EXPLORING METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES USED BY LOW AND HIGH PROFICIENCY FORM THREE ESL STUDENTS

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the metacognitive reading strategies used by low and high proficiency Form Three ESL (English as Second Language) students and highlight suitable strategies that can be exposed to the low proficiency students. Methodology: To serve the purpose of this research, an explanatory sequential mixed method design was used. As for the sampling, purposive sampling was employed in this study. The respondents were drawn from two Form Three classes in the selected secondary school in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia. There were twenty-four boys and thirty-six girls. They were all fifteen years old and represented three main ethnic groups which are Malays, Indians and Chinese. The number of respondents was equally the same for both groups; 30 from the low proficiency group and 30 from the high proficiency group. Findings: The data gathered in this study revealed that the most popular metacognitive reading strategy among the respondents is self-evaluation. In addition, the most significant difference between the high and low proficiency students is that the latter employed fewer metacognitive reading strategies than the former. Furthermore, through the findings, this research also suggested the metacognitive reading strategies suitable for the low proficiency students; advanced organization, selective attention, self-management, directed attention and monitoring. Contributions: This research aids the teachers in adapting their instructions and putting extra effort into training students, especially low proficiency students, to use suitable metacognitive reading strategies. Keywords: Low proficiency students, high proficiency students, purposive sampling, metacognitive reading strategies, explanatory sequential mixed method design. Cite as: Jeevaratnam, J. A., & Stapa, M. (2022). Exploring metacognitive reading strategies used by low and high proficiency form three ESL students. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 335-365. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp335-365

Self-Efficacy Sources, Reading Self-Efficacy, Metacognitive Reading Strategies and Reading Comprehension Performance: A Correlational Study in Saudi EFL Context

The intended aim of this research was to identify the connection of Self-Efficacy Sources (SES) and Metacognitive Reading Strategies (MCRS) with Reading Comprehension (RC) by deploying reading Self-Efficacy Beliefs (SEB) as a mediating construct. A correlational design was utilized. Proportionate stratified random sampling was deployed to select a sample of 383 Saudi EFL university learners. Questionnaires and a reading comprehension test were employed to gather the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships. Results indicated that SES were substantially associated with SEB except physiological state. Moreover, all the three MCRS showed significant and positive association with SEB. Also, SEB were substantially associated with RC. Regarding mediation, it was discovered that SEB mediated the relationship among SES and RC except one source, i.e., physiological state. Moreover, SEB mediated the association between all the three MCRS and RC. This study provides several implications for learners, teachers, and policymakers. Keywords: Metacognitive Reading Strategies, Self-efficacy Sources, Reading Self-efficacy Beliefs, Reading Comprehension, Saudi EFL Learners

The Effect of Using KWL (Know-Want-Learned) Strategy on Reading Comprehension Of 5th Grade EFL Students in Kuwait

Metacognitive reading strategies play an essential role in improving reading comprehension. This study explores the effects of English metacognitive reading strategies and reading comprehension in Kuwaiti primary school students as foreign language learners; this experimental study tries to find a relationship between students' metacognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, and students' reading performance. Participants were fifth grade EFL students in Kuwait primary education government public schools. The students' reading comprehension was evaluated. Comprehension tracking strategies were measured using Metacognitive strategies (K-W-L Plus). While the experimental groups (B) received instructions according to (K-W-L Plus) techniques, the control (A) group was trained with the traditional teaching approach based on the Kuwait national curriculum school textbooks. A questionnaire investigating the use of English and perceived English proficiency was also conducted. The results revealed that Perceived proficiency in English was not determined by the early or late pre-school age of second language acquisition. Also, bilingual students with perceived proficiency in English had better meta-cognitive reading skills than low perceived proficiency in English. Comprehension monitoring and (K-W-L) strategy was adequate and the most important predictor of reading comprehension among all students in the research sample.

Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategy Use between Field-Dependent and Field-Independent EFL Learners

This paper aimed to study the metacognitive awareness of reading strategies between field-dependent (FD)and field-independent (FI) Turkish EFL university students who are learning English as a foreign language. To this end, 270 students from Istanbul (Cerrahpasa) University were chosen.First, Group Embedded Figure Test was used to appoint the participants into either FD or FI groups.After this, participants’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategy was assessed by using MARSI-R (Metacognitive Awareness of reading Strategies Inventory-Revised). Recently revised by Mokhtari et al., the MARSI-R instrument contains 15 items and measures three large sets of strategies including: Global Reading Strategies (GRS), Problem-Solving Strategies (PSS) and Support Reading Strategies (SRS).The results showed that the students reported using the 3 categories of strategies almost at a high-frequency level and they were aware of their metacognitive strategies. And statistically significant difference was found between FI and FD students regarding their use of GRS and SRS, hence, the use of students’ metacognitive reading strategies was affected by their different FI/FD cognitive styles.

ASSESSING THE SELF-PERCEIVED USE OF READING STRATEGIES IN ESL READING COMPREHENSION: A NEEDS ANALYSIS

Despite great appreciation on the important roles played by metacognitive reading strategies in the attainment of comprehension, heightened prevalence of reading difficulties is depicted among Malaysian learners. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the current status of self-perceived use of metacognitive reading strategies among the ESL learners in six secondary schools in one of the districts in Sabah. Utilizing an adapted version of Revised Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI-R), data was obtained from 274 ESL learners in the same district. Descriptive analysis was used to determine the mean scores of three sub reading strategies, namely global reading strategies, problem-solving strategies and support strategies. The findings revealed that despite being aware of the use of metacognitive reading strategies, little emphasis was given on optimizing the use of global reading and support strategies, resulting in only medium usage of these two strategies. Therefore, it may be concluded that the findings implied the need to develop a reading comprehension module that incorporates the use of metacognitive reading strategies within reading comprehension instruction to facilitate Malaysian ESL learners to improve their reading comprehension.

METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES APPLICATION AMONG HIGH AND LOW PROFICIENT READERS AT PRE-UNIVERSITY LEVEL

In higher education, reading of academic texts is considered as an essential access to scientific knowledge. Therefore, in this survey study will utilize the inventory of Survey on Reading Strategies Questionnaire (SOR) developed by Mokhtari and Sheory. It is explored to identify the two types of readers: high (HPR) and low (LPR) proficient readers at Form Sixth Cenre of Government School in Sabah, Malaysia. There are three major reading strategies: GLOB (Global), SUPP (Support) and PROB (Problem Solving) strategies. This quantitative approach is done by operating the descriptive (mean and standard of deviation) and inferential (Magnitude of effect) statistics. 250 participants from pre-university students randomly selected to respond to the questionnaire The questionnaire finding revealed that PROB strategy was favoured by both readers. To strengthen scrupulous answer, Effect size had given a better interpretation of the finding. The questionnaire provided all reading strategies to be negative effect to the high proficient readers (HPR) yet large positive effect to the low proficient readers (LPR).

Investigation of the Relationship between Reading Habits and Metacognitive Reading Strategies of Prospective Teachers

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between prospective teachers’ metacognitive reading strategies and their reading habits. The study was designed in correlation model. The sample of the study was determined by simple random sampling. The sample of the study consists of 506 prospective teachers out of which 255 are on Primary Education and 249 are on Preschool Education. In the research, Book Reading Habit Attitude Scale and Metacognitive Reading Strategies Scale were used as data collection tools. While there is no significant difference in the reading habits of the prospective teachers, there is a significant difference in the use of metacognitive strategies in favor of the female prospective teachers. The reading habits of prospective teachers and the extent to which they use metacognitive reading strategies do not differ by department and grade level. In addition, it was found that there was a moderately significant relationship between prospective teachers' use of metacognitive reading strategies and the level of reading habits.

Male and female Indonesian EFL undergraduate students’ metacognitive strategies in academic reading: planning, monitoring and evaluation strategies

Metacognitive strategies have been investigated as helping tools for students’ reading comprehension, but their use may vary between males and females. Though gender is an essential factor in language learning, few studies highlighted the influence of gender on the metacognitive reading strategy use by Indonesian students. To fill in the gap, this study investigated the use of metacognitive strategies during academic reading from a gender perspective. A mixed-method was adopted, with open-ended and close-ended questionnaires and a semi-structured interview used to gather the data. From the quantitative data analysis, the students used most metacognitive strategies to a high degree. The only significantly different strategy use was guessing meaning (F=0.232, p<0.05), where male students used it more often. From the qualitative data analysis, the female students used more strategy variations than the male students (20 and 18 strategy variations respectively). The students shared some similar and some different reasons to use metacognitive reading strategies. The results suggested the gender influence on male students to make predictions. The findings from this research will prompt English teachers to introduce metacognitive strategies in reading through appropriate instructions and guidance to enable the students to implement and develop their metacognitive strategies in academic reading.

Enhancing Metacognitive Scaffolding and Comprehension Ability through Problem-Based Learning in an EFL Context

Successful reading necessitates the application of metacognitive reading strategies, which have been proven to be effective in enhancing comprehension in EFL contexts. This quasiexperimental study, thus, aimed to implement a problem-based learning method (PBL) in an EFL instructional setting to investigate its effect on EFL learners’ metacognitive reading strategies awareness and use and their comprehension ability. Two groups of students at the elementary level, one experimental (N = 40) and one control (N = 40) were selected. Their homogeneity in English proficiency was probed by Key English Test (KET). The experimental group received PBL and the control group followed the explicit lecture-based teaching method. The two groups completed pre- and posttest of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies inventory (MARSI) and reading comprehension. The findings based on univariate analysis of covariance indicated that the experimental group had high metacognitive reading strategies awareness and enhanced their comprehension ability to a high extent. Practitioners should pay special attention to the PBL method in EFL contexts if they want to enhance metacognitive strategies awareness and cultivate effective reading.