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Introduction
Metacognitive strategies are strategies that function to monitor or regulate cognitive strategies (Devine, 1993; Flavell, 1981). They involve knowledge about learning and controlling learning via planning, monitoring, evaluation, and the learning activity (Oxford, 1990). The basic concept of metacognition deals with the notion of thinking about thinking. Thinking can refer to both what the person knows and what the person is presently doing. It is, in fact, deliberate, planned, intentional, goal-directed and future-oriented mental processing that can be used to accomplish cognitive tasks (Flavell, 1981). According to Carrell, Gajdusek & Wise (1998), the first aspect of metacognition is knowledge of cognition and the second one in metacognition has to do with regulation of cognition. In the field of writing, regulation of cognition includes planning, monitoring, testing, revising, and evaluating strategies (Baker & Brown, 1984). In summary, metacognitive strategies can particularly be classified into three groups of planning (pre-writing), monitoring (during writing), and evaluating (post-writing) strategies, and each group has a variety of strategies that require writers’ metacognitive processing.
O’Malley and Chamot, the leaders of the topic under question, pointed out that “planning” is a procedure for conflict resolution among competing action statements that applies to the conditional clause in the production system. In other words, “planning” includes directing the course of language reception and production. Model pre-writing strategies for organizing thoughts, such as brainstorming ideas using a word web, or using a graphic organizer to put ideas into paragraphs, with the main idea at the top and the supporting details below it. Planning consists of five strategies: (1) Advance organizers; (2) Directed attention; (3) Selective attention; (4) Self-management; (5) Functional planning.
“Monitoring” can be marked as being aware of what one is doing. There is only one strategy in this subcategory: (6) Self-monitoring. “Evaluation” is mental process conscious inspection of learning outcomes, one's own progress in the new language. This category consists of only one strategy: (7) Self-evaluation. O'Malley and Chamot (2001) concluded that metacognitive strategies involve thinking about the learning process, planning for learning, monitoring the learning tasks, and evaluating how one has learned.
Individual differences are the variables that refer to learners and donate each one his/her individual singularity. The aim of investigating individual differences is to investigate the variety of intellect, shapes of cognitive procedure, and various intellectual functions (Sadeghi, Kasim, Tan, & Abdullah, 2012). Personality is documented as a very powerful category of individual differences since the individual is often measured based on their personality, which is explained below.
Personality can be defined as those characteristics of an individual that account for unswerving patterns of emotion, thought, and behavior (Pervin & John, 2001). It is generally perceived as composed of a series of personalities such as extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, and it is usually measured by means of some kind of self-report questionnaire (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1964). These have been applied to measure certain measurements of personality such as risk-taking, tolerance of ambiguity, etc. among L2 learners. In this study, only extraversion and introversion will be investigated. Each dimension of personality types represents a continuum; that is, individuals can be screened on the spectrum to be less or more, e.g. extroverted, but it is also possible to identify their idealized personality type.
According to Keswer (1987, p. 45), one of the reasons for inconsistencies in research results are the wide variety and dubious validity of the personality assessments which are used. He continues that many second language teachers somehow feel that a student with an extrovert personality is more successful as a second language learner than an introvert student. Language teachers reason that the extrovert will create more situations for himself to engage in conversation in the target language, and this will positively affect the development of the student’s proficiency in it. On the other hand, Scheibner-Herzig, Thiele, Jelinek and Kokoschka (1984) did not find any significant correlation between extroversion and the second language performance in English of West German high school students (p. 43).
According to Hjelle and Ziegler (1992) most of the efforts have been aimed at determining whether there are significant differences in behavior associated with individual differences along the introversion-extroversion continuum. Some empirically established ways in which introverts and extroverts have been found to differ include:
1. Introverts prefer theoretical and scientific vocations (e.g., engineering and chemistry), whereas extroverts tend to prefer people oriented jobs (e.g., sales and social work).
2. Introverts attain higher grades in college than extroverts. Also, students who withdraw from college for psychiatric reasons tend to be extroverts.
3. Introverts show higher arousal levels in the mornings, whereas extroverts show higher arousal levels in the evening. Furthermore, introverts work better in the morning, and extroverts work better in the afternoon (p. 284).
Writing is one of the four basic communication skills whose learning can lead to learning a second language. According to Bello (1997), writing increases language acquisition because learners deal with words, sentences, and other elements of writing to convey their ideas effectively and to reinforce the grammar and vocabulary they are learning in class. As Chastain (1988) states, writing is a kind of practice which helps writer to store the material in long-term memory, in other words, the vocabulary, grammar, and patterns are more easily learned through being carefully applied in a piece of writing. Undoubtedly writing is the most difficult skill for second language learners to master (Richards & Renandya, 2002). As a skill, production of a piece of writing which is coherent, fluent, and extended is probably the most difficult task to do with language, even for a native speaker (Nunan, 2003). Cumming (2006), emphasizing the role personality plays in writing, defined this skill as a “uniquely personal form of individual expression” (p. 473). The belief that each student, as an individual, has individual traits that uniquely influence his or her behavior and the difficulties most learners face in producing a coherent, fluent, and extended piece of writing persuades the present researchers to design this study focusing on EFL learners’ personality type and its effect on their writing ability.
This study through a review of related studies on the relationship between writing strategies, writing achievement, and personality traits, will aim to shed more light on the relationship between personality traits (extroverts vs. introverts), metacognitive strategies and writing achievement to draw attention to the need for further researches in this domain.
Statement of the Problem
With the status of English as an international language and the expansion in the use of English, an increasing number of second language learners are engaged in academic pursuits that require them to write compositions (Jalilifar, 2008, p. 114). Only a few of studies done (Shokrpour & Fallahzadeh, 2007) in Iran in the area of EFL writing problems have identified actual problems in the area of writing skills in terms of metacognitive strategies in general and planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies in particular. Whereas reading requirement is recreating the writer's intended meaning, not extending much beyond deciphering signs, writing puts a heavy burden on the writer to create meaning. In fact, the writer is responsible for providing appropriate cohesive devices for the reader's convenient track of the writer's logic.
One factor that has not received much attention in Iran is Metacognition. Livingston (1997, p.1) refers to the term ‘Metacognition’, which was first used by Flavell (1976), as “higher order thinking that involves active control over the thinking processes involved in learning”. Oxford (1990) believes, “Metacognitive strategies help learners manage: (1) themselves as learners, (2) the general learning process, and (3) specific learning tasks” (cited in Carter & Nunan, 2001, p.197).
Many EFL teachers complain and wonder why their students do not show considerable improvement in their writings every time they check the students’ writings. This shortcoming on the part of a student maybe partly due to lack of presence of metacognitive strategies to be taught. This study will mainly concern writing achievement among introvert and extrovert EFL learners.
Statement of the Research Question
In order to meet the objectives of introvert and extrovert (male and female) EFL learners’ writing achievement with planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies, the primary aim of this study will intend to find answers to the following question:
Does teaching planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies have any effect on introvert and extrovert EFL learners' writing achievement?
Planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies
Metacognitive strategies involve the ability of readers to behave mentally for directing and controlling their cognitive strategy processing for successful performance (Phakiti, 2003).
O’Malley and Chamot held that “planning” is a procedure for conflict resolution among competing action statements that applies to the conditional clause in the production system. In other words, “planning” involves in directing the course of language reception and production.
“Monitoring” is a response to ambiguity in comprehending language where an individual selects a best guess of the message's meaning based on available meaning. “Monitoring” can also be described as being aware of what one is doing. There is only one strategy in this subcategory: Self-monitoring. “O'Malley and Chamot (2001) concluded that metacognitive strategies involve thinking about the learning process, planning for learning, monitoring the learning tasks, and evaluating how one has learned.
Introvert and extrovert learners
According to Brown (2000), an extrovert is the dimension to which a person has a fundamental need to be presented in their self-image improvement, self-esteem, and a sense of completeness from another person. In contrast, introvert people are more fascinated in activities like writing, reading, and drawing than in activities, which require them to act in outgoing way like speaking, gossiping and so on (Naik, 2010).
Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary (2005) presents the following definitions for the two terms:
Introvert: A person who is more interested in his own thoughts and feelings than in things outside himself, and is often shy and unwilling to speak or join in activities with others.
Extrovert: A person who is more interested in what is happening around him than in his own thoughts and emotions.
Significance of the Study
Writing has an important role in helping students understand ideas and concepts. The results of a study carried out by Sommers (1999) at Harvard University showed that for most of the students, writing is a beneficial way to comprehend and use the ideas of the course. Although reading is a basic strategy to gather information, writing is the eventual communication strategy which leads to clarify ideas and thoughts.
Besides being a means of communication, writing also serves as a means of thinking, organizing knowledge or ideas, and learning. It is a complicated activity which includes different levels of composition task completion (Chen, 2002; Watskins, 2004). There exists no doubt that this skill, particularly for EFL learners, is a difficult skill to master because the students need to choose appropriate vocabulary, sentence , and paragraphs, and they also have to change these ideas into a readable text.
In most courses of English as a Second Language, the focus of attention is on improving the student’s skills abilities in speaking, listening and reading but the development of writing skill is often ignored (Edelsky & Smith, 1989). The results of some studies reveal that only 2% of ESL courses are involved in improving student’s writing skills (Harris, 1985). The mechanical aspects of writing such as syntax, punctuation, and spelling get the most attention, which is about 72% of this two percent. Yet, writing is considered an essential language skill for L2 learners (Hughey et al., 1983).
Chastain (1988) has declared that this kind of communication has a great importance in modern world, whether it is done by means of paper-and-pencil or advanced electronic mails. In advanced composition courses the emphasis is primarily placed upon writing as communication. Writing, in both communicative and practical sense, involves some features that lead to overall language learning (Chastain, 1988). Writing anything to be learned assists students practice and rehearse the material and store it in long-term memory.
Research shows that teaching study strategies in content courses improves learning. (Commander & Valeri-Gold, 2001; Ramp & Guffey, 1999; Chiang, 1998; El-Hindi, 1997; McKeachie, 1988). Research also shows that few instructors teach study strategies; they seem to assume that students have already learned them in high school—but they haven’t. (McKeachie, 1988). Rote memorization is the usual learning strategy—and often the only strategy—employed by high school students when they go to college (Nist, 1993).
Despite the fact that a multitude of research projects have strived to address the notion of introversion/extroversion from a range of varied perspectives (e.g. Bonner, et al., 2007; Salehi, 2010; Mitchell, et al., 2011), a fleeting glimpse through the literature on the issue reveals that most of the studies addressing the effect of introversion and extroversion (e.g. Busch, 1982; Shackleton & Fletcher, 1984), have tried to find the impact of this personality trait on facets like speaking ability and verbal fluency.
Thus, in order to take a somewhat unique approach to the study of this well-established learner variable, the present study grapples to explore the probable impact of introversion/extroversion on listening ability of Iranian EFL learners. The results of this study will show that serious pedagogical considerations have to be taken by syllabus designers to include teaching of planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies in order for the learners to reach higher achievement in writing a composition.
Delimitation and Limitation
Like other research studies, this prospective research will be conducted under prospective limitations.
In order to delimit the research:
– The study will focus only on the planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies and will not be concerned much with such a strategy as self-evaluation.
– The participants are limited to the Iranian intermediate EFL students at Tehran Institute of Technology.
– Adults are the participants of this study; hence, the findings may not necessarily be generalizable to other age groups.
Review of the Literature
Metacognitive strategy is a term used in information-processing theory to indicate an “executive” function and it refers to the strategy that is used by learners as the means to manage, monitor and evaluate their learning activities. To put it simply, metacognitive strategies are skills, approaches, and thinking and actions learners use to control their cognition and learning process. Researchers (Brown, 1983; O'Malley & Chamot 1990; Cohen, 1998) of foreign/second language learning shared similar view with regard to definition and function of metacognitive strategies. They all emphasized that the essential nature and general function of metacognitive strategies is planning, organizing, and evaluating one's own learning (Wu Hongyun & Liu Runqing, 2004).
Without any direct link to the metacognition, Busch (1982) explored the relationship between introversion-extroversion and English language proficiency of 105 adult school and 80 junior college learners in Japan. A Japanese version of EPQ and a nationally standardized English test, consisting grammar/vocabulary, reading, aural comprehension, and dictation, were used to collect the data. In general, no significant relationship was found between extroversion and language measures. Only, pronunciation, a subcomponent of the oral test, was significantly and negatively correlated with extroversion.
Lightbown and Spada (2006) state that many classroom teachers believe that in second or foreign language learning, extroverts are more successful than introverts, particularly in their communicative ability. In a study, Dewaele and Furnham (2000) found that extroversion is inextricably linked with fluency in second language (L2) production. Also, based on the findings of several studies, extroverts were found to be superior to introverts in short-term memory. Among them is the finding of Eysenck (1981) that to retrieve information from long-term memory introverts need more time than extroverts do.
Somehow related to language skills, Wakamoto (2007) examined the impact of extroversion/introversion and associated learner strategies on English language comprehension. He found that extrovert Japanese EFL learners used socio-affective strategies more frequently than introvert ones. Millot and Cranney (1973) in a study on relationship between personality type and learning style in reading comprehension found a significant link between personality types of introversion, intuition and perceiving and learning style. In another study, Kiany (1997) investigated the relationship between extroversion and English proficiency of 237 Iranian postgraduate students studying in English-speaking Countries. He used Persian version of EPQ; and TOEFL, IELTS, MCHE, and cloze tests. The results of his study showed a negative and a significant relationship between extroversion and TOEFL subcomponent of reading comprehension.
Ehrman and Oxford (1995) did a study investigating the relationship between personality type and language learning strategies with a larger sample. Their study showed that extroverts are different from introverts because of using more social strategies. Furthermore, Ehrman and Oxford (1990) found an important relationship between extroversion/introversion and learner strategies of 20 adults learning Turkish as a foreign language. They found that extroverts preferred social strategies such as asking for clarification, and functional practice strategies such as seeking practice opportunities outside of class while introverts preferred to learn alone and avoid social contacts and spontaneous situations.
Paktinat, (2005) found strong relationship between the subjects’ proficiency level and strategy use for five categories including memory, cognition, compensation, and metacognition. Although the relationship between metacognitive strategy use and the learners’ proficiency level has been emphasized in other studies, the present study aims to investigate the effect of metacognitive strategy use on learners reading comprehension performance. This study will specifically focus on the effect of instructing two metacognitive strategies, that is, planning and self-monitoring on EFL learners’ writing achievement.
Eysenck’s psychological questionnaire. The EPQ (Eysenck, Eysenck, & Barrett, 1985) is a validated 57 Yes/No item questionnaire to assess the personality traits of a person. The test provides the testees with three different scores: the E score which is related to how much extrovert a person is, the N score measuring the neuroticism, and the Lie score which tries to measure how socially desirable a person has wanted to prove to be. The E score is computed out of 24 since it consists of 24 items, the N score is out of 24, and the Lie score is out of nine.
For this study, only scale E will be needed since only this scale measures the extent of extroversion and introversion. In Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (EPI) which contains 24 questions, the students should read the questions and give the first answer which comes to their mind by writing yes or no.
To examine the individual trait in question, i.e. extroversion/introversion, the researchers will make use of Eysenck Personality Test (Eysenck, 1999), which is the shortened version of the last Eysenck test (1999). This test consists of two criteria known as psychoticism and extroversion/introversion. It should be emphasized that the questions used in the current probe are only those which have been developed for determining introversion and extroversion. According to what Eysenck reports in the test manual, the reliability of the questionnaire is 88% and 84% (for extroversion and introversion scale) and 61% and 62% (for psychoticism scale) for males and females, respectively.
Preliminary English Test (PET). To begin with, the researcher will utilize a sample PET to choose a homogenous sample of participants based on their level of proficiency prior to the study. PET consists of the four parts of reading and writing (paper 1), listening (paper 2), and speaking (paper 3). The first paper (reading and writing) takes one hour and 30 minutes. The reading part consists of five parts (35 questions) which test different reading skills with a variety of texts, ranging from very short notices to longer continuous texts. The test’s focus in this part is the assessment of candidate’s ability to understand the meaning of written English at word, phrase, sentence paragraph, and whole text level. Each of the questions in the reading part carries one mark so that this section comprises 25% of the total mark for the whole examination.
The writing part comprises three parts which test a range of writing skills. The test’s focus here is the assessment of candidates’ ability to produce straightforward written English, ranging from producing variations on simple sentences to pieces of continuous text. The section consists of eight questions. Questions 1-5 carry one mark each. Question 6 is marked out of five; and 7 and 8 are marked out of 15. This gives a total of 25 which represents 25% of the total mark for the whole examination.
Paper 2 (listening) allows 30 minutes. This part consists of four parts ranging from short exchanges to longer dialogues and monologues which will be heard by students two times. The test focus in this section is assessment of candidates’ ability to understand dialogues and monologues in both informal and neutral settings on a range of everyday topics. This part has 25 questions. Each item carries one mark. This gives a total of 25 marks, which represents 25% of the total mark for the whole examination.
The last paper which is speaking lasts for 10-12 minutes per pair of candidates. It has four parts. In first part, candidates interact with an examiner. In parts two and four, they interact with another candidate and in part three, they have an extended individual long turn. The test focus of the speaking part is assessment of candidates’ ability to express themselves in order to carry out functions as threshold level, to ask and to understand questions, to make appropriate responses, and to talk freely on matters of personal interest. Candidates are assessed on their performance throughout the test. There are a total of 25 marks in this paper, making 25% of the total score for the whole examination.
Furthermore, the test originally contains 67 items.
Writing Pre-test. A pre-test will be run at Tehran Institute of Technology to homogenize the participants in terms of their writing ability. Sixty participants (30 from the introvert group and 30 from the extrovert group) will sit the test. The researcher and another teacher will administer the test. The researcher will tell all the participants that he is doing some research and that they will have been chosen randomly to sit a diagnostic test on English language. (The participants will not be told that the test is to be based on the effect of teaching planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies on introvert and extrovert EFL learners' writing achievement so that the researcher can diagnose their real ability i.e. in order to avoid their preparing for that specific area). The result of the test will not affect their English achievement score at the Language School. They will also be informed that the aim of the test is to diagnose their common errors so that their teachers (after being informed of these errors and their causes) will help the students by preventive and remedial teaching.
Writing Post-test. The post-test will be conducted to measure the improvement of the participants’ writing ability using metacognitive strategies depending on whether they are introvert or extrovert. The same test (pre-test) will be administered to the both groups (60 participants) after six weeks of the treatment period. Since the purpose of the research is to improve students’ writing using teaching metacognitive strategies, the administration of the same test with a six-week interval will have a less possibility that students’ improvement is due to the fact that they could have been familiar with the topic.
The rubrics of the post-test will be similar to that of the pre-test in terms of the scoring procedure.
American English File, Second Edition, Level Three. American English File, second edition, provides six-level curriculum ranging from starter level to advanced one (starter level to level 5). This series enjoys engaging videos developing communication skills through real-life example and scenarios. Each level of curriculum contains 10 to 12 units depending on its level. This book, American English File, Second Edition-level 3, is organized around different topics, and divided into 10 units. Each unit consists of 12 pages which focus on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. At the end of each unit, you can find a video practice to review and put into practice what you have learned in each lesson. It also contains iChecker application which includes progress checks and workbook audio material to develop learner independence and self-assessment. Beside a workbook is provided for further exercise. At the end of each two units, there a review and check section which assesses the progress of student’s achievement.
Procedure
To begin the study, the researcher will pilot a sample PET among a group of 30 EFL participants. As Mackey and Gass (2005) argued, to assess the feasibility and usefulness of the data collection methods and make the necessary revisions, the whole study will be piloted before the beginning of the main study. Following item analysis, the finalized version will be administered for participant selection; the participants of this study will include 60 Iranian male intermediate EFL learners to be selected based on their performance on the piloted PET from a group of 90 students at Tehran Institute of Technology where the researcher teaches English.
The PET language proficiency test will be distributed among 90 participants to homogenize them. Those students whose scores in proficiency test are one standard deviation above the mean and one standard deviation below the mean will be chosen for the study. Eysenck’s psychological questionnaire will be administered to the homogenized participants in order to distinguish their personality traits (extrovert / introvert). Consequently they were divided into two groups "extrovert and introvert". The 60 learners will be randomly assigned to two groups each including 30 introvert and 30 extrovert participants. Those participants who answer yes to 2/3 questions out of the whole on the extroversion/introversion scale will be considered as introverts and the rest were grouped as extroverts. Then, the participants will take the writing test for assessing the extrovert and introvert groups writing ability. Procedure will be accomplished approximately in six weeks. After collecting the two tests and the two completed questionnaires (pre-test and post-test), the researcher will analyze the data.
The results of the independent sample t-test comparing the mean score of the control and experimental group on the writing pre-test might signify that the two groups are homogeneous with respect to their writing ability. It is hopefully expected that the analysis of data using an independent sample t-test can indicate significant differences between the performances of both groups. It is worth noting that, in order to control the teacher variable, both groups will be taught by one teacher.
The experiment will be conducted within six successive weeks with two 90-minute sessions in each. Each group will consist of two classes, each consisting of 15 participants since it is not ideal for the teacher to attend all thirty students’ tasks and activities in one class. After the first experimental class finished, the next 15 students will attend the second class. Totally there will be 12 sessions for each group.
Raters and the Rating Procedure. The analytic writing scale, which will be used to rate participants performance on the both writing tests, is based on analytic scoring profile by Jacobs, Zingraf, Wormuth, Hartfiel, and Hughey (1981, as cited in Weigle , 2002 , p.116). The students’ compositions on the pre-test and on the post-tests will all be scored by two raters; the researcher himself and a colleague, using the above-mentioned profile for ESL composition scoring. This profile is a 100-point scale and uses five sets of criteria in scoring a composition: content criteria, organization criteria, vocabulary criteria, language use criteria and mechanics criteria. Each set of criteria changes a four level subjective judgment scale into interval scores. This profile is one of the most commonly used and dependable profiles for ESL composition rating since it has been developed in 1981. It considers all the different aspects of the composition and it is a successful scale based on both the holistic and analytical approaches for writing evaluation.
To reiterate, all the papers will be rated by two raters, the researcher himself and a colleague using ESL composition scoring profile by Jacobs et. al. (1981). There will be two scores for each learner at the writing pre-test. To establish the reliability of the scoring scale, the researcher will follow the inter-reliability of raters. A sample of 10 papers will be chosen randomly and will be scored by the two raters independently. The inter-raters' reliability will be computed using Cronbach Alpha Formula. The researcher hopes that there will be a high positive correlation between the ratings of the two scorers.
As it was mentioned earlier, this study will work on two metacognitive strategies (planning and monitoring components). As a treatment, the researcher will carry out the teaching phase by integrating the two components into CALLA mode of teaching strategy:
Preparation. In the phase of preparation, the researcher will help students to identify what they know about the contents and strategies, what gaps in prior knowledge should be addressed. Elaboration, advance organization and selective attention will be most commonly taught and practiced in this stage. Then the teacher will offer metacognitive writing strategies to students and explain the importance of it and help them to set positive, practical, feasible goals.
Presentation. In this phase, the metacognitive strategies in writing will be presented and explained to students in English which are supported by contextual clues. The researcher will hand out a list of the metacognitive strategies in writing including self-planning and self-monitoring. Then, the characteristics, usefulness, and applications of the strategy will explicitly be explained through examples. The key point is that the researcher should make sure that students comprehend the new strategies so that they can practice the strategies meaningfully in the next phase. Therefore, the teacher should explicitly explain how, when and where to apply these strategies in writing which help facilitate strategy transferring.
The author will integrate metacognitive strategy teaching into each regular course and will have students practice by doing specific language tasks including vocabulary and reading. In each reading class, the author will not only instruct the students reading skills but also will give great importance to writing skills and will encourage them to employ the writing skills to their own writings. By integrating strategy use and instruction into regular language classes, learners can be provided with hand-on practice and reinforcement of strategy use (Cohen, 1998, p. 91) and thus can help learners become more efficient in their efforts to learn as well as can provide a meaningful way to focus one’s teaching efforts.
Practice. Students will be offered opportunity of practicing new strategies with authentic writing activities in this stage. They will be required to recall metacognitive writing strategies that were presented in the presentation stage; then students will begin to plan their writings according to self-planning strategy.
Self-planning includes the following writing activities: students will examine and identify the topic, consider readers, gather information, brainstorm, make an outline and discuss the writing. During the writing process, students will be encouraged to employ self-monitoring strategy which helps them to assess their ongoing writing and take some sort of remedial action if they encounter difficulties.
Design
The design of the study will be experimental. The study will be a pre-test/post-test design. There is one independent variable in this study: metacognitive strategies (planning and monitoring). There is one dependent variable in this study, which is writing achievement. The moderator variable in this study deals with the introvert and extrovert personality types of English as a foreign language learners. This study will focus on the following question:
– Does teaching planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies have any effect on introvert and extrovert EFL learners' writing achievement?
Statistical Analysis
Having scored the PET exam, the mean and the standard deviation of participants’ scores are estimated to select a homogenized sample of participants whose scores fall one standard deviation above and below the mean. In addition, to control for the consistency of the ratings given by the two raters to the participants’ writing, inter-rater reliability will be calculated.
Pre-treatment and post-treatment student papers will be analyzed to determine whether teaching planning and monitoring metacognitive strategies has any effect on introvert and extrovert EFL learners' writing achievement.