Evaluating the Effectiveness of Secondary School English Courses in Fostering Learners’ Metacognitive Awareness.

Abstract

Metacognitive awareness plays an important role in the language teaching and learning processes as well as in foreign languages. Hence, the current study aims at evaluating the extent to which the Algerian secondary school courses of English promote learners’ metacognitive awareness focusing on their reported nhancements in setting goals, planning, recognizing, modifying, and thinking of their strengths and weaknesses in their English learning process. For that reason, four research questions are posed: (1) Do secondary school language courses help learners in developing metacognitive awareness? (2) What are the challenges secondary school courses face in encouraging learners’ metacognitive awareness? (3) Do secondary school learners have problems with metacognitive awareness? (4) What are the pedagogical recommendations that could be provided to enhance the English courses’ ability in promoting students’ metacognitive awareness? Two questionnaires are designed for the purpose of answering these questions. One questionnaire is administrated to 40 teachers who have a dual experience in teaching at secondary school. The other questionnaire is distributed to a sample of 200 secondary school students. Both questionnaires include a form of a Likert scale that is aimed to answer the research questions. The data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics through SPSS software. The findings revealed that students acknowledged the positive and supportive role of their English language course in fostering their metacognitive awareness. However, the results of the teachers’ questionnaire showed many gaps in their current English language course, including lack of emphasis on learning planning, goal setting, and strategy application. Additionally, they pointed out that the course does not sufficiently assist students in identifying their areas of strength and weakness or in applying techniques like self-evaluation to enhance performance. To more successfully support students’ metacognitive development, teachers proposed that the course should be updated, include more engaging tasks, integrate technology, and provide professional development opportunities that help teachers to improve their teaching practices. Finally, these results showed that in order to improve students’ learning outcomes and foster metacognitive awareness, curricular modifications and teacher training are necessary.