The Role.of Beliefs and Metacognitive Awarenessin the Strategic Reading Behavior of ESLLearners

In the present study, the relationship between ESL advanced studentsʹ beliefs,metacognition and their strategic reading performance was examined. The study wasdivided into two phases. In the first phase of the study, three questionnaires wereused to investigate the relationship between metacognitive awareness and learnersʹbeliefs. In the second phase, learnersʹ strategic reading behavior was exploredthrough think-aloud protocol analysis, retrospective questions and interviews.Through correlational analyses conducted with the entire sample, it was clear thatsignificant positive correlations exist between BALLI and BAR (r =.393). The onewayAnova analyses indicated that the belief variables (BALLI and BAR) accountedfor a greater portion of total MQ variance (mean square =.141). The result of thesecond phase of the study indicated that though the rnetacognitive knowledge wasshown to play no significant role in the strategic reading behavior of the subjects, itproved useful in facilitating the reading performance of the readers. In short, thefindings of the study suggest an interaction between beliefs, metacognitiveknowledge and strategic reading behavior 0 f learners. This may mean that inreading instruction, a consideration of these variables can lead to better readingperformances.