Self-Regulated Learning Writing Strategies among Chinese English-Major Undergraduates: Gender, Proficiency, Academic Year, and Interrelations
Keywords:
English-major undergraduates; group differences; interrelations; self-regulated learning; self-regulated writing strategiesAbstract
This study investigated the use of self-regulated learning (SRL) writing strategies by undergraduate English majors in China. It examined overall strategy profiles, group differences, and interrelations among the main categories of SRL strategies. Although SRL has attracted increasing attention in L2 writing research, there are few systematic studies of the multidimensional SRL model and its changes across academic years among English majors in higher education institutions. This study aimed to fill the gap in research on the group differences and interrelationships of SRL dimensions, in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in higher education institutions. It also aimed to investigate the operation mode of cognitive, metacognitive, social-behavioral, and motivational regulation strategies in a tertiary EFL writing setting. Questionnaire data were collected from 222 English-major undergraduates in Sichuan Province, China. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation analysis. Results revealed that students’ use of SRL strategies is moderate to high. Gender and English proficiency are not significantly differentiating factors, while the academic year shows a non-linear pattern. The correlation analysis results indicate that there are moderate to strong positive correlations among all dimensions of SRL. These results empirically support the systematic and multidimensional nature of SRL and indicate that its development may be stage sensitive rather than linear. Pedagogically, it is recommended to continuously implement coordinated and SRL-oriented scaffolding teaching.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.25.3.44
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