Metacognitive Strategy Instruction and Mobile-Based Exercises for Adolescent EFL Listeners in Taiwan: 結合後設認知策略與行動科技的聽力教學對臺灣青少年學習英語聽力的影響

Effectiveness studies regarding mobile integration in teaching and learning L2 listening have shown positive results in listening comprehension and in listening strategy development. The present study furthered this line of research by investigating whether metacognitive strategy instruction and mobile-based exercises could improve adolescent EFL learners’ listening abilities and metacognitive awareness. The study recruited three intact classes of 12th graders in a high school in Taiwan to participate in an English listening program for 10 weeks. The participants had a low English proficiency level but were proficient with their smartphones. Each of the three classes had 30 students and was randomly assigned to the metacognitive and mobile experimental group (mobile), the metacognitive experimental group (non-mobile), and the control group. During the 10-week treatment period, both experimental groups of mobile and non-mobile received intensive metacognitive strategy instruction in class, and the mobile group received mobile-based exercises after classes for extra listening practices. The control group received neither. All three groups took a listening proficiency test and completed the metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire before and after the listening program. Some selected students from both experimental groups were interviewed after the program ended. The results did not reveal significant effects of the metacognitive strategy instruction and the mobile-based exercises between the two experimental groups. When compared with the control group, the mobile group yielded a significant effect in listening comprehension and both experimental groups excelled significantly in metacognitive awareness. From their interviews, our adolescent EFL learners approved the listening program focusing on metacognitive strategies and praised the convenience of mobile-based exercises.