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Metacognitive instruction in listening : a study of Chinese non-English major undergraduates
Author
Zeng, Yajun
Supervisor
Goh, Christine Chuen Meng
Abstract
Metacognitive instruction in general embodies both strategy-based instruction and metacognitive awareness development. So far research has well attested that helping students develop richer metacognition of their learning through metacognitive instruction is the key to achieving greater learner autonomy and more meaningful learning for students. Many studies have been carried out in China in the past two decades to describe Chinese EFL learners’ listening strategy use. However, to date there is virtually no randomized intervention study to explore the effectiveness of metacognitive instruction in developing Chinese non-English major undergraduates’ metacognitive knowledge and listening performance. Therefore, conducting such a study is not only academically significant but also helpful for listening instruction in China.
Some first year non-English major undergraduates in a Chinese technological university were recruited voluntarily in this study and randomized to experimental (N=30) or control group (N=30). Demographic data showed that students in both groups were not significantly different in terms of age, educational background and English learning experience. Pre-test also attested that subjects were not statistically different in their listening performance (experimental group M=9.50 vs. control group M=9.65; t=0.22, p>0.001).
Participants in the experiment group underwent seven weeks of listening strategy instruction that combined explicit training of major listening strategies with process-based listening activities to help them develop related metacognitive knowledge. Besides, they were asked to keep a weekly listening diary to note down their listening activities, problems and successful strategies adopted. In contrast, the control group was exposed only to the relatively more traditional, teacher-centered mode of listening instruction. There was no weekly diary for participants in this group.
Descriptive and inferential statistics was completed using SPSS for windows, version 13.0 concerning data obtained from the questionnaire and the test results. Frequencies of participants’ responses to the MALQ were calculated to describe certain central tendency concerning their current level of metacognitive awareness in listening. After the normality distribution of data was evaluated by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the Shapiro-Wilk test, an independent-samples t-test was applied to compare test performance of both groups in the pre-test and the post test to show their changes after the intervention. Lastly, means of the seven simulated tests were calculated and presented with a sequence plot charting the different degrees of progress for both groups.
An analysis of participants’ individual reflection and weekly diaries indicates ten major listening problems. Namely, they are: (i) speaking rate, (ii) distraction, (iii) gap between the words read and the same ones heard, (iv) new vocabulary, (v) missing incoming input, (vi) being nervous, (vii) sentence complexity, (viii) background knowledge, (ix) anxiety and frustration, and (x) unfamiliar pronunciation.
The analysis of the MALQ demonstrates that Chinese non-English major undergraduates have a fairly high degree of metacognitive awareness. They are conscious of their learning process and the demands of listening in English, although they are still weak in strategies like directed attention, online-appraisal and mental translation.
The result of an independent-samples t-test shows significant changes in terms of listening performance due to the intervention. For the post-test, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between metacognitive instruction taken and the listening performance for students in the experimental group (experimental group M=16.17 vs. control group M=13.17; t=-3.10; p=.003; d=.142). The positive correlation means that students who received metacognitive instruction in listening tended to score higher on listening performance as compared to students who received traditional listening training. A sequence plot based on the means of the seven tests further charts clearly the different degrees of progress for both groups. Although students in both groups improved considerably in their test scores, the progress curve demonstrates much stronger effect of metacognitive instruction as compared with traditional teaching method in listening class.
In its concluding chapter, this study discusses avenues for future research and explores pedagogical implications, most importantly how to incorporate metacognitive instruction in current listening curriculum so that Chinese EFL learners could develop richer metacognition of their learning and achieve greater learner autonomy in the long run.
Some first year non-English major undergraduates in a Chinese technological university were recruited voluntarily in this study and randomized to experimental (N=30) or control group (N=30). Demographic data showed that students in both groups were not significantly different in terms of age, educational background and English learning experience. Pre-test also attested that subjects were not statistically different in their listening performance (experimental group M=9.50 vs. control group M=9.65; t=0.22, p>0.001).
Participants in the experiment group underwent seven weeks of listening strategy instruction that combined explicit training of major listening strategies with process-based listening activities to help them develop related metacognitive knowledge. Besides, they were asked to keep a weekly listening diary to note down their listening activities, problems and successful strategies adopted. In contrast, the control group was exposed only to the relatively more traditional, teacher-centered mode of listening instruction. There was no weekly diary for participants in this group.
Descriptive and inferential statistics was completed using SPSS for windows, version 13.0 concerning data obtained from the questionnaire and the test results. Frequencies of participants’ responses to the MALQ were calculated to describe certain central tendency concerning their current level of metacognitive awareness in listening. After the normality distribution of data was evaluated by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the Shapiro-Wilk test, an independent-samples t-test was applied to compare test performance of both groups in the pre-test and the post test to show their changes after the intervention. Lastly, means of the seven simulated tests were calculated and presented with a sequence plot charting the different degrees of progress for both groups.
An analysis of participants’ individual reflection and weekly diaries indicates ten major listening problems. Namely, they are: (i) speaking rate, (ii) distraction, (iii) gap between the words read and the same ones heard, (iv) new vocabulary, (v) missing incoming input, (vi) being nervous, (vii) sentence complexity, (viii) background knowledge, (ix) anxiety and frustration, and (x) unfamiliar pronunciation.
The analysis of the MALQ demonstrates that Chinese non-English major undergraduates have a fairly high degree of metacognitive awareness. They are conscious of their learning process and the demands of listening in English, although they are still weak in strategies like directed attention, online-appraisal and mental translation.
The result of an independent-samples t-test shows significant changes in terms of listening performance due to the intervention. For the post-test, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between metacognitive instruction taken and the listening performance for students in the experimental group (experimental group M=16.17 vs. control group M=13.17; t=-3.10; p=.003; d=.142). The positive correlation means that students who received metacognitive instruction in listening tended to score higher on listening performance as compared to students who received traditional listening training. A sequence plot based on the means of the seven tests further charts clearly the different degrees of progress for both groups. Although students in both groups improved considerably in their test scores, the progress curve demonstrates much stronger effect of metacognitive instruction as compared with traditional teaching method in listening class.
In its concluding chapter, this study discusses avenues for future research and explores pedagogical implications, most importantly how to incorporate metacognitive instruction in current listening curriculum so that Chinese EFL learners could develop richer metacognition of their learning and achieve greater learner autonomy in the long run.
Date Issued
2007
Call Number
PE1128 Zen
Date Submitted
2007