Investigating the impact of metacognitive learning strategies on ESL learners’ writing skills in Pakistan

One of the most important abilities for attaining language proficiency is the ability to write. Previous studies have revealed that Pakistani English as a second language (ESL) students faced a number of writing issues. Nonetheless, there are few studies in Pakistan on the impact of metacognitive strategies on academic writing since researchers have been emphasizing on the impact of metacognitive strategies on reading and listening, as well as the relevance of language learning strategies. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of metacognitive learning strategies on writing skills and the effect of metacognitive intervention on content and organization, unity and coherence, and grammar of ESL undergraduate learners’ writings in Baluchistan, Pakistan. It also explored the attitudes and beliefs of tertiary students towards using metacognitive learning strategies in their English writing. The research employed a mixed method i.e. quantitative and qualitative. In terms of quantitative method, the study used quasi experimental design in which two intact groups of ESL undergraduates participated in metacognitive strategic intervention. The intervention included 8 training sessions i.e., 3 hours per session. Data were collected through a pre and post-training writing task and questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. The data was analyzed through statistical analysis SPSS version 23. Whereas, qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed according to Flowers’ and Hayes (1980) theory. The results of the study revealed that the degree of metacognitive strategic awareness was low among the participants in the two groups of the study. The metacognitive strategic intervention was found to be significantly effective and assisted the students in experimental group to increase their metacognitive knowledge, improve their content and organization, unity and coherence, and grammar, and enhance their academic writing. The results also demonstrate that the metacognitive strategic intervention has a significant effect on the participant’s performance in becoming better writers. The qualitative results indicated that the students have a positive attitude towards learning strategies and belief that it is better for students to focus more on metacognitive strategies which help them to write efficiently. Therefore, the results of the study demonstrate that the metacognitive strategic intervention emerged to have a significant effect on the participant’s performance in becoming better writers. This study implies that teaching metacognitive strategies play a significant role in enhancing ESL undergraduate learners’ writing skills and improving their content and organization, unity and coherence, and grammar knowledge. Therefore, teachers can use this strategy in teaching to help students improve their writing skills.