Abstract
The article is devoted to the definition of critical thinking skills, the stimulation of critical thinking in language teaching. One of the requirements of the linguistic globalization is functional literacy, which involves a degree of mastery of native language. Today, the main objective is the establishment of more serious requirements regarding the students’ knowledge level and skills. In the current realities, the educational process in higher education institutions should focus on building skills that contribute to the implementation of the concept of lifelong learning. It is obvious that the main condition for the formation of such skills is the presence of a certain level of functional literacy. Thus, functional literacy is a social and economic phenomenon related to the welfare of the population and the country as a whole.