Medical College Students’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies in English Online Reading

Abstract

Combined with the ubiquitousness of internet, technological gadgets and digital tools, mobile assisted language learning is undergoing rapid development and online reading has become an integrated part of college English education, especially in medical colleges, which requires students to get corresponding reading skills and strategies in their daily study. Metacognitive strategies, as one of language learning strategies, has been a heated topic in students’ English reading, but the awareness and use of them in online English reading haven’t been emphasized. Since metacognitive strategies are of great help to effective online reading and autonomous learning, it is essential to know whether they have been used or to what extent they have been employed and then to explore some suggestions for college English teaching and learning. Based on 296 questionnaires and six students’ think-aloud sessions, this study focused on the use of metacognitive online reading strategies by medical college students, aiming to explore the frequency of metacognitive online reading strategies employed by college students and to know the differences in the use of metacognitive online reading strategies of college students with different English proficiency, then to search for effective ways to help students become autonomous language learners.