Metacognitive Reading Strategy Usage among Vietnamese University Students and its Relationship with Reading Comprehension Performance

Abstract

The concern about learners' use of reading strategies during the reading process for better reading comprehension prompted this investigation, especially at the research site where reading skills play a pivotal role in the student's overall learning process. The main aims of the study included examinations of (1) the frequency of metacognitive reading strategy usage (MRSU), (2) differences among students of IT, Economics, and English Studies in MRSU, and (3) the relationship between MRSU and final reading test scores. The study utilized the knowledge monitoring assessment (KMA) theory, a framework used to evaluate an individual's ability to accurately judge their knowledge and understanding, to explain the MRSU-reading score relationship. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was conducted on 297 participants who responded to the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) in the first phase and ten respondents in semi-structured interviews in the second. The quantitative data analysis revealed nearly 60% of moderate reading strategy users, statistically significant differences among IT, Economics, and English Studies majors in MRSU, and no statistically significant relationship between MRSU and reading test scores. Further explanations from qualitative information disclosed that reading test scores were affected by multiple factors, both internal and external, and this result is a practical contribution of the study. No statistically significant relationship between MRSU and reading scores is a theoretical contribution of the study. This finding disproves the KMA theory, which proposes that individuals' accurate self-assessment can predict better performance. Pedagogical implications for instructors and students were also discussed.