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Community college ESL students reflecting on thoughts and feelings about writing and themselves as writers: An exploratory study in metacognition
Abstract
This study explored metacognition of sixteen adult learners enrolled in an advanced level community college ESL writing course. The ESL participants reflected on three topics concerning thoughts and feelings about writing and themselves as writers: attitude towards writing (feelings and motivations), writing identity, and self-direction (self-evaluation and planning). Using a participatory research approach, data were collected from three semi-structured interviews and numerous written responses during one semester. Participants were from the Hispanic and Korean cultures with a majority Puerto Rican (75%) and female (81%). Overall, feelings towards writing were complex (both positive and negative) and changed throughout the semester. Positive feelings energized and appeared related to an individual awareness of progress rather than an outside measure of proficiency. Motivations for learning to write were also complex (including both external and internal orientations) and changed over the semester. External utilitarian motivations seemed to be primary initially. Internal motivations such as expression of feelings, joy in self-expression, and expansion of cognition surfaced as the semester progressed. Participants' descriptions of themselves as writers changed from incredulity, negativity, and denial to a relatively positive and distinct sense of writing identity. Self-direction changed from global (or very general) self-evaluations and planning to more specific and empowering self-evaluations and planning. Encouraging interviewing language and subsequent dialogue fostered self-direction. Both positive and negative global self-evaluations indicated powerlessness while increased specificity (either positive or negative) indicated potential for improvement through concrete planning. Suggestions for modifications to a traditional ESL writing class include acknowledgement of strengths, focus on progress in a noncompetitive workshop environment, and inclusion of metacognitive topics that acknowledge the affective or emotional component to learning to write. Student-participants reported benefits of the metacognitive approach: clarification, opportunity for verbal expression, time for thinking and understanding, awareness of progress through comparison of work, and increased awareness of the instructor (or researcher). The researcher also reported benefits of the metacognitive approach: a harmony of student-centered methods and goals, data for researchers and curriculum developers, "encouraging" and "enabling" of participants, and growth of self-awareness and autonomy of participants.
Subject Area
Community colleges|Bilingual education|Multicultural education
Recommended Citation
Mountainbird, Pauline, "Community college ESL students reflecting on thoughts and feelings about writing and themselves as writers: An exploratory study in metacognition" (1988). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI8906312.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI8906312