A Study On The Effectiveness Of Meta-cognitive Strategy In High School English Writing Teaching

Cultivation of students' writing competence is one of the most significant components in high school English teaching.As a form of output,writing,to a large extent,reflects students' language ability.Besides,it mirrors students' comprehensive language competence,and therefore,becomes an integral part of the college entrance examination.Despite its undeniable importance,problems do exist in senior middle school writing instruction,especially in rural high schools.Previous researches show that students'writing achievements rely heavily on whether effective writing strategies are adopted,among which meta-cognitive strategy,as a higher order strategy,is expected to help learners plan,monitor,adjust and evaluate the writing process by themselves,and improve their writing in the long run.This research is dedicated to finding out whether meta-cognitive strategies are beneficial in improving senior middle school students'writing performance,and aims at promoting senior middle school students' English writing competence.This thesis is both theory-based and empirical.In theoretical part,it reviews the history and development of writing instruction and meta-cognitive(strategy)theory both in China and abroad.Meanwhile,it highlights the necessity of integrating meta-cognitive strategy in writing instruction.In practical research,three questions are discussed,namely,how frequent is meta-cognitive strategy used in senior middle school English writing,in what aspects are meta-cognitive strategy effective when used to promote students' writing,and how to construct a meta-cognitive based writing instruction mode?The research is carried out in a local senior middle school.In order to have a general knowledge of the students' meta-cognitive level,a survey is conducted and as the result reveals,while students' meta-cognitive level is generally on the rise during senior middle school,it is far from satisfactory.To understand the effects of meta-cognitive strategy on senior middle school writing instruction and cultivate students' meta-cognitive awareness,an eight-week writing experiment based on meta-cognitive strategy training is conducted.In the experiment,students are informed of the meta-cognitive strategy theory,practice planning and setting goals for writing,monitor the whole process of writing and lastly,learn to evaluate the products of writing from a comprehensive angle.Surveys are carried out before and after the experiment to check students' meta-cognition development.Besides,students' writing experiences are recorded and analyzed.To conclude,since senior middle school students' meta-cognitive level remains at a low level,it's necessary that students be trained accordingly,which,as the writing experiment shows,proves fruitful,with students' writing scores improved and writing ability enhanced.Students generally attach greater importance to planning their writing and applying appropriate writing strategies.Consequently,their compositions achieve more accuracy in vocabulary and are better organized.What's more,this research has concluded a meta-cognitive based writing mode.Teachers can firstly cultivate students'meta-cognitive awareness,assist students in making short-term and long-term writing plans,guide students in monitoring and adjusting the whole writing process,encourage students to adopt a wide variety of assessment methods,and integrate meta-cognitive strategy in writing over a long period.Since the research has been conducted for a relatively short time,students' writing ability has not been significantly improved,indicating meta-cognitive writing instruction is a demanding task which calls for persistent efforts of both teachers and students.