The role of text type on the use of metacognitive reading strategies: Iranian EFL learners' perceptions in focus

Subject Areas : Curriculum Research

Somayeh  Nilforoushan ¹ (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran)
Mojgan  Rashtchi ² (Associate Professor, Department of English Language, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran)
Gholam-Reza  Abbasian ³ (Associate Professor, Department of English Language, Imam Ali University, Tehran, Iran)

Received: 2023-11-29 Accepted : 2024-03-31 Published : 2024-04-10

Keywords: Expository text, Metacognitive Reading Strategy (MRs), Narrative text, Perception of text type, Reading strategies (Rs),

Abstract :

The current study used a qualitative methodology to examine how Iranian EFL learners practically applied Metacognitive Reading Strategies (MRs) when reading narrative and expository English texts. The study also investigated the participants' perceptions of the impact of text type on using MRs while reading narrative and expository English passages. The researchers selected 40 intermediate EFL learners studying TEFL at Islamic Azad University and Farhangyan University using purposive sampling as focused participants. The instruments employed included the Oxford Placement Test, semi-structured interviews, and think-aloud protocols. The data analysis involved theme-based analysis. The think-aloud protocol analysis indicated that participants employed multiple strategies when engaging with the expository text compared to the narrative text. The finding suggested that text types affected readers` overall performance. The semi-structured interviews revealed that learner's perceptions of text type played a vital role in reading different text types. The practical implications of the study were also discussed.

References:

Abdualameer, R. T. (2016). Effects of text types and reading strategies on reading comprehension performance. University Sains Malaysia. Penang, Malaysia.
Ahmadi, M.R., Ismail, H.N., & Abdullah, M.K.K. (2013). The importance of metacognitive reading strategy awareness in reading comprehension. English Language Teaching, 6(10), 235–244. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n10p235
Akhondi, M., Malayeri, F.A., & Samad, A.A. (2011). How to teach expository text structure to facilitate reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 368–372. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.64.5.9
Alderson, J. C. (2000). Assessing reading. Cambridge University Press.
Al-Sobhani, Y.A. (2013). Metacognitive reading strategies used by Yemeni EFL undergraduate university students. Frontiers of Language and Teaching, 4(1), 121–130.
Augusta, D. (2015). Improving students' ability in writing narrative texts using short animated stories at class VIII C of SMPN 2 [Master's thesis, State University of Yogyakarta, Indonesia]. https://eprints.uny.ac.id/26574/
Barrot, J.S. (2016). ESL learners' use of reading strategies across different text types. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 25, 883–892. http://doi.org/ 10.1007/s40299-016-0313-2.
Behzadi, A. (2013). The effect of different text types on cognitive and metacognitive. The Iranian EFL Journal, 53(3), 167–183.
Block, E. (1986). The comprehension strategies of second language readers. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 463-494. http://doi.org/10.2307/3586295
Booth, D.W., & Swartz, L. (2004). Literacy techniques for building successful readers and writers. Pembroke.
Cakir, O. (2008). The effect of textual differences on children's processing strategies. Reading Improvement, 45(2), 69–83.
Chu H-C. J., Swaffar, J., & Charney, D. H. (2002). Cultural representations of rhetorical conventions: The effects of reading recall. TESOL Quarterly, 36(4), 511–541. http://doi.org/10.2307/3588239
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). Routledge.
Dong, N., & Ni, J. (2024). Study on the Automatic Information Processing Strategy in L2 Reading. International Journal of Education and Humanities, 12(1), 1–5.‏ https://doi.org/10.54097/jptf7b19
Duke, N.K., & Pearson, P.D. (2008). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. Journal of Education, 189(1/2), 107–122.
Ellis, R. (2009). A reader responds to Guilloteaux and Dörnyei's "Motivating language learners: A classroom‐oriented investigation of the effects of motivational strategies on student motivation." TESOL Quarterly, 43(1), 105–109. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2009.tb00229.x
Feller, E., Kopatich, R., Lech, E.F., & Higgs, Y. (2020). Clarifying differences between reading skills and reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 364–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420932139
Feng, X., & Mokhtari, K. (2008). Reading easy and difficult texts in English and Chinese: Strategy use by native speakers of Chinese. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 8, 19–40.
Gass, S.M., & Mackey, A. (2000). Stimulated recall methodology in second language research. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Grabe, W., & Stoller, F.L. (2002). Teaching and researching reading. Longman.
Hong-Nam, K., & Page, L. (2014). Investigating metacognitive awareness and reading strategy use of EFL Korean university students. Reading Psychology, 35(3), 195–220.
Jiang, X., & Grabe, W. (2007). Graphic organizers in reading instruction: Research findings and issues. Reading in a Foreign Language, 19(1), 34-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2012.33055
Karbalaei, A. (2010). A comparison of the metacognitive reading strategies used by EFL and ESL readers. The Reading Matrix, 10(2), 165–180.
Koda, K. (2005). Insight to second language reading – a cross-linguistic approach. Cambridge University Press.
Kroll, B. (1990). Second language writing: Research insight for the classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Kummin, S. A., & Rahman, S. (2010). The relationship between the use of metacognitive strategies and achievement in English. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7, 145–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.10.021
Kung, F-W. (2019). Teaching second language reading comprehension: The effect of classroom materials and reading strategy use. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 13(1), 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2017.1364252
Lee, S., Zhong, M., Foster, C., Segura-Totten, M., & McCartney, M. (2022). From novice to expert: An assessment to measure strategies students implement while learning to read primary scientific literature. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 23(3), e00126-22 https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00126-22
Lei, J.I. (2009). An investigation of the effects of discourse types on Taiwanese college students' reading strategy use [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia].
https://www.proquest.com/openview/db1459912c46d4d895c084bbab491de9/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
McCormick, S., & Zutell, J. (2015). Instructing students who have literacy problems (7th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Maniati, M., Haydari, F., & Tazik, I.K. (2022). The effect of ESP text type on Iranian first-year medical students' language use strategies and test-taking strategies. MEXTESOL Journal, 46(4), 1–12.‏
Meniado, J. C. (2016). Metacognitive reading strategies, motivation, and reading comprehension performance of Saudi EFL students. English Language Teaching, 9(3), 117–129. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v9n3p117
Mokhtari, K., & Sheorey, R. (2002). Measuring ESL students' awareness of reading strategies. Journal of Developmental Education, 25(3), 2-10.
Mytkowicz, P., Goss, D., & Steinberg, B. (2014). Assessing metacognition as a learning outcome in a postsecondary strategic learning course. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 27(1), 51–62.
Nash-Ditzel, S. (2010). Metacognitive reading strategies can improve self-regulation. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 40(2), 45–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2010.10850330
Nilforoushan, S., Rashtchi, M., & Abbasian, Gh-R. (2023). Exploring the perceived and real metacognitive reading strategies of Iranian EFL learners: Different text types in focus. SAGE Open, 13(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231164567
Oxford, R. L. (2017). Teaching and researching language learning strategies. Self-regulation in context. Routledge.
Pei, L. (2014). Does metacognitive strategy instruction indeed improve Chinese EFL learners' reading comprehension performance and metacognitive awareness? Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(5), 1147–1152. http://doi.org/ 10.4304/jltr.5.5.1147-1152
Panico, J., & Healey E.C. (2009). Influence of text type, topic familiarity, and stuttering frequency on listener recall, comprehension, and mental effort. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52, 534-546.
https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2008/07-0238)
Polio, C., Gass, S., & Chapin, L. (2006). Using stimulated recall to investigate native speaker perceptions in native-nonnative speaker interaction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28(2), 237–267. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263106060116
Rashtchi, M., & Khani, P. (2010). Improving Iranian EFL learners' oral proficiency through metacognitive strategies instruction. Journal of English Language Studies, 1(4), 137–156.
Roehling, J.V., Hebert, M., Nelson, J.R., & Bohaty, J.J. (2017). Text structure strategies for improving expository reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 71(1), 71–82.
Rustipa, K. (2011). Features of English learners` narratives. Dinamika Bahasa Dan Budaya, 5(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.35315/bb.v5i2.387
Ryan, M-L. (2007). Diagramming narrative. Semiotica, 65 (1), 11–40.
Sáenz, L.M., & Fuchs, L.S. (2002). Examining the reading difficulty of secondary students with learning disabilities: Expository versus narrative text. Remedial and Special Education, 23(1), 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193250202300105
Sari, G.R. , Asih, S., & Eka, W. (2020). Students' perception on reading comprehension problems in narrative text.LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching, 23(2), 342–353.‏ https://doi.org/: 10.24071/llt.v23i2.2211
Schmitz, A., & Dannecker, W. (2023). Strategies for Expository and Narrative Texts: Students' Perspectives on Text Type-Specific Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategies. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 23, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.21248/l1esll.2023.23.1.407
Sheorey, R., & Mokhtari, K. (2001). Differences in the metacognitive awareness of reading strategies among native and non-native readers. System, 29, 431–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X (01)00039-2
Shin, S. Y. (2002). Effects of subskills and text types on Korean EFL reading scores. Second Language Studies, 20(2), 107–130.
Shin, S-C. (2012). KSL learners' perceptions on text types: Understanding, preferences and necessity. 23(4), 471-493. https://doi.org/10.18209/IAKLE.2012.23.4.471
Shokouhi, H., & Jamali, R. (2013). Metacognitive reading strategies and the text type. In S. Baleghizadeh & K. Zahedi (Eds.), Handbook of current research on teaching English language skills (pp.128–141). Shaheed Beheshti University Press.
Singhal, M. (2001). Reading proficiency, reading strategies, metacognitive awareness, and L2 readers. The Reading Matrix, 1(1), 1–23.
Soy, S., Maisarah, I., & Sovann, L. (2023). Students' perceptions of literary texts, challenges in learning, and learning strategies. Journal of English Teaching and Learning Issues, 6(2), 81–94.‏ https://doi.org/10.21043/jetli.v6i2.19925
Sun, Q.,& Zhang, L.J. (2022) Understanding learners' metacognitive experiences in learning to write in English as a foreign language: A structural equation modeling approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 986301. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.986301
Sun, Y., Zhou, W., & Tang, S. (2024). Effects of adjunct questions on L2 reading comprehension with texts of different types. Behavioral Sciences, 14(2), 138.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14020138
Teng, L.S., & Zhang, L.J. (2016). A questionnaire‐based validation of multidimensional models of self‐regulated learning strategies. The Modern Language Journal, 100(3), 674–701. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12339
Thiede, K. W., Anderson, M., & Therriault, D. (2003). Accuracy of metacognitive monitoring affects learning of texts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 66–73. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.66
Tsiplakou, S., & Floros, G. (2013). Never mind the text types, here's textual force: Towards a pragmatic reconceptualization of text type. Journal of Pragmatics, 45, 119–130. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.11.004
Yoshikawa, L., & Leung, C.Y. (2020). Transitional shift of metacognitive awareness of reading strategy along with L2-English reading proficiency. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 20(1), 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688205052143
Zhang, L., & Seepho, S. (2013). Metacognitive strategy use and academic reading achievement: Insights from a Chinese context. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 10(1), 54–69.
Zhou, L., & Siriyothin, P. (2011). Effects of text types on advanced EFL learners' reading comprehension. Journal of Language and Culture, 30(2), 45–55.