Metacognitive knowledge development and language learning in the context of web-based distance language learning : a multiple-case study of adult EFL learners in China

This multiple-case study investigated the construction and development of metacognitive knowledge (MCK) about language learning in the context of web-based distance learning among a group of adult English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in China. Specifically, it explored (a) what existing MCK knowledge about language learning adult EFL learners brought to the context of web-based distance language learning, (b) how their MCK about language learning changed over time, and (c) what contextual factors interacted with the observed changes in their MCK about language learning in the web-based distance mode. Results showed that participants in this study started their web-based distance EFL learning with varying levels of MCK about language learning in the online distance context in terms of its scope and complexity. The differences in their MCK bases were also related to their readiness for self-managing their language learning in the online environment, their perceptions toward this mode of language learning, and their interactions with different aspects of the learning context. It was observed that all the participants’ MCK underwent reconstructions in varied rates, scope, and depth over a period of 16 weeks. A number of contextual factors were identified as particularly significant in shaping and influencing learners’ adjustments and revisions of their knowledge and understandings of online distance language learning, including the school-prescribed learning routine, forms of assessment, feedback from the teachers and peers, and forms of learner support. Notably, it was observed that the same contextual factor could have both positive and negative influences on different participants, thereby contributing differently to the change trajectories among the participants. Findings from this study have a number of important implications for the design and implementation of web-based distance language program, online language instructors, and online distance language learners, and provide directions for future research.