Abstract
While most research investigated the transfer of literacy-related skills from L1 to L2, little research has explored the reverse transferability of metacognitive strategies. This study examined whether explicit training in metacognitive writing strategies in English (L3) would improve trilingual learners’ writing outcomes in English (L3), French (L2), and Arabic (L1). The study used a pre-/post-test research design with 60 twelfth-grade students conveniently selected from a state high school. The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a comparison group. Both groups were assigned an academic essay in English, French, and Arabic to evaluate their academic writing performance and were administered an adapted version of the Questionnaire on Language Learners’ Metacognitive Writing Strategies in Multimedia Environments (Zhang & Qin, Metacognition in Language Learning and Teaching 9(2):157-178, 2018) to measure their use of metacognitive writing strategies during the writing process in the target languages. Only the treatment group benefitted from explicit writing strategy-based instruction in English. One-way-MANOVA was utilized to analyze data and compare metacognitive writing strategies use and the writing scores in all the study languages before and after the intervention. Results indicated that the experimental group obtained higher means in metacognitive writing strategies use and better writing scores than the control group in all the languages after the treatment. Accordingly, we argue for a multilingual approach to writing pedagogy that establishes a connection between the many languages taught at school to facilitate the transfer of writing skills and strategies across different languages.
摘要
雖然大多數的研究探討了L1到L2素養相關技巧的遷移，鮮少有研究探討後設認知的反向遷移。本研究探討了顯性的英語(L3)後設認知寫作策略的訓練是否能提升三語學習者的英語(L3)、法語(L2)、阿拉伯語(L1)的寫作成果。本研究採用前後測的研究設計，從一個州立高中選擇了60名12年級的學生，受試者被隨機分配到實驗組跟控制組。兩組均被分配了一篇英語、法語、阿拉伯語的學術論文，以評估他們的學術寫作表現，並接受了《多媒體環境中語言學習者後設認知寫作策略問卷》（Zhang & Qin，2018），來評量他們運用目標語言時後設認知寫作策略的使用情況。只有實驗組受益於顯性寫作策略的英語教學。本研究採用單因子多變量變異數分析來進行數據分析，並且比較干預前後後設認知寫作策略的使用情況及所研究的語種之寫作得分。研究結果顯示，與控制組相比，實驗組在進行干預後，所有語種的後設認知寫作策略使用和寫作得分上均獲得更高的平均值。因此，我們主張多語寫作教學法能在學校所教授的多種語言間建立關係，促進不同語言間寫作技巧和策略的遷移。
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Appendices
Appendix A: The Writing Tasks: A Sample of One Participant’s Essays in English, French, and Standard Arabic before and after the Metacognitive Writing Strategy Training
The English Writing Task (1 hour)
-Write an essay about the advantages of using technology in education. The essay should be around 250 words.
The French Writing Task (1 hour)
-Rédigez un essai (250 mots) sur les avantages de l'apprentissage des langues étrangères telles que l'anglais, le français et l'espagnol.
[Write an essay on the benefits of learning foreign languages such as English, French, and Spanish].
The Arabic Writing Task (1 hour)
أكتب موضوعا في حدود 250 كلمة تبرز من خلاله الآثار السلبية لألعاب الفيديو
[Write an essay of about 250 words that highlights the negative effects of video games.]
Appendix B: The Questionnaire
An adapted version of the Questionnaire on Language Learners’ Metacognitive Writing Strategies in Multimedia Environments (Zhang & Qin, 2018). Our adaptation is in italics.
Instructions
Read the statements below and reflect on what strategies you used or did not use during the writing process of the academic writing task you have just completed. You are kindly requested to read each item, think about your experience during the writing process of today’s writing task, and indicate how much you agree or disagree with these statements. Please circle the number that matches your answer. The numbers mean the following:
To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
1 = strongly disagree.
2 = disagree.
3 = slightly disagree.
4 = partly agree.
5=agree.
6 = strongly agree.
Planning (Pre-writing)
Before I started writing an essay | strongly disagree | disagree | slightly disagree | partly agree | agree | strongly agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. I had a plan in my mind for how I was going to structure each paragraph in my essay | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
2. I made an outline, including a list of the key points of view that I want to include in my essay | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
3. I planned what language features I was going to use in my essay with reference to the writing topic | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
4. I thought about the goal I wanted to achieve in my writing (e.g. to use a new word or a new sentence structure I have learned, to avoid a mistake I had made before, or to get a high score, etc.) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
5. I thought about how much time I should spend on each part of the essay | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
6. I brainstormed ideas without breaking up my thought | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
7. I activated my prior knowledge and tried to think of relevant materials and experiences | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Monitoring (While Writing)
When I was writing | strongly disagree | disagree | slightly disagree | slightly agree | agree | strongly agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8. I tried to focus my attention on choosing appropriate words and phrases | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
9. I tried to think about whether the arguments followed the instruction of the essay | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
10. I tried to mark the places in the composition with different colors […] that I thought required revision. I wouldn’t revise them until I had completed my writing because I wouldn’t like to break into my thoughts | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
11. I tried to think about how much time I had remaining, adjusting my time arrangements to ensure the completion of the writing task | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
12. I tried to think about how to connect different parts of my essay (e.g. using transitional words) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
13. I tried to think about whether I was using the correct grammar (e.g. tenses, prepositions, etc.) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
14. I tried to think about whether I was using appropriate punctuation as well as the letter case. I tried to think about whether I was using appropriate punctuation as well as the letter case | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
15. I tried to correct the mistakes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
16. I tried to think about how many arguments I should have in the essay | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
17. I tried to seek help from a […] dictionary if I did not know how to express my own opinions | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
18. I tried to think about what parts my essay should have | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
19. I tried to monitor my writing actively, focusing my attention on the current writing task to avoid being distracted by other irrelevant information | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Evaluating (Post-writing)
After I finished writing | strongly disagree | disagree | slightly disagree | slightly agree | agree | strongly agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
20. I reread my essay and made sure that the language of my essay was clear | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
21. I reread my essay and made sure that the organization was easy to follow | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
22. I reread my essay and made sure that I had covered the content fully before I submitted it to my teacher | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
23. I thought back to how I write, and about what I might do differently to improve my […] writing next time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
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Razkane, H., Sayeh, A.Y., Diouny, S. et al. The Impact of Explicit Metacognitive Writing Strategy Training in English (L3) on Arabic-French–English Trilingual Learners’ Writing Outcomes. English Teaching & Learning (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-023-00156-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-023-00156-7
Keywords
- Explicit instruction
- Language transfer
- Metacognition
- Writing strategies
- Writing performance
- Trilingual learners