Task-based Meta-cognitive Instruction Approach to Self-regulation in Listening Comprehension

Improving listening comprehension skill is one of the urgent contemporary educational needs in the field of second language acquisition and metacognitive strategies are proved to help learners manage and self-regulate their listening and overcome deficiencies. Although metacognitive instruction is underscored by previous research, task-based metacognitive instruction is seriously under-researched. Given this, the present paper compared the efficacy of two task-based metacognitive instruction models on learners’ self-regulation in listening comprehension. Participants, 63 Iranian EFL learners, were selected by random sampling and were randomly divided into 2 experimental and 2 control groups. Over a fourteen-session term, experimental group 1 was taught using Integrated Experiential Learning Task (IELT), a strategy-nonintegrated task-based model (Goh, 2010), while experimental group 2 was taught using Metacognitive Pedagogical Cycle (MPC), a strategy-embedded task-based model (Vandergrift, 2004). Development of self-regulation in listening comprehension was tracked using Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and development of listening comprehension was measured using listening section of the Preliminary English Test (PET) administered at the beginning and end of the course. The listening section of the First Certificate in English (FCE) served as the listening transfer test. The statistical tests results revealed that both experimental groups significantly outperformed the control groups in listening comprehension and self-regulation listening comprehension with experimental group 1 having a higher effect size and showing significant gain on transfer test.