A Survey On English Metacognitive Learning Strategies Of Senior High School Students From The Perspective Of Cognitive Developmental Theory

It is clearly proposed in the English Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools(2017 Edition)that metacognitive strategies help students plan,monitor,evaluate,reflect on and adjust their learning process,and improve their autonomous learning ability.In the process of learning,metacognitive strategies can not only improve students’ autonomous learning ability,but also improve their learning efficiency.From the perspective of cognitive development theory,this study explores the application and development of metacognitive strategies in the English learning process of senior high school students.The research mainly focuses on the following three questions:(1)What is the overall situation of senior high school students using English metacognitive learning strategies?(2)What are the differences in metacognitive strategies used by students of three grades in high school? Does the metacognitive level of high school students improve with the increase of age and teachers’ guidance?(3)What problems do English teachers have in metacognitive strategy cultivating?In this study,a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis method is used to explore the use and development of metacognitive strategies in the English learning process of students from a senior school by means of questionnaires,interviews,classroom observation and analysis methods of description and differences.The results of the study are as following:(1)Senior high school students use metacognitive strategies less frequently in English learning,especially planning strategies,reflective strategies and adjustment strategies;Students with excellent academic performance use metacognitive strategies more frequently than students with lagging academic performance.(2)Higher grade students use metacognitive strategies more frequently than lower grade students.Lower grade students use less planning strategies,monitoring strategies,reflection and adjustment strategies in English learning;the level of metacognitive strategies used in combination by senior students is higher than that of junior students,but the differences are not obvious.(3)On the whole,senior high school English teachers are more casual in the metacognitive learning strategy guidance to students,without systematic planning,lack of correct guidance methods.Teachers usually give centralized guidance to students at the beginning of the new terms,before and after the exams,and give individual guidance to students when they find problems.However,they seldom take into account the differences in students’ cognitive style and English level,so individual guidance to students is mostly one-off and lacks follow-up.Due to the above reasons,most students’ English metacognitive learning strategies have not been developed as they should.