The role of metacognitive knowledge and strategies in Turkish EFL learners' writing achievement

Writing is a significant but challenging skill for EFL writers. In contemporary models, it is defined as a recursive, strategic and multi-dimensional process involving both cognitive and metacognitive processes. There has been a growing body of research on the critical role of metacognition in EFL writing in recent decades. However, metacognition seems to receive insufficient attention in the field of EFL writing in Turkey. Investigating the extent of Turkish EFL students' metacognitive knowledge and strategy use and their role in their writing achievement, this study addresses this gap. Participants were 120 B2 level Turkish EFL students. A mixed type research method was used. Questionnaires were employed to measure participants' metacognitive knowledge and strategy use, and interviews were conducted to triangulate and elaborate on their findings. Besides, to identify the similarities and differences in their metacognitive knowledge and strategy use, participants were grouped as high-performing (HP), average-performing (AP) and low-performing (LP) according to their writing scores. Regarding their metacognitive knowledge, participants were found to have an average level of person and strategy knowledge but a high level of task knowledge. Analysis of the quantitative data for their use of metacognitive strategies indicated an average level of self-regulation. A correlation analysis, which took into account the relationship between students' writing achievement and metacognition, revealed a weak positive relationship between students' writing achievement and person and strategy knowledge as well as their use of planning, monitoring, and evaluating strategies. There was no statistically significant relationship between task knowledge and writing achievement. The findings of the content analysis supported the quantitative data results and revealed significant differences among groups in their metacognitive knowledge and the application of metacognitive strategies. Parallel to their writing performances, HP writers performed better in all subscales. Depending on these results, the present study highlights the importance of writing instruction that focuses on the development of students' metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation. Keywords: Metacognition, metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive strategies, EFL writing, writing skill