On The Application Of Metacognitive Strategies In Web-based Self-access Learning Of College English

To adapt to the new situation characterized by the development of higher education of our country, the Ministry of Education issued College English Curriculum Requirements (For Trial Implementation) in 2004 to further deepen college English teaching reform, according to which colleges and universities are required to take full advantage of multimedia and computer technology to reform teaching methods, and cultivate students' autonomous learning abilities so as to improve their comprehensive ability of English.The thesis begins with a review of literature and previous studies of learner autonomy, learning strategies, metacognitive strategies, listening comprehension, the relation of listening comprehension and matecognitive strategies, where the inter-relationships of these terms are explored. The author holds that metacognitive strategies are of vital importance to students in effective self-access learning. However, students' awareness and application of such strategies are not conscious enough or satisfactory, and the effects of their self-access learning are not satisfactory as a result.Based on the conflict between metacognitive strategies as requirements of self-access learning and deficiencies of students' use of such strategies, the author conducted a survey to 450 of non-English majors of Grade 2007 in Guangxi University, and interviews to another 6 non-English majors of the same grade. Both the questionnaire and the interviews are around the core of metacognitive strategies, concerning students' motives towards English study, their attitudes and beliefs towards self-access learning and actual practice of metacognitive strategies in self-access learning. Research questions include:1. How do freshmen consciously or unconsciously apply metacognitive strategies?2. What are the problems existing in freshmen's applying metacognitive strategies in their self-access learning process? 3. What can teachers do to help freshmen overcome these problems and cultivate their consciousness of using metacognitive strategies in self-access learning?Through data analysis, the author draws the conclusion that there are many problems existing in subjects' application of metacognitive strategies; metacognitive strategies are important in promoting learner autonomy; teachers should provide more help and guidance in self-access learning. Based on the conclusion, the author suggests that teachers should give instruction of metacognitive strategies combined with cognitive strategies to enhance students' awareness and use of metacognitive strategies, help them overcome difficulties in self-access learning and make them adaptable to the web-based environment; teachers should also arouse learners' awareness of themselves by helping them with identifying their learning styles and motivational issues so that learners can choose proper strategies to use accordingly; finally, teachers should give students extra tasks and ask them to make record of their learning to improve their metacognitive strategy application.