Metacognitive Regulations in Adult Vocabulary Acquisition

Metacognitive Regulations in Adult Vocabulary Acquisition

AZMAN MOKHTAR, Ahmad
MOHD RAWIAN, Rafizah

This study examines the relationship between metacognitive regulation and the acquisition of passive vocabulary knowledge among Malaysian adult ESL learners. Metacognitive regulation involves decisions about planning, monitoring, or/and evaluating the best ways to acquire English vocabulary. Two entities make up metacognitive regulation in this study namely selective attention such as making notes of words which seem important, and self-initiation such as reading other English reading materials besides textbooks to expand one’s vocabulary knowledge. The metacognitive regulation level of the ESL learners is analyzed using the Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire. Simultaneously, their passive vocabulary knowledge is assessed using the Vocabulary Levels Test. Passive vocabulary knowledge is usually defined as what one needs to know about a word in order to use it in reading and listening. 360 university students aged between 18 to 21 years old were involved. Though metacognitive regulation is not that preferred by the respondents, it positively and significantly correlates with passive vocabulary knowledge. Further discussion focuses on the significance of metacognitive regulation in vocabulary acquisition. This paper concludes with a discussion on the pedagogical implications of these results.

Article
PeerReviewed

IBU Publishing

2013-05-03

1708