A metacognitive perspective on the growth of self-regulated EFL student writers

Abstract

Research on metacognitive knowledge of the second language writer, briefly defined as a special type of knowledge that the writer possesses about the self, tasks, and strategies (Kellogg 1994), has shown that the availability and the nature of the knowledge base have a strong linkage with writing behaviours and performance. The present paper reports on an exploratory study that investigated this knowledge base of EFL student writers in terms of person knowledge, task knowledge, and strategic knowledge, within the broader context of the cognitive theory of writing. Data for the study consisted of learning journals of a group of Chinese undergraduate students who participated in a self-regulated EFL writing programme that aimed for developing effective and independent student writers. Findings show that engaging students in self-regulated writing contributed to the acquisition of the metacognitive knowledge of L2 writing in the three dimensions. Students' reshaping knowledge base was found consistent with the knowledge transforming approach of cognitive writing, and crucial to mature L2 composing processes.