A Descriptive Analysis of the Metacognitive Reading Strategies Employed by EFL College Students in Kuwait

Abstract

The study measured the awareness and use of metacognitive reading strategies among English as a foreign language (EFL) students at a medical college in Kuwait. The college offers a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a two-year Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). Data collection involved distributing the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI) online through Google Forms to a sample of 80 students (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002). Data were analyzed for strategy use, variations in strategy use between the BSN and ADN students, and the most and the least frequently-used strategies by the participating students. Microsoft Excel software generated the means, percentages, rankings, and standard deviations of strategy use. Findings indicated that the participating students were overall highly aware of metacognitive reading strategies. Moreover, the results showed that while the participating students were high users of problem-solving and global strategies, they were medium users of support strategies. The results also indicated that years of studying English showed a possible impact on the variations in strategy use between the participating students at the BSN and ADN programs. Finally, the analysis revealed that while the most frequently-used strategies among the participants were problem-solving strategies followed by global strategies, the least frequently-used strategies were support strategies. Implications for pedagogy included the need for English teachers to first identify their students’ awareness of metacognitive reading strategies. Second, English teachers can implement evidence-based instruction to maximize the use of students’ metacognitive reading strategies.