1 research outputs found
FOSTERING AWARENESS OF COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES IN TWO FOREIGN LANGUAGES (ENGLISH AND ARABIC)
This study attempted to find out the impact of Cognitive and Metacognitive
Reading Strategy Instruction (CMRSI) in L2 (English) in increasing the
awareness and use of these reading strategies not only in L2 in which the
CMRSI was given but also in L3 (Arabic) in which no CMRSI was given as
a result of transfer of reading strategies from L2 to L3. It also aimed to find
out which strategy items were most and least improved both in L2 and L3 as
a result of CMRSI in L2. Fifty five fourth-grade high school male students
majoring in math-physics took part in this study. As the reading process is
believed to be the same across languages (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2004), the
participants were put into two groups of low and high awareness of reading
strategies in L1 (Persian). Then, they were given reading comprehension
tests in L2 and L3 as triggers for the main instrument (i.e., cognitive and
metacognitive reading strategy questionnaire) in English and Arabic. After
this pretest stage, the two groups underwent the CMRSI. The same pretest
instruments were also given to the students as posttest. It was found that
there was a significant difference in the awareness and use of cognitive
and metacognitive reading strategies from pretest to posttest in English
and Arabic for students of low and high strategic reading competence
level. However, this improvement was not necessarily the same for different
strategy items. It is important to teach reading strategies in L2 as it will have
effect on increasing awareness of strategies both in L2 and in L3 as a result of transfer of reading strategies from one language to another. However, as
not all strategy items show the same improvement from pretest to posttest,
more attention should be paid to the item by item analysis of strategies
after CMRSI to maximize students’ awareness of all strategy items equally