Facilitating vocabulary learning through metacognitive strategy training and learning journals

Abstract

Promoción del aprendizaje de vocabulario a través del entrenamiento en estrategias metacognitivas y diarios de aprendizaje AbstractThis paper reports on a mixed-method action research study carried out with participants from three public high schools in different regions in Colombia: Bogotá, Orito, and Tocaima. The overall aim of this study was to analyze whether training in the use of metacognitive strategies (MS) through learning journals could improve the participants' vocabulary learning. The data, collected mainly through students' learning journals, teachers' field notes, questionnaires and mind maps, was analyzed following the principles of grounded theory. The results suggested that the training helped participants to develop metacognitive awareness of their vocabulary learning process and their lexical competence regarding daily routines. Participants also displayed some improvements in critical thinking and self-directed attitudes that could likewise benefit their vocabulary learning. Finally, the study proposes that training in metacognitive and vocabulary strategies should be implemented in language classrooms to promote a higher degree of student control over learning and to facilitate the transference of these strategies to other areas of knowledge.Keywords: learning journals, metacognitive awareness, metacognitive strategies, self-directed learning, vocabulary learning ResumenEste trabajo da cuenta de un estudio mixto de investigación acción que se llevó a cabo con participantes de tres colegios públicos en diferentes regiones de Colombia: Bogotá, Orito y Tocaima. El propósito de este estudio fue analizar si el entrenamiento en el uso de estrategias metacognitivas a través de diarios de aprendizaje podría mejorar el aprendizaje de vocabulario de los participantes. Los datos fueron recogidos principalmente a través de diarios de aprendizaje de los estudiantes, notas de campo de los profesores y cuestionarios, los cuales fueron analizados siguiendo los principios de muestreo teórico. Los resultados sugieren que el entrenamiento ayudó a los participantes a desarrollar la conciencia metacognitiva de sus procesos de aprendizaje de vocabulario y su competencia léxica sobre sus rutinas diarias. De manera similar, los participantes mostraron actitudes de pensamiento crítico y de auto-dirección que pueden favorecer su aprendizaje de vocabulario. Finalmente, se propone que el entrenamiento en estrategias metacognitivas y vocabulario se implemente en la enseñanza de lenguas para promover un alto grado de control de los estudiantes en su aprendizaje y así facilitar la transferencia de estas estrategias a otras áreas de conocimiento. R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S Carmen Luz Trujillo BecerraPalabras clave: diarios de aprendizaje, conciencia metacognitiva, estrategias metacognitivas, aprendizaje autodirigido, aprendizaje de vocabulario

Role of Metacognition in Eap Vocabulary Development: Cross-Sectional Study

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Self- and Peer-Assessment of Student-Generated Podcasts to Improve Comprehensibility in Undergraduate EFL Students

“…Metacognition is represented in what a student knows about themselves as a learner and has been conceptualised as a blend of knowledge and regulation (Flavell, 1979). Students' knowledge about learning strategies and the ways they monitor, plan, and evaluate their learning (Trujillo-Becerra et al, 2015) are also aspects of metacognition. The coding procedures revealed that participants managed their learning through three metacognitive strategies: monitoring learning, implementing speaking strategies, and using assessment methods.…”

Situated Practice in CLIL: Voices from Colombian Teachers

“…In the examined data, all teachers referred to plan, taking into consideration contextual issues that help students analyze daily situations especially in regard to the environment. According to Trujillo Becerra, Alvarez Ayure, Zamudio Ordoñez, and Morales Bohórquez (2015), and Mendieta Aguilar (2009) this denotes an increasing interest for teachers to plan their classes with a premise of more real contexts activities. These also lead to enriched comprehension for students in that lifelong learning connections are built, and knowledge is expanded based on inquiry processes.…”