Use of Cognitive Strategies in Reading: A Descriptive Study on EFL Learners’ Metacognition

Regulation of cognition (Schraw & Dennison, 1994) that involves planning and strategy use of individuals is one of the two aspects of metacognition. Language programs are likely to promote learners’ cognitive skills such as thinking critically or use of strategies, thus, metacognition is also involved in second language research (eg., Ellis, Denton & Bond, 2014; Zhang, 2001). One of the language skills in which strategies are commonly used is reading, so various strategies are taught in language classes. Although reading strategies are part of instruction in language teaching, it is still unexplored how or to what extent learners use them especially in EFL setting (Yayli, 2016). Thus, this paper presents a descriptive study that explores both EFL learners’ strategy use and cognitive processes while reading. Participants of the study were 30 students (15 high level learners and 15 low-level learners) learning English at the language program of a state university in Turkey. The participants were taught three global reading strategies in a five-week study and their strategy use was examined through think-aloud protocols after presenting them reading passages appropriate for their levels. Overall, findings put forward that strategy use in reading was related to being a good or bad reader rather than language proficiency and instruction was found to play a role in these learners’ strategy use