THE ROLE OF METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES IN DEVELOPING LISTENING COMPREHENSION SKILLS AMONG EFL LEARNERS

Аннотация

Despite the central role of listening in foreign language acquisition, learners frequently struggle to develop effective listening comprehension skills because they lack awareness of the cognitive processes involved in listening and the strategies that can be used to manage these processes. This article examines the role of metacognitive strategies — planning, monitoring, evaluating, and problem-solving — in developing listening comprehension among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in higher education. Drawing on Flavell's foundational framework of metacognition, Vandergrift and Goh's Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire, and a synthesis of recent empirical studies, the article argues that explicit metacognitive instruction substantially improves not only learners' listening performance but also their strategic awareness, self-regulation, and capacity for autonomous listening development. The article further examines how metacognitive approaches can be adapted to the specific conditions of EFL instruction in Uzbekistan, where learners face particular challenges related to phonological processing, anxiety, and limited exposure to authentic English speech. Pedagogical implications and recommendations for teacher training are discussed.