasonable conclusions; forming
conjectures and hypotheses; and to considering
relevant information and educing the
consequences flowing from various materials.
5. Explanation - ability to present in a cogent and
coherent way the results of one’s reasoning.
6. Self-regulation (open-minded) - consciously
monitoring one’s cognitive activities and the
results educed; and evaluating one’s own
inferential judgments with a skeptical eye in
order to alter one’s reasoning if necessary.

11. These six skills provide a practical
framework in which to shape
literature study.

12. C.T. + Reading
Books are our friends

13. Let’s talk about reading
What reading material is the most
beneficial for ESL/EFL students?

14. Thinkers’
Alchemy
Using “The Alchemist” to Stimulate
Critical Thinking

15. The Alchemist
Author:
Pablo Coelho (Brazil)
Year Published:
1988
Genre:
• Quest
• Adventure
• Drama
• Fantasy
Major Themes:
• Self Discovery
• Purpose in life
• Coming of Age

17. Graphic Novel Trailer

18. 6 C.T. Skills
+
The Alchemist
Practical activities that
you can use in class
on Monday morning

19. #1 Interpretation:
Using Idioms
“People from all over the world have passed through this village, son," said his father. "They come in
search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they
arrived. They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better
than what we have now. They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people
who live right here.”
"But I'd like to see the castles in the towns where they live," the boy explained.
"Those people, when they see our land, say that they would like to live here forever," his father
continued. "Well, I'd like to see their land, and see how they live," said his son. The Alchemist, p. 9

20. How does this picture relate to the
previous passage?

21. #1 Interpretation:
“ Using Idioms” activity
1. After reading the entire passage, the teacher
writes the idiom on the classroom board and
asks student to interpret the idiom.
2. If this is not possible, draw a picture of two
houses with a fence separating them and then
asks the students to interpret the passage in the
framework of the idiom.
3. Lastly, students decide which character is
correct, the father or the son. Students should
be encouraged to use personal experiences to
justify their decisions.

22. #2 Analysis:
Recapping Events
What has happened so far? (pgs 3-11)
Number the events in the proper
order in which they occurred in the
story.
__He is envious of his sheep
because their only concerns are food
and water.
__Santiago arrives at an abandoned
church at dusk.
__He remembers the merchant’s
daughter being surprised that he
could read.
__He realizes his heavy jacket has a
purpose, and so does he have a
purpose in life.
__He remembers a conversation with
his father about the grass being

23. #3 Evaluation:
In-class Group
Work
• Students work in small
groups, in class or in
another area of the
university campus.
• They are given an hour to
read a section and
complete questions.
• In answering the
comprehension
questions, students must
assess specific ideas
presented in the novel.

24. Evaluation questions
(pgs 11-21)
• Do you agree that “dreams are
the language of God”? Why or
why not?
• What’s your opinion of the
Gypsy’s interpretation of the
dream?
• Is the following statement true
or false? “It’s the simple things
in life that are the most
extraordinary; only wise men
are able to understand them.”
Why?
• ????????
What could be another question?

25. #4 Inference:
Pre-Reading Task
Pre-Reading Questions
• What does an alchemist
do?
• Does the word have
anything to do with
chemistry?
• If the word refers to a
person, is the person the
main character
Coutant and Perchemlides (2005)

26. #5 Explanation:
Open-ended Questions
• What?
To get students to intereact with the text, have them compare
themselves with characters in the novel.
• Why?
Because students must present a logical reasoning for their similarities
and differences.
• How?
Give questions about students’ personality/behavior in comparison to
Santiago. Also, ask if the student would recommend the novel.
1. Are you similar to or different from Santiago? How?
2. Would you recommend this novel to a friend? Why or why not?

27. #6 Self-regulation:
Building Skepticism
Who is the old man
in the plaza?
Of all the critical thinking
factors, this provided the
biggest challenge. The teacher
must present a character or
piece of information in a
manner that causes students
to be skeptical. Students need
to think about their overall
opinion of the character and
the character’s credibility,
thereby using clear reasoning.
• **This can be applied to any
new character that is
introduced. **

28. Who is the old man
in the plaza?
• 1st appearance: Students
guess the true identity of
the old man.
• After reading: The old man
identifies himself, so
students must evaluate the
validate of the man’s claim
and reanalyze their initial
impressions of the
character
• Final appearance: Students
think about their overall
opinion of the character
and the character’s
credibility, thereby using
clear reasoning.

30. New activity?
In a group think of another
activity that could be applied
using these six C.T. principles

31. What other novels/books
can be used?
World Literature

32. PPT available at
SlideShare – Monique Senseii

33. Raffle!!
Who will win The Alchemist?
Write your name and one (1)
sentence about what you
learned during this
presentation.

34. Thanks!
Monique Simpson
English & Writing Instructor
Yachay University for Experimental
Technology & Research
Yachay, Ecuador
MSimpson@yachaytech.edu.ec