Teaching students in grades 10-11 foreign language writing using metacognitive strategies
Authors:   Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistics University, Ariyan Margarita A. , Gorobinskaya Nadezhda V. ,   Moscow Pedagogical State University
Published: December 2024

The relevance of this study is due to the need to improve the methodology of teaching high school students writing in a foreign language. Modern domestic and foreign methods consider the teaching of writing as one of the essential aspects of the practical purpose of teaching a foreign language. Written speech, differing from oral speech in its structure, logic, accuracy and concreteness, places high demands on the writer. The communicative and cognitive need underlying written speech reflects the desire of the writer to convey information, express his opinion, views, and form a certain impression of himself. This need can be effectively realized if the student has developed the skills of independent management of the learning process: planning, selfcontrol and self-assessment. In Russian educational practice, when teaching writing, it is traditionally customary to focus more on the result than on the process.
This fact, as well as the complexity and diversity of this type of speech activity, often lead to low efficiency in teaching students writing. An effective way to solve this problem may be to purposefully teach students metacognitive strategies. The study of Russian methodological literature has shown that the problem of formation of foreign language writing skills using metacognitive strategies has not been formulated and sufficiently studied.
The aim of the study was to develop a model for teaching writing within the framework of a procedural approach, which does not exclude, but complements the modern rhetorical approach as a step on the way from completely teacher-controlled written
assignments to uncontrolled writing. The latter implies the formation of metacognitive learning strategies among schoolchildren, most of which are universal for a wide range of tasks. Familiarization with foreign scientific sources allowed us to identify two main models developed specifically for teaching writing using metacognitive strategies in which the factor of a non-native language was not taken into account – the K. Englert model, the K. Harris and S. Graham model.
K. Englert's model emphasizes that internal dialogue, speaking thoughts aloud in the process of writing a text and subsequent discussion allow the student to become aware of previously unconscious cognitive processes and develop metacognitive skills. The model also provides metered adult care. Various supports are offered to help the student use a particular metacognitive strategy (memos, flashcards, computer programs, etc.). Various supports are offered to help the student use a particular metacognitive strategy (memos, flashcards, computer programs, etc.). Teaching writing using metacognitive strategies within the framework of K. Englert's model involves active cooperation of students. A distinctive feature of the K. Harris and S. Graham model is explicit learning strategies in the process of forming writing skills, which scientists divide into two types: writing strategies (including strategies specific to a particular genre, as well as strategies necessary to create any written statement) and self-regulation strategies (goal setting, self-control, self-assessment, management internal dialogue, etc.).
The authors of the model emphasize that almost any strategy can be considered metacognitive if it is understood by students.
The analysis showed that in the process of teaching foreign language writing, it is important to take into account the following aspects: explicit teaching of metacognitive strategies, scaffolding using supports, group interaction and modeling of internal dialogue in the process of creating a written statement. This allowed the authors to propose their own methodology for teaching metacognitive strategies, which includes six key stages and takes into account all aspects of writing from the point of view of a procedural approach: analysis of the sample proposed by the teacher; group discussion and choice of strategies; modeling the use of strategies; guided practice (feedback from the teacher); independent practice; reflection. The developed methodology takes into account cognitive and motivational-affective processes, as well as the improvement of short-term and long-term memory and the creation of an environment that brings academic writing as close as possible to real written communication.
The conducted research allowed us to conclude about the advantages associated with the use of metacognitive strategies in teaching writing at school: the development of self-regulation and self-esteem, which is expressed in the ability to set goals and monitor one's own progress in mastering foreign language writing; improving the ability to interact with educational material, more effective assimilation of material; increasing self-confidence and motivation to further work; the formation of critical thinking skills based on the analysis and evaluation of one's thinking and actions; increasing the accessibility of education in general, since the formed metacognitive skills are successfully applied in various educational contexts and formats (inclusion, distance learning). The skills of independent and responsible attitude to learning acquired by schoolchildren bring them closer to self-regulation of the educational process, to autonomy in mastering academic disciplines.