Critical thinking (CT) is usually taught as a list of practical skills for students to master. In this article, the authors argue that CT instruction should go beyond skills to engage students with issues of identifying their own biases and understanding multiple perspectives on issues. This explicit attention to one's own bias is essential for dealing with the issues of sociocentrism and egocentrism, which hinder expansive thought. This article presents students' perspectives on an English for academic purposes writing course where they engaged in dialectical CT instruction, reading and writing responses to articles on topics with multiple perspectives. Interview data reveal that students viewed CT as new and valuable, but also challenging. Furthermore, although students also elaborated on the ways CT is culturally distinct from their home culture, they nevertheless recognized the value of it not only for their future academic purposes but also for their lives outside the classroom.