METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES IN WRITING

Abstract

Metacognition is, thinking about one’s thinking. It refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding and performance. It includes a critical awareness of a) one’s thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and a learner. It also includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or problem-solving. The two components of metacognition are: (1) knowledge about cognition and (2) regulation of cognition. Metacognition encompasses the study of memory-monitoring and self-regulation, metareasoning, consciousness/awareness and autonoetic consciousness/self-awareness. The purpose of this research was to examine the metacognitive strategies used by EFL learners in writing the research proposal and also to identify their attitude towards metacognitive strategies in doing the task. The participants of the study constituted 85 undergraduate female students of level 8, English Department, Samtah University College, Jazan University. A metacognition inventory and an attitude scale were adapted to meet the requirements of the study. The study results will help the teachers to support, facilitate and train the students to become autonomous learners so that the students will be able to achieve academic/research writing skills based on critical thinking skills. Summing up this study, the researcher has observed that university students should enrich their metacognitive abilities. It also indicated that English teachers should take up the responsibility to train Saudi students in enhancing metacognitive abilities to prepare them for future to meet personal, professional, communicative, and global challenges.