Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Preservice Teachers: An Exploration of Gender and Developmental Differences

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the metacognitive awareness of reading strategies among 160 undergraduate students from the first and fourth year at the College of Education at a university in Egypt. The undergraduate students in this sample were enrolled in the English major to be teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) after graduation. The Arabic and English versions of the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) Version 1.0, were collected from the students (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002). Reading strategies reported among the students when reading in their native language, Arabic, were compared to those reported when reading English. The metacognitive awareness of reading strategies among the female and male students were also compared. In addition, the strategies reported among the first year students were compared to those of the fourth year students. Significant differences were found across the subgroups in the sample in regards to strategies reported when reading in both English and Arabic. Future research ideas with other native Arabic-speaking preservice EFL teachers and implications for instruction are discussed.