Metacognition and second/foreign language teaching and learning: An interview with Professor Lawrence Jun Zhang

Abstract

Professor Lawrence Jun Zhang of The University of Auckland, New Zealand, is an internationally well renowned scholar for his research in Applied Linguistics and TESOL. His research program spans bilingual/biliteracy acquisition and bilingual/biliteracy education, learning and teaching English as a second/foreign language at university settings, and teacher identity and cognition in language teacher education. Most of his research is particularly concerned with metacognitive, cognitive, linguistic, sociocultural, and developmental factors in reading/biliteracy development. He was interviewed particularly with regard to his most intensively engaged research area, metacognition in L2 learning and teaching. In this interview, Professor Zhang started with a brief appraisal of the concept, the scope and historical development of metacognition, highlighting its origin in cognitive and developmental psychology. Then, he reviewed research on metacognition, especially its role in L2 learning and teaching at home and abroad. The interview concluded with him recommending that future research on metacognition in L2 education be inclusive, embracing not only a cognitive perspective, but also a sociocultural view, to the extent that metacognition can be better theorized in a dynamic systems framework. Lawrence Jun Zhang(张军)教授长期致力于二语习得和外语教学研究，其研究兴趣广泛。他在二语习得、双语教学、学习策略、阅读与写作教学和教师教育等诸多领域都有研究，尤其对元认知与外语教学颇感兴趣，并取得了丰硕的研究成果。TESOL国际学会2011年度因此授予他“最佳科研论文奖”。本文就元认知的内涵意义及其与外语教学的关系访谈了张教授。访谈中,张教授简单回顾了元认知概念在认知心理学以及教育心理学的产生和发展，并且对元认知与二语习得和外语教学在国内外的发展现状进行了简单的总结，认为元认知在国内外发展迅速，学者们特别就元认知与外语学习效果之间的关系做了大量研究。最后，他就元认知与外语教学的未来发展提出建议，认为元认知与外语教学的研究不仅仅可以从认知和社会文化理论角度进行，还可以从动态系统理论视角展开。