Undergraduate ESP Students’ Reading Comprehension and Metacognitive Awareness across Discipline and Gender
Subject Areas : Journal of Teaching English Language Studies
1 - دانشگاه آزاد اسلامِی، واحد علوم و تحقیقات تهران
Keywords: Discipline, Gender, Metacognitive Strategies, Reading Comprehension,
Abstract :
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.
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