A structural equation modeling of metacognition and motivation in vocabulary learning strategy use

Abstract

Effective use of vocabulary learning strategies such as guessing, dictionary use, memory recall and activation makes learners more independent and capable of taking on more responsibility for their own learning, involvement and proficiency. The act of regulating the use of these learning strategies is known as metacognition. Metacognition refers to the condition of having executive control over one’s cognitive processes, and being aware of one’s thinking while performing a specific task and then using this awareness to regulate what one is doing. Similarly, having a strong motivation to succeed in language learning goals is considered just as important as having the language aptitude for the successful acquisition of the target language. Motivation can be said to consist of 3 components, namely instrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, control of learning beliefs and self-efficacy. This research aimed to identify if a relationship exists among metacognition, motivation and vocabulary learning strategy use. The study was focused on finding out to what extent 1)metacognition influences motivation, 2)motivation influences vocabulary learning strategy use and 3)metacognition influences vocabulary learning strategy use via motivation. Data was collected from 201 students from a private local university and analysed using structural equation modelling. The results indicated a good model fit (?² = 263.928, df= 162, p = 0.0001), with a CMIN/df of 1.629.TLI = 0.923, CFI = 0.934, RMSEA = 0.056. It was found that metacognition does influence motivation to a large extent, thus a learner who is metacognitively aware is more likely to be highly motivated in his or her learning. It was also reported that motivated learners who were metacognitively engaged were more likely to employ a more effective application of vocabulary learning strategies.