An Experimental Study On Application Of Metacognitive Strategy Training In Web-based Self-access Listening

As we all know, great changes have taken place in the field of English language teaching in recent years. Among the changes, the important shift is from teacher-centered classroom instructions into the student-centered autonomous learning. Especially with the further deepen of college English teaching reform, most of colleges and universities have been making full use of multimedia and IT technologies to set up self-access learning centers progressively, which undoubtedly brings challenges to both teachers and students. For teachers, the urgent thing is how to cultivate students' autonomous competence so as to improve their English in all-round way. For students, the necessary lies in how to quickly adapt to the new teaching model and actively engage in the college English learning. Therefore, it is of vital importance for teachers to teach and train their students some learning strategies to foster their autonomous competence. The author of this thesis holds the view that metacognitive strategies are the basic requirements for a successful autonomous learning. That's one of the reason of why the author of this thesis chose this topic as her research field.In the past twenty years, there are many scholars who have researched on the topic of application of metacognitive strategies training in different aspects of English study, however, there are few who explore the application of the metacognitive strategies training in listening especially in the context of web-based self-access learning. Therefore, the author of this thesis carried out an experimental study, in attempting to put forward a new perspective in self-access learning—application the metacognitive strategies training in the web-based self-access listening so as to improve learners' autonomous competence in self-access listening. The author chose questionnaires, interviews and tests as the main instruments of her research and started her investigation by giving out two pre-training questionnaires (Questionnaires on Application of Metacognitive Strategies in Listening and Questionnaire on Autonomous Listening Competence) to 93 students who are non-English majors in Grade 2008 of Shang Dong University at Weihai. Her purpose of issuing those two pre-training questionnaires is to try to find out the real situation of students' metacognitive strategies using and their present autonomous competence.84 valid questionnaires were collected with the response rate of 90.3%. During the same week, a pre-test was hold by using the listening comprehension part of Cet-4, Dec, 2007. The data from two pre-training questionnaires and students' pre-test scores were later analyzed by SPSS17.0. Based on the information reflected that most students had medium frequency of applying metacognitive strategies in their listening and poor autonomous listening competence, the author conducted a series of experimental study on metacognitive strategy training. At the beginning, all the 93 subjects are divided into a control class and an experimental class. Next, a 16-week metacognitive strategy training program was underway among the experimental class, in hope that it might improve their autonomous competence in listening and their listening proficiency at the same time.Based on the assumption that metacognitive training could promote autonomous competence, the research focuses on the following questions:1.What is the present situation of Non-English major freshmen's metacognitive strategy using? 2. Are there any differences of metacognitive strategy use between boys and girls? If there are, what are they? 3. Are there any differences of metacognitive strategy use between students in majors of Liberal Arts and Natural Science? If there are, what are they? 4. Are there any differences on the effectiveness of metacognitive strategy training on students of different levels? 5. What is the most effective and efficient way of promoting autonomous competence in metacognitive training?16weeks later, the same two post-training questionnaires were issued again to the experimental class and a post-test were hold in both of the two classes. The later results from quantitative analysis reflected that metacognitive strategy training did have some positive effects and it could be possibly woven into the actual self-access listening. After the quantitative analysis,6 subjects from the whole 93 participants were interviewed for in-depth study. Combining the qualitative and quantitative analysis together, the following conclusions were released out:First, consciously or unconsciously the first year college students use some of metacognitive strategies in their listening. However, total frequency just medium. Among three subcategories of metacognitive strategies, self-monitoring is the most frequently used by the 84 subjects (mean=3.39); the second frequently used strategy is self-planning (mean=3.15); the lowest frequency (mean=2.77) goes to self-evaluation, which is the least used ones.Second, among 84 students in experimental class and control class, there are 43 boys and 41 girls. The total mean for boys is 3.23 and the total mean for girls is 3.30 which are very close to each other and both belongs to medium frequency. As for the frequency of three subcategories of metacognitive strategies, self-planning (boys' mean=3.10, girls' mean=3.18, both boys and girls' frequency belong to medium), self-monitoring (boys' mean=3.43 belongs to medium frequency, girls' mean=3.54 belongs to high frequency), self-evaluating (boys' mean=3.23, girls' mean=3.30, both belong to medium frequency). The differences on the frequency of three subcategories of strategy use indicate that girls are good at planning, monitoring and evaluating their study, while boys are a little bit weaker in those aspects. Independent samples of T-test of the pre-testing scores based on gender differences could tell the differences of the metacognitive strategy using between boys and girls clearly. With t=.857 and p=.394>.05 reflects mean difference between boys and girls is not significant. In other words, they have the similar frequency on the metacognitive use in listening.Thirdly, students majoring in Liberal Arts (mean=3.64) use metacognitive strategies more frequently than in Natural Science (mean=3.29), and there was significant difference between the two majors. (t=4.093, p=.000<.05). For the three categories of metacognitive strategies, all of which reached the statistical significant level:self-planning (t=2.680, p=.009<.05), self-monitoring (t=4.993,p=.000<.05), self-evaluating(t=3.888, p=.000<05). That means there was significant difference in the use of three subcategories between Liberal Arts majors and Natural Science majors. The frequency of all three subcategories use for students majoring in Liberal Arts is higher than students majoring in Natural Science.Fourthly, metacognitive strategy training had various degree of effectiveness on students from different levels. In order to confirm it scientifically, the author had some analyses on students' post-training questionnaires. She found out students of different levels in experimental class have different degree of increase on frequencies for their metacognitive strategy use. As for the first category of metacognitive strategy self-planning, the intermediate level students' increase rate (17.6%) is the highest. For the second category self-monitoring, the low level students'increase rate (22%) is the highest. The third category self-evaluation, the highest increase rate goes to low level students (18%). The total increase rate of high, intermediate and low level students are respectively 12.6%,14.4% and 16.8%. (See Table5.8) In other words, low level students benefit most from the training.In order to find out different degree of effects on different levels students, the author use one-way AVON analysis. Statistic values released that there were significant differences within the three groups and at least one group is totally different from the other two groups. (F=6.371, P=.003<.05). Later, the author found out that there was no significant difference between students of high level and intermediate level in the effectiveness after training (P=.424>.05). Also, there was no significant difference between intermediate level students and low level students in the effectiveness after training (P=.071>.05). However, Statistics shows there was great difference between high level and low level students in the effectiveness after training (P=.002<.05).Fifthly, a suggested metacognitive strategy training model came out, which includes five main steps with specific procedures in each step. And in the author's view, is very suitable for the self-access listening and could be easily conducted. (See Figure 4.8)To draw a conclusion, metacognitive strategy training enabled the students know how to decide when and where and how to use appropriate strategies in autonomous listenining, increased their strategic competence, arouses their interests in English learning and their autonomous competence was greatly improved. In a word, enhancing the metacognitive strategies training should be the major concern for the teachers especially in the context of web-based self-access learning.