Undergraduate ESP Students’ Reading Comprehension and Metacognitive Awareness across Discipline and Gender
محورهای موضوعی : Journal of Teaching English Language Studies
1 - دانشگاه آزاد اسلامِی، واحد علوم و تحقیقات تهران
کلید واژه: Discipline, Gender, Metacognitive Strategies, Reading Comprehension,
چکیده مقاله :
The aim of this ex-post-facto study was to investigate Iranian undergraduate ESP students’ reading comprehension (RC) and use of metacognitive strategies (MCSs) across discipline and gender. The participants included eight groups of junior university students who were taking the three-credit ESP course. Two groups were selected from each discipline each including 30 participants. To collect the research data about the participants’ RC, the RC section of the Preliminary English Test (PET) was employed, and their use of MCSs was measured by administering the metacognitive section of the Strategy Inventory for Language learning. The analyses of the data through two-way ANOVA revealed that the participants did poorly on the RC test regardless of gender and discipline Their use of MCSs, however, was significantly impacted only by discipline with computer and mechanical engineering students reporting more frequent use of MCSs. The findings underscore the weaknesses of ESP undergraduates’ in RC and use of MCSs as well as their need for some metacognitive awareness-raising. The implications will be discussed.
The aim of this ex-post-facto study was to investigate Iranian undergraduate ESP students’ reading comprehension (RC) and use of metacognitive strategies (MCSs) across discipline and gender. The participants included eight groups of junior university students who were taking the three-credit ESP course. Two groups were selected from each discipline each including 30 participants. To collect the research data about the participants’ RC, the RC section of the Preliminary English Test (PET) was employed, and their use of MCSs was measured by administering the metacognitive section of the Strategy Inventory for Language learning. The analyses of the data through two-way ANOVA revealed that the participants did poorly on the RC test regardless of gender and discipline Their use of MCSs, however, was significantly impacted only by discipline with computer and mechanical engineering students reporting more frequent use of MCSs. The findings underscore the weaknesses of ESP undergraduates’ in RC and use of MCSs as well as their need for some metacognitive awareness-raising. The implications will be discussed.
Afflerbach P., Hurt M., Cho B.-Y. (2020). Reading comprehension strategy instruction. In Dinsmore D.L., Fryer L.K., Parkinson M.M. (Eds.), Handbook of strategies and strategic processing (pp. 99–118). Abingdon: Routledge.
Anderson, R. C., & Pearson, P. D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading comprehension. In P. D. Pearson, R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, & P. Mosenthal (Eds), Handbook of reading research (pp. 255-291). New York: Longman, Inc.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Behtash, E. Z., Barabadi, A., & Eskandari, Z. (2019). Reading comprehension strategies used by Iranian university students while reading academic English texts. Issues in Educational Research, 29(4), 1089-1106.
Chung, H., V. (2016). A Study of reading comprehension problems in English Encountered by First Year Students of Faculty of Vietnamese Studies at Hanoi. (doctoral dissertation, Hanoi National University, Vietnam. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371012338
Coskun, A. (2010). The effect of metacognitive strategy training on the listening performance of beginner students. Novitas-ROYAL, Research on Youth and Language, 4(1), 35-50.
Cowling, J. D. (2007). Needs Analysis: Planning a Syllabus for a series of intensive workplace courses at a leading Japanese company. English for Specific Purposes, 26, 426-442.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2006.10.003
Cromley, J. G. (2005). Metacognition, cognitive strategy instruction, and reading in adult literacy. Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, 5, 187-204.
Ellis, R. (2015). The importance of focus on form in communicative language teaching. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(2),1–12.
Fathi, J. & Afzali, M. (2020). The effect of second language reading strategy instruction on young Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. International Journal of Instruction, 13(1), 475-488.
Grenfell, M. (2004). Modern languages across the curriculum. 10.4324/9780203167175.
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring; A new area of cognitive-
developmental inquiry. American psychologist, 34, 906-911.
Green, J. A. & Oxford, R. (1995). A close look at learning strategies, L2 proficiency, and gender. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 261-297.
Hong-Nam, K., & Leavel, A.G. (2001). Reading strategy instruction, metacognitive awareness, and self-perception of striving college developmental readers. Journal of College Literature & Learning. 37, 3-17.
Hsiao, T. Y., & Oxford, R. (2002). Comparing theories of language learning strategies: A
confirmatory factor analysis. The Modern Language Journal,86(3), 368-383.
Isik, A. (2017). Do English teaching materials foster foreign language education affectively? Journal of Education and Learning, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v7n1p272
Koohafkan, M., Azizmalayeri, F., & Ahmadi, H. (2021). Investigating the process of collaborative reading among young iranian efl learners. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 9 (36), 127-133.
Kulo, S. A., Kibui, A., & Odundo, P. (2020). Integrating English language skills through readers’ theatre technique for reading comprehension in secondary schools in Kenya. LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching, 23(1), 17-26.
Leppink, J., & van den Heuvel, A. (2015). The evolution of cognitive load theory and its application to medical education. Perspectives on Medical Education, 4(3), 119-127.
Long, M., & Doughty, C. (Eds.). (2012). The handbook of language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Logan, E., Clare, L., & Brockmole, J. R. (2015). A systematic review of research investigating the effects of gender, age, and intelligence on reading performance. Journal of Research in Reading, 38(1), 19-48.
Luke, A. (2000). Critical literacy in Australia: A matter of context and standpoint. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(5), 448-461.
Nam, C., & Oxford, R. (1998). Portrait of a future teacher: Case study of learning styles,
strategies, and language disabilities. System, 26, 51-63.
Neuman, S. B. (1990). Assessing children’s inferencing strategies. In J. Zutell and J. McCormick (Eds.), Multiple paradigms (pp. 267-274). Chicago: National Reading Conference.
Ofodu, G.O., & Adedipe, T.H. (2011). Assessing ESL students’ awareness and application
of MCSs in comprehending academic materials. Journal of Emerging
Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies (JETERAPS), 2(5), 343-346.
Oxford, R. (2001). Language learning strategies. In R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.), The
Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages (pp. 166-172).
Oxford, R. (1985). A new taxonomy of second language learning strategies. Washington, D. C.: Centre for Applied Linguistics.
Oxford, R. (2001). Language learning strategies. In R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages (166-172). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Paris, S. G., & Winograd, P. (1990). How metacognition can promote academic learning and
instruction. In B. F. Jones and L. Idol (Eds.), Dimensions of thinking and cognitive instruction (pp. 15-51). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum.
Peacock, M., & Ho, B. (2003). Student language learning strategies across eight disciplines.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics,13(2), 1-20.
Phakiti, A. (2003). A closer look at gender and strategy use in L2 reading. Language Learning, 53(4), 649-702.
Pintrich, P. R., & Schrauber, B. (1992). Students’ motivational beliefs and their cognitive
engagement in classroom academic tasks. In D. H. Schunk and J. L. Meese (Eds.), Student
perceptions in the classroom (pp. 149-184). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Politzer, R. (1983). An exploratory study of self-reported language learning behaviours and
their relation to achievement. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 6, 54-65.
Poole, A. (2005). Gender and academic reading strategies: A survey of adult EFL learners in
Mainland China. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(2), 38-51.
Recht, D. R., & Leslie, L. (1988). Effect of prior knowledge on good and poor readers’ memory of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(1), 16-20.
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in search of useful definitions for Applied Linguistics, 11, 17-46.
Siegler, R. (1998). Children’s thinking (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Tran, T. & Duong, T. (2018). The difficulties in esp reading comprehension encountered by English–majored students. VNU-Journal of Foreign Studies, 32(2), 151-161. DOI: 10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4253
Wang, X., Jia, L., &Jin, Y. (2020). Reading amount and reading strategy as mediators of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation on reading achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.586346
Wenden, A. L. (2002). Learner development in language learning. Applied Linguistics,23(1),
32-55.
Wenden, A. (1987a). How to be a successful language learner: Insights and prescriptions from L2 learners. In A. Wenden and J. Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 103-116). Cambridge: Prentice Hall.
Wenden, A. (1987b). Incorporating learner training in the classroom. In A. Wenden and J. Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 159-178). Cambridge: Prentice Hall.
Zenotz, V. (2012). Awareness development for online reading. Language Awareness. 21, 85-100. 10.1080/09658416.2011.639893.
Zimmerman, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of educational psychology, 81(3), 329.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 13-39). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012109890-2/50031-7