RETHINKING CROSS-LINGUISTIC TRANSFER OF METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY AMONG MOROCCAN UNIVERSITY ESP STUDENTS

Mouchrif Hassan, Mokhtari Najat, Benzehaf Bouchaib

Abstract


The explicit instruction of Metacognitive Reading Strategies (MRSs) has emerged as a significant trend in educational cognitive psychology research. The scarcity of studies focusing on MRS instruction for enhancing reading comprehension among university-level English for Specific Purposes (ESP) students in Morocco prompted the current investigation. This study aimed to investigate the impact of MRSs on reading comprehension among Moroccan university ESP students and to examine the potential transfer of MRSs from L2 (French) to L3 (English) following an MRS-based intervention program. A total of 105 ESP students from a school specializing in management and artificial intelligence were recruited and divided into three groups: treatment group one (n=40), treatment group two (n=35), and a control group (n=30). The study employed a quasi-experimental design, utilizing pre-tests and post-tests, including reading comprehension tests in both L2 and L3 and the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory-Revised (MARSI-R) by Mokhtari et al. (2018). The ANOVA analysis demonstrated that the MRS program significantly enhanced the reading comprehension performance of ESP students (p<0.001). Notably, students with higher levels of English proficiency outperformed those with lower proficiency. Furthermore, the marked improvement in L3 reading comprehension scores (p<0.001) suggested the transfer of MRSs from L2 French to L3 English. Interestingly, the MARSI-R results indicated that language proficiency did not significantly affect strategy awareness, as both experimental groups (A1 & B1+) showed substantial improvements in their awareness of various MRSs. The study concludes with potential implications and recommendations for incorporating MRS instruction in the Moroccan ESP context.

 

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metacognitive reading strategies, explicit strategy instruction, ESP reading comprehension, strategy transfer, Moroccan ESP learners

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v9i6.5865

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