The roles of metacognitive writing strategies and willingness to write in writing performance of Pakistani ESL learners

The objective of this study was to investigate the roles of metacognitive writing strategies (i.e., planning, monitoring, and evaluating) in writing performance through the mediating role of willingness to write among Pakistani ESL learners. Despite the influential role of willingness to write in enhancing writing performance, its mediating effect between metacognitive writing strategies and writing performance has largely been overlooked in existing literature. The present study adopted a mixed-methods research approach to address this gap, integrating quantitative and qualitative methodologies. A quantitative method was used, and a survey was conducted using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design. Three hundred and fifty (350) valid questionnaires were received from the first-semester bachelor students of the English department across six public universities in South Punjab, Pakistan. The data were analysed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM). As for the qualitative method, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with six ESL learners. Thematic analysis was employed to answer the qualitative questions. The quantitative findings reveal that implementing planning, monitoring, and evaluation strategies can enhance the writing performance of Pakistani ESL learners. Furthermore, willingness to write plays a significant role in improving writing performance. The qualitative findings revealed similar results; however, some interviewees emphasised that willingness to write is essential for enhancing writing performance through metacognitive writing strategies. This study makes a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge by highlighting the critical role of willingness to write as a mediating factor between metacognitive writing strategies and writing performance. It significantly enhances the understanding of how fostering willingness to write can improve the writing performance of ESL learners, thereby advancing the theory of metacognition