Research Into The Impact Of Metacognitive Strategy Training On Autonomous Learning In EFL Of Junior Middle School Students

English Curriculum Standards of Compulsory Education(2011) noted: “The fundamental objective of education is to help students to become independent and autonomous learners. Leaning strategy is the indispensable prerequisite for the advancement of learning autonomy”(Ministry of Education, 2012: 21). Holec(1981) first proposed the conception of learning autonomy, and defined it as “the competence to take charge of one’s own study”. “Learning cannot be separated from students’ proactive participation. Students should be the regulators. Planning, regulating, monitoring and assessing are essential skills and competence for continuous learning.”(Richards & Rodgers, 2008:199) A number of researches have demonstrated that metacognitive strategies are significant for the advancement of autonomous learning(Wenden, 1985; Wang Duqin, 2002).The author of this paper practiced English teaching in Luohe Foreign Language Middle School for a whole term. At the beginning of this practice, the author found that the students excessively relied on the instruction and supervision of the teacher, which hindered the advancement of autonomous learning. Therefore, an action research was planned in order to explore the impact of metacognitive strategy(MS) training on students’ autonomous learning in EFL. In consequence, two research questions were put forward in this research:(1) What is the current circumstance of students’ autonomous learning and the application of MS in EFL learning?(2) What changes may take place in students’ autonomous learning after the training of MS?Throughout the five-month action research, 60 students from one class in Luohe Foreign Language Middle School are taken as the research subjects. Questionnaires, tests, interviews, students’ learning journals and classroom observation have been employed throughout the whole action research to study the variations of students’ metacognitive strategies, mainly formulating plan, setting up objectives, self-monitoring and self-assessment. The questionnaire survey and random interviews were carried on in the first place, followed by the training of MS, which sustained nearly 17 weeks, aiming to facilitate the awareness of using MS as well as the autonomous learning ability. The training program was devised from the following three aspects closely associated to autonomous learning: establishing learning objectives and plans, monitoring and regulating learning process as well as reflecting and evaluating learning process and outcomes. After the MS training, the author carried through the questionnaire and interview for the second time. Research results were prudentially gathered and analyzed through the writer. Research results demonstrated that the autonomous learning of a number of students were facilitated distinctly with the capability of establishing and completing learning plans, monitoring their English learning process and evaluating their own English learning. Meanwhile, students’ positive attitude towards autonomous learning and confidence in English learning were strengthened as well. Moreover, the consequence of twice questionnaires and tests revealed that the MS training could not only enhance students’ application of MS as well as autonomous learning, but also to some extent accelerate students’ English achievement.