Investigating Metacognitive Awareness among Algerian EFL University Teachers of Academic Writing
Abstract
Teaching writing has always been subject for debate in EFL studies. One of the aspects of this controversy is teaching writing and metacognition. Metacognitive strategies are organizational strategies which regulate and control thinking. These strategies apply to both students and teachers and investigating the issue from both standpoints is a must. Plenty of research has been conducted with regard to student metacognition but not as many studies focused on the teacher. The present study aims to fill this void by investigating metacognitive awareness among Algerian EFL university writing teachers as well as their motivation, beliefs, and attitudes towards the teaching of writing in university settings. A metacognition awareness raising questionnaire was administered to eight university teachers from two different universities in order to explore the three components of their metacognitive knowledge: person, task, and strategy knowledge. The results of the survey revealed that Algerian EFL writing teachers are metacognitively aware about their teaching and that they have positive attitudes, beliefs, and are motivated to teach writing.
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