The Role of Perceived Teacher's Support and Motivational Orientation in Prediction of Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies in Learning English
Subject Areas : Research in English Language Pedagogy
Zohreh
Kazemi
1
(Department of psychology, College of Psychology, Birjand Branch, Islamic Azad University, Birjand, Ira)
Ali
Zarehmoghadam
2
(Nehbandan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Nehbandan, Iran)
Hasan
Emami
3
(University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran)
Keywords: Perceived Teacher Support, Motivational Orientation, Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies,
Abstract :
This study aims to determine the role of perceived teacher support and motivational orientation in predicting metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in learning the English language. The sample included 425 male and female students, studying in the elementary schools in the city of Birjand, eastern Iran, in the 2014-2015 academic year. Three different types of questionnaires were distributed among these students. The questionnaires were, respectively, about the students’ perception of teacher support (Zaki, 2007), motivational orientation for English learning (Sheikholeslami, 2005), and metacognitive awareness of the study methods (Mokhtari & Richard, 2002). Multiple regression analysis was applied to analyze the obtained data. It was found that there was a direct and significant correlation between teacher support variable, and intrinsic motivation, overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, and metacognitive awareness. Additionally, there was an inverse and significant correlation with the non-motivation variable. Furthermore, no significant correlation was observed between the teacher support variable and the extrinsic motivation variable. A direct and significant relationship was, however, spotted between intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation, overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies,and metacognitive awareness; and an inverse and significant relationship was noticed between the intrinsic motivation and non-motivation variables. Moreover, there existed a direct and significant relationship between extrinsic motivation, and overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, metacognitive awareness and it had an inverse and significant relationship with non-motivation variable. The findings demonstrated that the components of perceived teacher support and motivational orientation (extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and nonmotivation) provide the possibility of predicting metacognitive awareness of students.
Aghazadeh, M. & Ahadian, M. (1997). Theoretical principles and educational applications of metacognition theories. Peyvand publications.
Bakhshi, N. (2012). The investigation of the relationship between perceived teacher's support, educational motivation and elementary school student's achievement in Darmiyan city. Unpublished MA thesis, Islamic Azad University, Birjand.
Bolandi, B. (2013). The role of the characteristics of the successful language teachers and motivational orientation in educational achievement of English course. Unpublished MA thesis, Islamic Azad University, Birjand.
Chen, L.H. (2010). Web-based learning programs: Use by learners with various cognitive styles. Computers & Education, 54, 1028-1035.
Dastlan, M., & Malekzadeh, A. (2010). The impact of self- regularization training on the development of students' English language learning. The Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 3(24), 4-11.
Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Motivation in second and foreign language learning. Language Teaching, 31(03), 117-135.
Muller ,C, & Katz ,S .R. & Dance ,L .J. (1999). Investing in teaching and learning dynamics of the teacher-student relationship from each actor s perspective. Urban Education, 34(3), 292-337.
Narimani, M. Khoshnoodnia, B. & Zahed, A. (2013). The role of perceived teacher support in predicting educational self-efficiency of students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 3(1), 110-128.
Nokhostin-Goldust, A. & Moinikia, M. (2009). The relationship between self-regulated learning strategies and motivation strategies for learning and students' academic performance of Islamic Azad University of Ardebil. Journal of Education - Academic curriculum of Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan unit, 23, 85-100.
Javadi, M. Keyvanara, M. & Yaghoobi, M. (2010). The relationship between metacognitive awareness of studying strategies and the of students status of Isfahan Medical Sciences university. Iranian Journal of Education in Medical Sciences, 10(3), 57-69.
Karshky, H. Kharrazi, A. N. & Ghazi-Tabatabai, M. (2007). The relationship between the school environmental perceptions and development objectives, whether the type of school, field of study and place of residence makes a difference?. Psychological and Educational Studies of Ferdowsi University, 23(5),80-93
Kahraman, N. & Sungur, S. (2011). The contribution of motivation beliefs to students, metacognitive strategy useJournal of Education and Science, 36(160), 3-10.
Pourtaherian, Z. Khosravi, M. & Mohammadifar, M. (2013). The role of metacognitive reading strategies and study habits in female students' achievement motivation. Journal of School Psychology, 3(1), 22-36.
Rahimi, M., & Katal, M. (2012). Metacognitive listening strategies awareness in learning English as foreign language: a comparison between university and high school students. Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Lavisan: Tehran, Iran.
Venden, L. (2012). Teaching and learning Second language listening Metacognition in action. New York: Routledge.
Taghipour, F. (2009). The relationship between motivation, metacognitive awareness of the strategies and skills of Iranian English learners. Language Study Scientific - Research Quarterly Journal, Al-Zahra University, 52, 2-25.
Saghi, S. Chalabianloo, GH. R. & Amindoctor,
F. (2011). The relationship between learning styles and academic achievement with the intermediation of metacognitive awareness strategies among students. Journal of Education, 4(13), 79-94.
Seif, A. (2008). The new educational psychology (Psychology of Learning and Teaching). Doran publications.
Sheikholeslami, R. & Khayyer, M. (2007). The role of motivational orientations in learning English as a foreign language. The Study of Foreign Languages, 39, 83-94.
Karimi, Y. Khalkhali, V. Ahadi, H. Nafisi, GH.R. (2009). The investigation of the effect of the purpose framing and communicational style on the educational achievement of the fifth grade students in Qazvin. Journal of the Psychological Achievements, 4(2), 189-218.
Yosef-Zadeh, D. Yaghoobi, A. & Rashidi, M. (2012). The impact of metacognitive skills on self-efficiency of female students in secondary schools. Journal of School Psychology, 1(3), 118-133.
Weinstein, C. E. & Hume, L. M. (1998). Study strategies for lifelong learning. American Psychological Association.
The Role of Perceived Teacher's Support and Motivational Orientation in Prediction of Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies in Learning English
Zohre Kazemi*
MA in educational psychology, Department of psychology, College of Psychology, Birjand Branch, Islamic Azad University, Birjand, Iran
Ali Zare-Moghaddam
Instructor, Nehbandan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Nehbandan, Iran
Hasan Emami
Assistant Professor, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
Abstract
This study aims to determine the role of perceived teacher support and motivational orientation in predicting metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in learning the English language. The sample included 425 male and female students, studying in the elementary schools in the city of Birjand, eastern Iran, in the 2014-2015 academic year. Three different types of questionnaires were distributed among these students. The questionnaires were, respectively, about the students’ perception of teacher support (Zaki, 2007), motivational orientation for English learning (Sheikholeslami, 2005), and metacognitive awareness of the study methods (Mokhtari & Richard, 2002). Multiple regression analysis was applied to analyze the obtained data. It was found that there was a direct and significant correlation between teacher support variable, and intrinsic motivation, overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, and metacognitive awareness. Additionally, there was an inverse and significant correlation with the non-motivation variable. Furthermore, no significant correlation was observed between the teacher support variable and the extrinsic motivation variable. A direct and significant relationship was, however, spotted between intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation, overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, and metacognitive awareness; and an inverse and significant relationship was noticed between the intrinsic motivation and non-motivation variables. Moreover, there existed a direct and significant relationship between extrinsic motivation, and overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, metacognitive awareness and it had an inverse and significant relationship with non-motivation variable. The findings demonstrated that the components of perceived teacher support and motivational orientation (extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and non-motivation) provide the possibility of predicting metacognitive awareness of students.
Keywords: Perceived Teacher Support; Motivational Orientation; Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies
1. Introduction
Language is one of the most important and fundamental means of communication among people and its growth and evolution in a human starts from his/her birth and continues until the end of his/her life. Nowadays, knowledge of the English language, as an international language, is a serious requirement to have communication with the rest of the world and achieve academic goals. On one hand, the increasing development of the communications industry around the whole world and also the emergence of the global village, and on the other hand, the dominance of the English language as an important daily language at the international level, demonstrates the necessity of assessing and revising the traditional practices of language teaching in each country (Bakhshi, 2013). In Iran’s schools, English language teaching has received much more attention than any other language. It should be mentioned that there is a great number of human resources prepared for teaching language and a huge amount of money is being spent in this field and students, as the valuable assets of the country, spend many hours learning it.
Generally speaking, language teaching and learning in the course of education is of utmost priority. The increasing development of science and technology in various fields would have been impossible without a common language. Therefore, developing the English language, through a systematic teaching process and by training teachers to be proficient in effective teaching techniques, is a critical priority (Carter, 2002). One of the factors that could affect learning the English language is the perceived teacher support. The teaching qualification is typically defined as the ability of a teacher to effectively satisfy the needs and demands of the teaching profession and apply an integrated set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in his/her performance (Karimi, 2009). A teacher can associate the education process with pleasure and prosperity or contrariwise, make it an unprofitable process. According to Warner (2003), the success of an educational system depends determinately on the teacher’s professional knowledge and skills indicated the professional teachers’ unique role in achieving an effective school. The success of a teacher in effective teaching is derived from his/her viewpoint on the teaching profession (Haerizadeh, 2005). In addition, the perceived teacher support by students is correlated with the higher educational achievement and this perception, especially for the students who are at risk of educational failure, is much more prominent (Baker, 1999; Elias & Hines, 2008; Malecki & Demaray, 2006). Various studies have shown that understanding the students’ supportive relationships and needs by teachers is positively related to their higher educational achievement, higher level of commitment, positive relationships with peers, and less behavioral problems (Hammer & Pianta, 2001). Also, the students, who feel that their teachers support them at school, have higher self-esteem and are more interested to satisfy their teachers (Rios, 2003, cited in Bolandi, 2013).
With respect to the role of teachers’ emotional support in the learning process, educational researchers, over decades of research, have shown that teachers could influence students’ motivation through the classroom reward structure, the classroom discipline, and the curriculum (Bolandi, 2013). Simply put, motivation is a physical or psychological need and a social demand that compels a person to proceed to achieve the ultimate goals. In the first place, motivation is a driving force for learning and after that, in the extended and continuous process of language learning, it acts in the direction of a promotional force. In fact, all factors involved in learning a foreign or a second language comprise a degree of motivation (Daruni, 1998). These studies have verified that a high degree of metacognitive knowledge can help language learners to succeed in storing and processing the new information and find the best ways to practice and reinforce what they have learnt (Costa, 2001; Sternberg, 1998, cited in Rahimi, 2012). Pourtaherian, Khosravi & Mohammadifar (2013) declared that metacognitive strategies are a stronger predictor of students’ achievements. Therefore, it is necessary to take this variable into a serious consideration in most schools.
In view of the fact that metacognitive knowledge gives a new awareness to individuals, it could, therefore, help people to become active learners. On the other hand, possessing the ability of relating subjects to each other and being an active learner are among the factors that can help to understand various matters more appropriately and support learners forget their studied subjects much later (Venden, 2007). In many cases, individuals spend a lot of time studying and reading, but their reading method does not have the required efficiency. Therefore, the lack of attention to efficient and effective studying and reading programs can waste a lot of costs in the educational system and lower the motivation of learners (Saghi, Chalabianloo & Amindoctor, 2011). Thus, the main concern of the present study is to realize whether perceived teacher support and motivational orientation have a role in the prediction of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in learning English.
2. Methodology
The design of this study is correlational and non-experimental, in which a structural equation modeling approach has been used.
2.1. Participants
The statistical population included all male and female students (3500 students) studying in the third and fourth years of the elementary schools in the city of Birjand, eastern Iran, in three disciplines of the humanities, sciences and mathematics and physics, in the 2014-2015 academic year. With regard to the statistical population and Morgan table, the sample size was obtained 425 and the multi-stage sampling was deployed to select students. In this study, six schools selected randomly and selected from each 3 or 2 grade. Public schools and special schools (Nemone, Shahed & Non-profit) were entering the sample.
2.2. Instruments
The Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (Teacher Support): This questionnaire was presented by Zaki in 2007. The validity and reliability were studied on 200 male and female students from the universities in the major city of Isfahan and evaluated using the Social Support Scale of Kanz and Navrasel. To assess the validity, the instrument used in this study is Kohlberg’s questionnaire. The correlation coefficient of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) for all subjects, males, and females was obtained 85%, 87%, and 82%, respectively. As a result, it can be said that the social support scale has an extremely satisfactory reliability and validity and is also applicable, in proportion to the Iranian culture (Bakhshi, 2012).
Since the perceived teacher support questionnaire (12 items) used in this study has the assumptions of KMO equal to 0.90, and Bartlett’s test (87, 1138) with 66 degrees of freedom became significant at the level of less than 0.001, the factor results can be trusted. The factor analysis of the questionnaire was carried out by Bakhshi (2012). The principal component analysis was performed by the Oblimin rotation, where 13 simple single factor structures were obtained by removing inappropriate items. As the rotated structural matrix shows, the maximum load factor of 0.7 pertains to item 17 and the minimum load factor of 0.5 pertains to item 16. In order to know the reliability of the measurement tool, Cronbach’s alpha was employed; the correlation coefficient of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) for all subjects was 0.85, which is indicative of good reliability (Bakhshi, 2012).
The Questionnaire of Motivational Orientation in Learning English: This questionnaire was proposed by Sheikholeslami (2005) in a doctoral dissertation at the faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology in Shiraz University, as a model for self-regulated learning of English, which is composed of three subscales of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and non-motivation and includes 21 items. The scoring method of the questionnaire is a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The validity of the questionnaire was investigated by Bolandi (2012) with the aid of factor analysis. The test-retest reliability coefficient for the subscales of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and non-motivation was 0.96, 0.76, and 0.70, respectively, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the mentioned subscales was 0.82, 0.71, and 0.79, respectively.
The Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Questionnaire: This questionnaire was created by Mokhtari and Reichard (2002). The test was designed to assess juvenile and adult readers’ metacognitive awareness of reading comprehension strategies, used by students when studying the issues related to school or university. The metacognitive awareness of reading strategies questionnaire is a new self-assessment scale, which has been designed to evaluate sixth to twelfth grade students’ awareness of reading strategies, while reading scientific materials. The main purpose of this instrument is to measure the level of students’ awareness of the various processes related to reading as well as their competence in setting the goals and objectives of the respective scientific contents. Providing such information can increase the students’ awareness of their own cognitive processes and can also help teachers to better understand the needs of students.
The first factor analysis showed that the questionnaire measures three factors including overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, and support reading strategies. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for each sub-scale and varied between 0.89 and 0.93. The three factors comprising this questionnaire were extracted from the findings of 13, 8, and 9 articles, respectively. The data were interpreted based on the prevalent interpretation methods concerning compact scales (such as Hong Kong & Meling, 1995; Oxford, 1990). The validity of the questionnaire has convincingly been guaranteed by the efforts undertaken by the authors mentioned earlier. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to evaluate the reliability, where the calculated rate was reported equal to 0.89 (Mokhtari & Richard, 2002). Library studies to books, articles and scientific journals and websites on the topic of study was carried out. The questionnaire was prepared in accordance with the objectives of the study. After obtaining permission from the Department of Education in Birjand and coordination with the school, visit the school and students were given questionnaires. The objectives of the study were told and students were encouraged to cooperate in the study and answer honestly. After collecting the questionnaires, the data using software SPSS, version 21 was analyzed.
3. Results
In order to study the relationship between variables, their pairwise correlation was determined using Pearson’s correlation test, which is presented in Table 1. There was a direct and significant correlation between teacher support variable, and intrinsic motivation, overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, and metacognitive awareness. On the other hand, there was an inverse and significant correlation with the non-motivation variable at the significance level of 0.01 (p < 0.01). Furthermore, no significant correlation was observed between the teacher support variable and the extrinsic motivation variable. In addition, a direct and significant relationship was spotted between intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation, overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, and metacognitive awareness and an inverse and significant relationship was noticed between the intrinsic motivation and non-motivation variables at the significance level of 0.01 (p < 0.01).
Moreover, there existed a direct and significant relationship between extrinsic motivation, and overall reading strategies, problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, metacognitive awareness and it had an inverse and significant relationship with non-motivation variable at the significance level of 0.01 (p < 0.01). Additionally, there was a direct and significant relationship between overall reading strategies, and problem-solving strategies, reading support strategies, metacognitive awareness at the significance level of 0.01 (p < 0.01). Added to that, there is a direct and significant relationship between problem-solving strategies, and reading support strategies and metacognitive awareness, and also between reading support strategies and metacognitive awareness at the significance of 0.01 (p < 0.01).
Table 1. The Correlation Matrix between Teacher Support, Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, Non-Motivation, Overall Reading Strategies, Problem-Solving Strategies, Reading Support Strategies and Metacognitive Awareness
Metacognitive awareness | Reading support strategies | Problem-solving strategies | The overall reading strategies | Non-motivation | Extrinsic motivation | Intrinsic motivation | Teacher's support |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 | teacher's support |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 | 0.349** | intrinsic motivation |
|
|
|
|
| 1 | .483** | 0.027 | extrinsic motivation |
|
|
|
| 1 | -0.234** | -0.596** | -0.259** | non-motivation |
|
|
| 1 | -0.273** | 0.307** | 0.451** | .0223** | the overall reading strategies |
|
| 1 | 0.722** | -0.325** | 0.256** | 0.429** | 0.295** | problem-solving strategies |
| 1 | 0.698** | 0.735** | -0.183** | 0.269** | 0.329** | .0258** | reading support strategies |
1 | 0.903** | 0.893** | 0.908** | -0.288** | .0308** | 0.446** | .0287** | metacognitive awareness |
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). | ||||||||
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). | ||||||||
3.1. The Assumptions of the Regression Model
The Watson camera test was conducted to evaluate the independence of errors. Since according to the results of all regression models, the correlation between the residuals in the regression analysis was less than one and not more than three (i.e., between one and three), this explanation was developed that the assumptions, Perceived teacher support and motivational orientation are the predictor of metacognitive awareness strategies have been effectively established. The tolerance coefficient (tolerance) and the variance inflation factor (VIF) were also used to investigate the multicollinear test between the predictor variables. In each of the significant regression models, the tolerance coefficient was obtained less than one for all predictor variables, and the variance inflation factor, which represent the standard error of regression coefficients, was obtained less than 10. Therefore, the lack of multicollinear assumption was also confirmed and its amount had been displayed in the related tables.
The first hypothesis: Perceived teacher support and motivational orientation are the predictor of metacognitive awareness strategies.
In order to investigate the above hypothesis, multiple regression analysis was simultaneously used in which the metacognitive awareness component entered into the equation as the criterion variable and the components of teacher support, motivation, extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation and non-motivation entered as the predictor variables. The test results proved that the model was significant (p < 0.05 and F = 30.93). The model showed that it could indicate the metacognitive awareness variance of 5% - 23%.
Table 2. The results of variance regression for teacher support, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and non-motivation on metacognitive awareness
Model | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | R | R Square | |
| Regression | 32.222 | 4 | 8.055 | 30.938 | 0.000 | 0.485a | 0.235 |
Residual | 104.668 | 402 | 0.260 |
|
|
|
| |
Total | 136.890 | 406 |
|
|
|
|
| |
According to the above table, the results of regression coefficients revealed that there was a significant relationship (p < 0.05) between the components of teacher support, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (except non-motivation), and metacognitive awareness strategies, where the contribution of intrinsic motivation is more profound than the other components. In the table 3, the results of examining every previous variable is gathered. According to the table, the assumption of the examination is confirmed for all the previous components except non-motivation variable. (0.05<sig=0.55) in the other words, there is a correlation between teacher support variable, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and metacognitive awareness according to linear regression. Along the previous components, intrinsic motivation has more allotment at predicting metacognitive awareness than the other two components. (Beta coefficient of intrinsic motivation is higher than the other two components) so it can be concluded that intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and teacher support variable can predict metacognitive awareness.
Table 3. The coefficients of regression for teacher support, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and non-motivation on metacognitive awareness
Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | linear Statistics | |||||||||||
B | Std. Error | Beta | Tolerance | VIF | ||||||||||||
| (Constant) | 1.809 | .216 |
| 8.364 | 0.000 |
|
| ||||||||
intrinsic motivation | 0.230 | 0.051 | 0.290 | 4.548 | 0.000 |
|
| |||||||||
extrinsic motivation | 0.118 | 0.038 | 0.157 | 3.095 | 0.002 | 0.467 | 2.143 | |||||||||
non-motivation | -0.020 | 0.031 | -0.035 | -.640 | 0.522 | 0.740 | 1.351 | |||||||||
teacher support | 0.0107 | 0.030 | 0.167 | 3.531 | .000 | 0.633 | 1.579 | |||||||||
4. Discussion
No research was found to measure all the above components in the literature, but the results obtained from the pairwise test of the hypothesis confirmed the effect of perceived teacher support on motivation. There is a correlation between teacher support variable, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and metacognitive awareness. So it can be concluded that intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and teacher support variable can predict metacognitive awareness. About the role of perceived teacher support on students’ motivation Karshky et al., 2007) showed that the modalities and quality of the teacher-student relationship and the students’ perceptions of teacher support improved the students’ educational motivation to a large degree; in fact, considering the role of motivation in the teaching process could be an effective aid in language learning. A teacher’s awareness of learners’ motivation and the relationship of this awareness with the teaching process provides a framework through which the teacher can apply effective teaching methods. Additionally, according to Bakhshi (2012), warm and friendly teachers can increase the students’ educational motivation and union seeking. Students’ perceptions of teacher support has an important role in their motivation, cognition, and performance. Furthermore, Rayan (2001, cited in Bolandi, 2013) showed that the students, who consider their teacher as an individual supporting their independence and autonomy and establishing a warm and friendly relationship, are intrinsically more excited, feel more competent, and have a stronger desire to do their homework.
It should be indicated that the results of assumption are consistent with the Pourtaherian et al. (2013) research results based on the role of motivation and metacognitive reading strategies in educational achievement. Weinstein & Hume (1998), suggested that teachers, through teaching the studying and learning skills (cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies), can help their students to become more successful learners and play a more active role in their educational fate. Paying attention to students’ learning and studying techniques and timely correction can be effective on the educational status of students and raise their motivation. Avanesian (1998) showed that teaching metacognitive strategies was related to both comprehension and learning rate of bilingual students (Taghipour, 2009); hence, a person, who sensibly knows about his/her own abilities and is aware of metacognitive reading strategies, can consequently enhance his/her learning and educational performance.
Chen (2010), in his study on metacognitive strategies for student learning, concluded that there was a significant relationship between reading and learning and stated that metacognitive training could improve students’ comprehension and problem-solving. Therefore, it seems that the application of metacognitive strategies is one of the important determinants in the development of students. Thus, it can be claimed that the present study has properly explained the role of perceived teacher support and motivation in applying metacognitive awareness strategies.
5. Conclusion
Teachers play a vital role in students' performance. In this study, the role of teachers in the form of teacher support was studied. In order to improve the performance of students in learning the English language, teachers must be equipped with the components studied in perceived teacher support in order to establish a healthy and constructive communication. Equipping teachers with this important concept is possible through inclusion of specialized courses, according to the mentioned purposes, in Farhangian University. According to the research results mentioned in the introduction, an individual’s metacognition or awareness of learning and self-discovery has a great influence on him/her. In addition, as presented in the hypothesis of this study, metacognition, itself, is affected by variables such as motivation and perceived teacher support. Therefore, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of teaching the English language, metacognition has to be supported by reinforcing perceived teacher support, and motivation should be also protected through a comprehensive educational plan.
According to the results, based on the effectiveness of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in learning English, it is recommended that teachers, if possible from the beginning, familiarize students with these guidelines and emphasize on their application. Furthermore, it is suggested to conduct broader researches in the future on the role of the other aspects of the individual matters, such as students’ learning habits and talents, as well as the other relevant variables related to motivational orientation and students’ metacognitive awareness of listening strategies.
The results of this research can also assist policy-makers to create a fundamental change in the educational system. The findings of this research can be implicitly utilized in learning and teaching a second language and also in preparing and compiling the students’ English course textbooks and self-study books.
References
Aghazadeh, M. & Ahadian, M. (1997). Theoretical principles and educational applications of metacognition theories. Peyvand publications.
Bakhshi, N. (2012). The investigation of the relationship between perceived teacher's support, educational motivation and elementary school student's achievement in Darmiyan city. Unpublished MA thesis, Islamic Azad University, Birjand.
Bolandi, B. (2013). The role of the characteristics of the successful language teachers and motivational orientation in educational achievement of English course. Unpublished MA thesis, Islamic Azad University, Birjand.
Chen, L.H. (2010). Web-based learning programs: Use by learners with various cognitive styles. Computers & Education, 54, 1028-1035.
Dastlan, M., & Malekzadeh, A. (2010). The impact of self- regularization training on the development of students' English language learning. The Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 3(24), 4-11.
Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Motivation in second and foreign language learning. Language Teaching, 31(03), 117-135.
Muller, C, & Katz, S. R. & Dance, L. J. (1999). Investing in teaching and learning dynamics of the teacher-student relationship from each actor s perspective. Urban Education, 34(3), 292-337.
Narimani, M. Khoshnoodnia, B. & Zahed, A. (2013). The role of perceived teacher support in predicting educational self-efficiency of students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 3(1), 110-128.
Nokhostin-Goldust, A. & Moinikia, M. (2009). The relationship between self-regulated learning strategies and motivation strategies for learning and students' academic performance of Islamic Azad University of Ardebil. Journal of Education - Academic curriculum of Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan unit, 23, 85-100.
Javadi, M. Keyvanara, M. & Yaghoobi, M. (2010). The relationship between metacognitive awareness of studying strategies and the of students status of Isfahan Medical Sciences university. Iranian Journal of Education in Medical Sciences, 10(3), 57-69.
Karshky, H. Kharrazi, A. N. & Ghazi-Tabatabai, M. (2007). The relationship between the school environmental perceptions and development objectives, whether the type of school, field of study and place of residence makes a difference?. Psychological and Educational Studies of Ferdowsi University, 23(5),80-93.
Kahraman, N. & Sungur, S. (2011). The contribution of motivation beliefs to students, metacognitive strategy use. Journal of Education and Science, 36(160), 3-10.
Pourtaherian, Z. Khosravi, M. & Mohammadifar, M. (2013). The role of metacognitive reading strategies and study habits in female students' achievement motivation. Journal of School Psychology, 3(1), 22-36.
Rahimi, M., & Katal, M. (2012). Metacognitive listening strategies awareness in learning English as foreign language: a comparison between university and high school students. Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Lavisan: Tehran, Iran.
Venden, L. (2012). Teaching and learning Second language listening Metacognition in action. New York: Routledge.
Taghipour, F. (2009). The relationship between motivation, metacognitive awareness of the strategies and skills of Iranian English learners. Language Study Scientific - Research Quarterly Journal, Al-Zahra University, 52, 2-25.
Saghi, S. Chalabianloo, GH. R. & Amindoctor, F. (2011). The relationship between learning styles and academic achievement with the intermediation of metacognitive awareness strategies among students. Journal of Education, 4(13), 79-94.
Seif, A. (2008). The new educational psychology (Psychology of Learning and Teaching). Doran publications.
Sheikholeslami, R. & Khayyer, M. (2007). The role of motivational orientations in learning English as a foreign language. The Study of Foreign Languages, 39, 83-94.
Karimi, Y. Khalkhali, V. Ahadi, H. Nafisi, GH.R. (2009). The investigation of the effect of the purpose framing and communicational style on the educational achievement of the fifth grade students in Qazvin. Journal of the Psychological Achievements, 4(2), 189-218.
Yosef-Zadeh, D. Yaghoobi, A. & Rashidi, M. (2012). The impact of metacognitive skills on self-efficiency of female students in secondary schools. Journal of School Psychology, 1(3), 118-133.
Weinstein, C. E. & Hume, L. M. (1998). Study strategies for lifelong learning. American Psychological Association.