The Effect of Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategy Use on Iranian EFL Learners' Receptive Skills

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use on EFL learners’ receptive language skills. The participants of the study were 60 Iranian EFL intermediate students. They were selected from a pool of 90 students (both male and female, between 18 to 31 years old) with different levels of proficiency. At the beginning of the study, the learners took a pretest on general English. All 90 students were invited to take a PET test which included four parts: reading, writing, speaking, and listening test. According to their performance on PET, the 60 students whose scores ranged from 120 to160 were selected as the participants of the study. In order to find out what cognitive and metacognitive strategies had effects on students’ listening and reading performance, a questionnaire was employed. Multiple regressions were also used to analyze the data and find possible answers to the research questions. The findings revealed that both listening and reading comprehension scores of the participants were positively and significantly correlated with cognitive and metacognitive strategy use. The findings are discussed and some pedagogical implications for language teachers are drawn upon.