Investigating Students' Perceptions about the Effect of Metacognitive Strategies on Reading Comprehension

Abstract

Reading is an important skill to be implanted in the students’ educational spirit; thus, it is still perceived as a very complex paradigm. Due to the complexity of acquiring this skill, many students still face reading comprehension problems. To address this issue, the current research has been initiated to raise learners’ awareness about the use of metacognitive strategies as a tool that might improve their reading comprehension ability. The hypothesis states that using metacognitive strategies appropriately would enhance students’ reading comprehension and the more students have a positive perception about metacognitive strategies, the more likely they would use them to improve their reading comprehension. To test this hypothesis two questionnaires were administered; one for teachers and the other for students. The former was given to know the teachers’ opinions about their learners’ reading comprehension level and whether they teach them how to implement these strategies; whereas, the latter was handed out to know if students implement metacognitive strategies while reading. The data gathered demonstrate that third year English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Mila university center have a positive perception about metacognitive strategies though they do not use them frequently and they are not completely aware of their cognition, and ability to adjust their cognitive resources to achieve good reading outcomes. From the results, the research proves that more attention should be given to metacognitive strategies in the classroom, and that reading should be included in the curriculum. This modest study can provide a platform for future implementation of metacognitive strategies in Mila university center; it predicts the readiness of the third year EFL students to receive instruction in metacognitive strategies. Furthermore, it encourages the teachers to include reading in the curriculum as a separate module where learners can have ample time to learn and practice these strategies.