2.3.1 metacognitionthis section first presents a definition of metacognition, then outlines a typology of types of metacognition, and finally provides a definition of metacognitive strategies and a classification of different metacognitive language learning strategies.
    2.3.1.1 definition of metacognition
    studies suggest that language learners have definite beliefs about how to learn a second language (wenden, 1986 & 1991; wenden & rubin, 1987), and that they are also capable of becoming aware of their mental processes (o'malley & chamot, 1989). these beliefs and this awareness are collectively called “metacognitive knowledge”by flavell (1979), who created the term “metacognition”.
    the concept of “metacognition”was first raised in developmental psychology in the 1970s. the prefix “meta”literally means “beyond”. metacognition therefore means “beyond cognition”. as early as 1978, john flavell, a cognitive psychologist, defined metacognition as “knowledge that takes as its object or regulates any aspect of any cognitive behavior” (flavell, 1978, p8). he then described metacognition as awareness of how one learns, awareness of when one does and does not understand, knowledge of how to use available information to achieve a goal, ability to judge the cognitive demands of a particular task, knowledge of what strategies to use for what purposes, and assessment of one's progress both during and after performance (gourgey, 1998, p.83-84). “it was the process of using cognitive processes to improve thinking skills. and it was called metacognition because its core meaning was cognition about cognition” (flavell, 1985, p.104).
    metacognition, as it relates to language learning, deals with learners being aware of the strategies they are using and monitoring the process and success of their learning while using cognitive strategies to learn language. anderson (2002, p.1) defines metacognition as “thinking about thinking”. as anderson stated, the use of metacognitive strategies ignites one's thinking and can lead to higher learning and better performance. furthermore, understanding and controlling cognitive process may be one of the most essential skills that teachers can help l2 learners develop.
    thus, metacognition in this study refers to monitoring, planning and evaluating the use of cognitive strategies in an l2 learning context.
    2.3.1.2 typology of metacognition
    in flavell's (1979) opinion, metacognition includes three components: metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experience and metacognitive regulation. metacognitive knowledge refers to the part of one's acquired world knowledge that has to do with cognitive matters. metacognitive experiences are conscious experiences that are cognitive and affective. metacognitive regulation refers to a set of activities that help students to control their learning. metacognitive regulation improves performance by encouraging better use of attentive resources, better use of existing strategies, and a greater awareness of comprehension breakdowns. it involves the application of metacognitive strategies like planning, monitoring, managing and evaluating the learning process, its products and use of strategies.
    according to anderson (2002), there are three major aspects of metacognition: metacognitive knowledge—knowledge or beliefs about what factors or variables act and interact in what ways to affect the course and outcome of cognitive activities; metacognitive experiences—conscious cognitive or affective experiences that accompany and pertain to the cognitive activities; and metacognitive strategies—setting goals, monitoring performance or comprehension and any problems that arise, and making decisions for appropriate subsequent action (rubin, 1990).
    both flavell's and anderson's accounts of metacognition distinguish three major components: metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experiences, and metacognitive strategies. these three components of metacognition work interactively, and the relationship among them is as follows:
    (a) metacognitive knowledge helps individuals to understand their experiences, which is a prerequisite for developing metacognitive experiences;
    (b) metacognitive experiences activate the relevant metacognitive knowledge in memory in order to participate in the current metacognitive activities and in this way have a dynamic effect on metacognitive knowledge;
    (c) the ever-changing store of metacognitive knowledge will make further metacognitive experiences possible;
    (d) metacognitive experiences provide the necessary information for the utilization of metacognitive strategies;
    (e) the utilization of metacognitive strategies will inspire new metacognitive knowledge; and
    (f) the utilization of metacognitive strategies enables individuals to accumulate new experiences when providing cognitive activities, which revise and replenish the stored metacognitive knowledge.
    2.3.1.3 metacognitive language learning strategies
    this section first makes an account of the definitions of metacognitive language learning strategies, and then describes in details the classification of different metacognitive language learning strategies.
    2.3.1.3.1 definitions of metacognitive language learning strategies
    metacognitive language learning strategies have been defined by researchers in different ways. brown (1987) defined metacognitive strategies as sequential processes that one uses to control cognitive activities, and to ensure that a cognitive goal (e. g., understanding a listening paragraph) has been met. these processes help to regulate learning. they are composed of planning and monitoring cognitive activities, as well as checking the outcome of those activities.
    ellis (1994) held the view that metacognitive strategies make use of knowledge about cognitive processes and constitute an attempt to regulate language learning by means of planning, monitoring, and evaluating, and thus have an executive function.
    wenden (1999) regarded metacognitive strategies as general skills including planning, monitoring, and evaluating, through which learners manage, direct, regulate, and guide their learning.
    cohen (1998) described metacognitive strategies as dealing with pre-assessment and pre-planning, on-line planning and evaluation, and post-evaluation of language learning activities and of language use events. such strategies allow learners to control their own cognition by coordinating the planning, organizing, and evaluating of the learning process.
    in comparison, the metacognitive language learning strategies described by oxford (1990) and o'malley and chamot (1990) are more detailed and comprehensive.
    according to oxford (1990, p.135), “‘metacognitive' means beyond, beside, or with the cognition. therefore, metacognitive strategies are actions which go beyond purely cognitive devices, and which provide a way for learners to regulate the learning process. ”they allow learners to control their own cognition, i. e., to modulate the learning process by centering, arranging, planning, and evaluating.
    o'malley and chamot (1990, p.44) believed that metacognitive strategies are higher order executive skills that may include planning for, monitoring or evaluating the success of a learning activity.
    2.3.1.3.2 classifications of metacognitive language learning strategies
    o'malley and chamot conducted a series of empirical studies (e. g., 1989) based on information processing theory and proposed a comprehensive list of learner strategies, of which the classification of metacognitive strategies is an important part. they distinguished the following:
    1. planning: previewing the organizing concept or principle of an anticipated task (advance organization) ; proposing strategies for handling an upcoming task; generating a plan for the parts, sequence, main ideas, or language function to be used in handling a task (organizational planning).
    2. directed attention: deciding in advance to attend in general to a learning task and to ignore irrelevant distracters; maintaining attention during task execution.
    3. selective attention: deciding in advance to attend to specific aspects of language input or situational details that assist in performance of a task; attending to a specific aspect of language input during task execution.
    4. self-management: understanding the conditions that help one successfully accomplish language tasks and arranging for the presence of those conditions, controlling one's language performance to maximize use of what is already known.
    5. self-monitoring: checking, verifying or correcting one's comprehension performance in the course of a language task.
    6. problem identification: explicitly understanding the central point needing resolution in a task or identifying an aspect of the task that hinders its successful completion. and
    7. self-evaluation: checking the outcome of one's own language performance against an internal measure of completeness and accuracy; checking one's language repertoire, strategy use, or ability to perform the task at hand. (o'malley & chamot, 1990, p.137-139)
    in o'malley & chamot's model, the above seven categories can be classified according to three stages: advance organization, on-line organization, and post-organization.
    planning, directed attention, selective attention, problem identification and self-evaluation can be grouped into advance organization which occurs prior to a learning task. planning is employed as an overall action before a long-term task, such as making a semester-listening plan at the beginning of a semester. it can also be a short and brief plan for a specific learning task, such as planning for how to listen to a passage and what strategies are appropriate for the task. directed attention in the advance organization stage involves deciding in advance where to direct one's attention in a task. it also functions as a reminder for learners to maintain attention during task execution. selective attention is used in advance organization to remind one to pay attention to some specific aspect of language input. problem identification is useful before executing a learning task, because it can make learning more problem-oriented and thus encourage learners to find ways to solve the problem. evaluation is generally agreed to occur after a language task, but it can also occur in advance when learners use it to evaluate how difficult a task is going to be and what strategy is appropriate in executing the task.
    the second group of metacognitive strategies involving on-line organization includes those strategies employed while learning is taking place. in o'malley & chamot's typology they include directed attention which students use to focus on a task while they are engaged in completing it. for example, students can employ directed attention during the while-listening stage to focus on the key words and ignore irrelevant ones. selective attention is also included in this category. this is used to help students attend to the target features or details during task execution. self-management is another metacognitive strategy used in online organization, which is applied to arrange and control one's language performance in order to make the best of what is already known. self-monitoring relates specifically to online organization. it is frequently employed to check, verify or correct one's comprehension or performance during completion of a task, for example, students use self-monitoring to check their understanding in the course of a listening task. furthermore, monitoring is not only confined to monitoring comprehension. monitoring is also employed to monitor task, strategy, production and so on.
    the last group of metacognitive strategies, post organization, typically involves self-evaluation, which is used to check the learning outcome or performance. self-evaluation takes the forms of production evaluation, performance evaluation, ability evaluation and strategy evaluation.
    similarly, oxford (1990) classified metacognitive strategies into three groups and they are further divided into eleven categories:
    1. centering your learning: overviewing and linking with already known material, paying attention, and delaying speech production to focus on listening;
    2. arranging and planning your learning: finding out about language learning, organizing, setting goals and objectives, identifying the purpose of language task, planning for language task, and seeking practice opportunities; and
    3. evaluating your learning: self-monitoring and self-evaluation. (p.137)
    in comparison to o'malley & chamot, oxford's classification of metacognitive strategies is simpler in terms of the three stages. arranging and planning one's learning involves advance-organization strategies such as finding out about language learning, organizing, setting goals and objectives, identifying the purpose of a language task, planning for a language task and seeking practice opportunities. centering one's learning is an on-line organization stage, which involves the strategies of overviewing and linking with the already known material, paying attention and delaying speech production to focus on listening. the last group in oxford's classification can be regarded as relevant to both on-line and post organization stages, since the two strategies—self-monitoring and self-evaluation are not only engaged in the course of task execution but also after completing a task.
    the two classifications of oxford and o'malley & chamot share much common ground in subdividing metacognitive strategies in terms of these three types of cognitive processes: advance organization, on-line organization and post organization, though they make use of different terms.
    based on previous research, anderson (2002) has proposed five categories of metacognitive language learning strategies, which include: preparing and planning for learning, selecting and using learning strategies, monitoring strategy use, orchestrating various strategies, and evaluating strategy use and learning.
    by preparation and planning in relation to their learning goal, students think about what their goals are and how they will go about accomplishing them. students, with the help of the teacher, can set a realistic goal within a set time for accomplishing a goal. setting clear, challenging, and realistic goals can help students see their own progress of language learning and hopefully, by becoming consciously aware of their progress, the students' motivation for language learning will increase.
    the metacognitive ability to select and use particular strategies in a given context for a specific purpose means that the learner can think about and make conscious decisions concerning the learning process. learners should be taught not only about learning strategies but also about when and how to use them. students should be instructed on how to choose the best and most appropriate strategy in a given language learning situation.
    the next category is monitoring strategy use. by examining and monitoring their use of learning strategies, students have a better chance of success in meeting their learning goals (anderson, 2002). students should be explicitly taught that once they have selected and begun to use the specific strategies, they need to check periodically whether or not those strategies are effective and being used as intended.
    knowing how to use a combination of strategies in an orchestrated fashion is an important metacognitive skill. research (e. g., wenden, 1998; vandergrift, 2003a) has shown that successful language learners tend to select strategies that work well together in a highly orchestrated way, tailored to the requirements of the language task. these learners can easily explain the strategies they use and why they employ them. based on o'malley, chamot & kupper (1989) claimed certain strategies or clusters of strategies are linked to particular language skills or tasks. for example, l2 listening comprehension benefits from strategies of elaboration, inferencing, selective attention, and self-monitoring.
    one of the most important metacognitive language learning strategies involves evaluating the effectiveness of strategy use. self-questioning, debriefing discussions after strategy practice, learning logs in which students record the results of their learning strategy applications, checklists of strategies and questionnaires that can be used to allow the student to reflect through the cycle of learning. at this stage of metacognition the whole cycle of planning, selecting, using, monitoring and orchestration of strategies is evaluated.
    anderson's (2002) classification of metacognitive language learning strategies can be seen to still reflect the three general aspects of metacognition, i. e., advance organization, on-line organization and post organization. preparing and planning for learning can be directly grouped into advance organization which occurs prior to a learning task. selecting and using learning strategies, monitoring strategy use, and orchestrating various strategies together represent the strategies involved in on-line organization. evaluating strategy use and learning can be regarded as both on-line and post organization stages, since it is not only engaged in the course of task execution but also occurs after completing a task. table 3 provides a summary model relating all of the three typologies.
    table 3 a summary model of the three typologies of metacognitive strategies
    it should be noted that different metacognitive language learning strategies interact with each other. the components are not used in a linear fashion. more than one metacognitive process along with cognitive ones may be working during a learning task (anderson, 2002). therefore the orchestration of various strategies is a vital component of l2 learning.