Raising L2 listeners’ metacognitive awareness: a sociocultural theory perspective

Abstract

Grounded in sociocultural theory, this article outlines a small-scale study exploring metacognitive awareness of second language (L2) listening. In each of five lessons, six pairs of advanced-level, adult, Japanese, EFL learners participated in a sequence of tasks involving the explicit verbalisation of strategies as part of a pedagogical cycle designed to stimulate their metacognitive awareness of the processes underlying L2 listening. Peer–peer dialogue was the central mechanism mediating the construction and co-construction of metacognitive awareness, and it also acted as the primary unit of analysis. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the pairs’ dialogue and corresponding diary entries illustrated that through, and in, dialogue as part of a structured pedagogical cycle, learners were afforded, and exploited, opportunities to enhance their metacognitive awareness of L2 listening.

Keywords:

• sociocultural theory
• peer–peer dialogue
• listening
• metacognitive awareness

Notes

1. The verbalising of metacognitive strategies in Holunga's study is implicit in the learners’ discussions. That is, they talk about their plans to correct mistakes (planning), corrections to mistakes (monitoring), and how well they did (evaluation).

2. Active attempts to recruit both male and female participants were made, but only females volunteered.

3. It is acknowledged that the learners’ responses to diary prompts also had the potential to raise their metacognitive awareness, but the primary artefact mediating development in this study was dialogue.