EFL Students' Use of Metacognitive Strategies in Speaking Class

Abstract

Speaking is recognized as one of the most challenging language skills for EFL learners because it requires students to manage pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and meaning production simultaneously. Although research on metacognitive strategies in EFL has grown, studies describing how early-semester Indonesian university students use these strategies in speaking class remain limited. This study aimed to describe the extent to which EFL students use metacognitive strategies in speaking class. A descriptive quantitative design was used, with data collected from 19 second-semester students of the English Language Education program at Universitas Riau Kepulauan, Batam, Indonesia. The instrument was the Metacognitive Awareness Speaking Questionnaire (MASQ), validated by Sulistyowati et al. (2022), consisting of 21 items grouped into five factors: Planning and Evaluation, Directed Attention, Prior Knowledge, Mental Translation, and Problem-Solving. Descriptive statistics were calculated using mean and standard deviation. The results showed an overall mean score of 3.72 (SD = 0.43), indicating a high level of metacognitive strategy use. Problem-Solving obtained the highest mean score (M = 3.78), followed by Planning and Evaluation (M = 3.77), Directed Attention (M = 3.71), Prior Knowledge (M = 3.69), and Mental Translation (M = 3.61). These findings suggest that second-semester EFL students employ metacognitive strategies during speaking activities. The study contributes baseline evidence on metacognitive strategy use among Indonesian EFL students and offers implications for improving speaking instruction and supporting learners’ strategic awareness.