EFL Students’ Awareness and Use of Metacognitive Strategies in Academic Writing

Abstract

Improving learners' metacognitive self-regulation during the writing process is essential for developing overall academic writing competence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Due to its fundamental importance, metacognitive awareness has gained increasing attention in many modern educational curricula. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the level of metacognitive awareness and its actual implementation in academic writing among EFL Master two students at Mila University. Based on the research problem, three main questions are formulated: first, to what extent are Master Two students are aware of metacognitive strategies in academic writing? Second, how often do EFL Master Two students apply these strategies during their academic writing tasks? And third, what challenges do EFL Master Two students face when using different metacognitive strategies? To address these issues, a descriptive research design was adopted. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to a representative sample of sixty-two participating second-year Master's students specializing in Didactics of English at Abdelhafid Boussouf University of Mila. The findings demonstrate that while students possess moderate level of theoretical awareness regarding metacognitive strategies, the quality of their written production remains significantly hindered by a lack of consistent practical implementation. The collected data suggest that due to time constraints and cognitive overload, students often fail to apply their declarative knowledge into procedural action during the writing process. Consequently, this study recommends the necessity of explicit pedagogical interventions and the integration of strategy-based instruction into the writing curriculum to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practice, thereby enhancing students' writing efficiency.