ABSTRACT
The ultimate aim of this study is to analyze the extent to which Ticket to English, a Moroccan textbook
of English language, includes elements of critical thinking. A further purpose is to assess the extent to
which the teaching practices of high school teachers of English help second baccalaureate students
develop a level of critical thinking before moving to higher education. The literature on critical thinking
indicates that all the writers agree that critical thinking involves skills and dispositions, and most of the
definitions highlight the skill and disposition to select, collect, analyze and evaluate information
effectively. In this study, two instruments were used: content analysis and questionnaire to collect
qualitative and quantitative data. The results demonstrate that Ticket to English includes important
elements of critical thinking, and the teachers’ teaching practices help the students develop these skills
to some extent. However, the textbook does not contain the skill of synthesis, problem-solving activities
that deal with real life situations, and media analysis. Furthermore, 86% of the teacher-respondents tend
to skip activities in the textbooks, mainly the Units dealing with Study Skills and Project Work, which
are necessary for enhancing critical thinking. Therefore, textbooks’ designers need to supplement
textbooks of English language with additional activities, and high school teachers of English are
required to cover the Units skipped to ensure effective instruction in critical thinking.
Keywords: Critical thinking skills, Dispositions, Teaching practices.