Metacognitive Knowledge and Language Learning in a Web-Based Distance Learning Context: The Case of Adult EFL Learners in China

Introduction

With the rapid development and integration of new media and digital technologies in second/foreign language (L2) education, technology now constitutes an important role in the ecology of learning (Lai, 2013). Not only has traditional L2 learning context been supplemented with increasing online/distance learning components, but there has also been growing demand for and availability of web-based distance education (Kostina, 2011). These technology-mediated learning environments are conducive to language learning by combining various tools with specific curricular aspects and allowing learners to choose the tools and activities that suit their learning styles and objectives (Stickler & Hampel, 2010). However, it is argued that the effectiveness of these learning environments can only be achieved if students deploy necessary metacognitive and self-regulatory processes (Azevedo, 2005). One prerequisite to effective self-regulated learning is to have an appropriate metacognitive knowledge (MCK) base – knowledge about themselves as learners, the learning task, and appropriate strategies, upon which students draw as they monitor and manage their learning (Flavell, 1979). Wenden (1998) is one of the first L2 researchers to apply Flavell’s framework of MCK to language learning, and she stressed that MCK was a “neglected variable” that warranted close attention from L2 researchers and practitioners (Wenden, 2001). Since then, there has been a growing body of literature that reveal the crucial role of MCK in language learning (e.g., Cotterall & Murray, 2009; Goh, 1997; He, 2011; Kasper, 1997; Ruan, 2005; Victori, 1999; L. J. Zhang, 2010). As Chamot and O’Malley (1994) suggest: