Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2014, Pages 360–366
Mohsen Mahdavi1 and Majid Mehrabi2
1 Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran
2 Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University of Tonekabon, Iran
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The importance of language learner strategies, metacognitive awareness of these strategies, and reading comprehension has been well documented in the first as well as second language research. By contrast, little investigations have been conducted to highlight the role of these components, especially language learners' metacognitive knowledge or awareness of strategies, in the foreign language learning contexts; most notably in "input-poor" environments. The study aimed at investigating the frequency of the use and types of reading strategies employed by Iranian EFL university students in an input-poor environment. In doing so, a questionnaire, namely the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) was administrated to 144 EFL students at Tonekabon Islamic Azad University, Iran. The analyses of the SORS through using descriptive statistics showed that these students were almost moderately aware of reading strategies. They most frequently used Problem-solving strategies (Mean= 2.67), followed by Global strategies (Mean= 2.54) and Support strategies (Mean= 2.40). Based on the results, several implications and suggestions for further research are offered for improving EFL learners' metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in an input-poor environment where conscious attention to learner strategies certainly merits closer consideration than unconscious acquisition caused by exposure to ample foreign language input outside the classroom.
Author Keywords: Metacognition, Metacognitive Awareness, Metacognitive Strategy Instruction, Language Learner Strategies, Learner Autonomy, Self-regulation, Strategic-based instruction, Input-poor Environment.
Mohsen Mahdavi1 and Majid Mehrabi2
1 Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran
2 Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University of Tonekabon, Iran
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The importance of language learner strategies, metacognitive awareness of these strategies, and reading comprehension has been well documented in the first as well as second language research. By contrast, little investigations have been conducted to highlight the role of these components, especially language learners' metacognitive knowledge or awareness of strategies, in the foreign language learning contexts; most notably in "input-poor" environments. The study aimed at investigating the frequency of the use and types of reading strategies employed by Iranian EFL university students in an input-poor environment. In doing so, a questionnaire, namely the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) was administrated to 144 EFL students at Tonekabon Islamic Azad University, Iran. The analyses of the SORS through using descriptive statistics showed that these students were almost moderately aware of reading strategies. They most frequently used Problem-solving strategies (Mean= 2.67), followed by Global strategies (Mean= 2.54) and Support strategies (Mean= 2.40). Based on the results, several implications and suggestions for further research are offered for improving EFL learners' metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in an input-poor environment where conscious attention to learner strategies certainly merits closer consideration than unconscious acquisition caused by exposure to ample foreign language input outside the classroom.
Author Keywords: Metacognition, Metacognitive Awareness, Metacognitive Strategy Instruction, Language Learner Strategies, Learner Autonomy, Self-regulation, Strategic-based instruction, Input-poor Environment.
How to Cite this Article
Mohsen Mahdavi and Majid Mehrabi, “Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies among Iranian EFL Learners in an "Input-poor" Environment,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 360–366, April 2014.
