Metacognitive Perspectives on Learning to Write in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Multimedia Environments at the Tertiary Level in China

Abstract

This study examined Chinese university students' metacognitive knowledge systems of EFL writing in multimedia environments and analysed the effects of strategy-based pedagogical instruction on their metacognitive awareness and development of EFL writing. It used a mixed-methods design involving quantitative and qualitative data. Two phases were involved in the study. The first was an exploratory stage in investigating student writers' metacognitive systems. Data were collected from undergraduate non-English-major students (n = 367) at a Chinese university using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory of EFL Writing in Multimedia-mediated Environments (MAIME) to establish their metacognitive awareness about EFL writing in multimedia environments. Findings indicated that these Chinese university student EFL writers' metacognitive systems appeared to be consistent with Flavell's initial definition of metacognition with some variability. The metacognitive fundamental components included metacognitive knowledge (person, task, and strategy), metacognitive experiences (positive and negative), and metacognitive regulations (planning, monitoring, and evaluating). Multiple regression analyses of these patterns revealed that metacognitive strategies (planning, monitoring, and evaluating) made significant, independent contributions to predicting the participants' English language achievement. The second phase was a quasi-experimental intervention study using a matched experimental-control group design. It evaluated the impact of a metacognitive strategies-focused instruction on university students' achievement in EFL writing in multimedia environments. 64 EFL student writers, selected from two classes who participated in phase one, were assigned to the control group and the experimental group using random assignment. The participants in the experimental group (n = 32) attended a 16-week EFL writing instructional programme, using a metacognitive awareness-raising guide, in multimedia environments. The control group (n = 32) did not receive metacognitive instruction. Participants in both groups completed essay-writing tests at pre-, post-, and delayed post-intervention stages so that their changes in writing performance in multimedia environments were examined. Meanwhile, the Metacognitive Strategy Use in Multimedia Environments Questionnaire (MSUQ-ME) was administered to investigate their perceived use of metacognitive strategies immediately after the pre-and post-writing tests. A case study was also conducted with two participants invited from the experimental group. Data were collected via pre-and post-intervention through semi-structured interviews and journals documenting their learning of EFL writing throughout the programme. Findings indicated that participants from the experimental group reported a significantly higher frequency of using metacognitive strategies than the participants from the control group. The results also suggested that the metacognitive strategy-based instructional intervention contributed to the experimental group participants' improved performance in EFL writing. The writing achievement and metacognitive awareness about writing in multimedia environments was also evident for the two case-study participants. Findings suggest an intervention focused on metacognitive strategies can cultivate self-reflective and active writers with better academic performance in multimedia-mediated learning environments.