The Effect of Metacognitive Listening Instruction on EFL Young Language Learners’ Acquisition of Simple Past Tense

Abstract

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of metacognitive listening instruction on the young learners’ acquisition of simple past tense and to probe whether incorporating metacognitive listening instruction can affect young EFL learners’ beliefs about grammar learning. Thirty young elementary students, who were studying in a private language institute in Chalous, Mazandaran, Iran participated in the study. As to the data collection instruments, OPT, the pre- and post-tests, and semi-structured interview were used. Findings revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group after the intervention (i.e. teaching simple past tense through metacognitive listening), showing that the instruction was quite successful in assisting the learners to acquire simple past tense. The effective role of metacognitive listening instruction on the occurrence of change in the learners’ beliefs about grammar learning was also proved in that they held positive beliefs about grammar learning and changed their simplistic and less-positive beliefs. Not only should metacognitive listening instruction be recognized as an appropriate procedure to teach listening, it can also be applied in teaching grammar, as a ‘focus on form’ approach in which the learners are involved in the context of meaningful interaction.