The Relationship between Metacognitive Awareness and L2 Listening Comprehension Performance in Junior High School Students

Abstract

This study delved into the relationship between metacognitive awareness and second language (L2) listening comprehension performance in junior high school students. Moreover, the relationships between subcomponents of metacognitive awareness (i.e., planning, problem solving, monitoring and evaluation) and L2 listening comprehension were scrutinized. To this end, 106 junior high school students from six intact classes were selected. After selecting the participants, their level of proficiency was checked through Oxford Placement Test. Next, they were requested to answer a listening comprehension test. One week later, the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) was administered to the participants. The results revealed a significantly positive relationship between L2 listening comprehension and metacognitive awareness (r = 0.316, p < .01). The results also showed the highest correlation coefficient between problem solving and listening comprehension (r = 0.374, p < .01). The results imply that EFL teachers should consider not only cognitive variables, but also metacognitive variables in EFL listening comprehension.