A Descriptive Panorama of Metacognitive Knowledge among Students in the Moroccan University

Abstract

One of the key concerns of second language acquisition research is language learning strategies and the extent to which these strategies lead to successful language learning and academic achievement. Indeed, there is a consensus among researchers that learners who take charge of their own learning are academically more likely to succeed than their counterparts. In this respect, a large body of research has proven that metacognitive knowledge is critical in language learning. For this reason, this study is conducted, which is exploratory in nature. It aims at describing Moroccan English department students’ metacognitive knowledge across three geographically distinct schools of art and humanities. Henceforth, the study included 136 participants belonging to three universities, mainly Kenitra, Meknes, and Oujda. To answer the research questions of this study, the respondents were asked to complete a self-report metacognitive questionnaire with a focus on argumentative writing. Findings displayed that Moroccan English university students’ metacognitive knowledge is strong. Furthermore, this study indicated that when age is at play, adults have higher metacognitive knowledge than young learners.