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Description
This study investigates the effect of metacognitive strategies via explicit instruction on 60 A2 and B1-level students’ writing performance and attitudes at a VUS English Center in Ho Chi Minh City. Limited writing practice and native language influence have hindered Vietnamese students' writing progress. To address the issue, since the COVID-19 pandemic, VUS has incorporated writing portfolios into the curriculum to offer students ongoing writing practice. Despite regular portfolio practice, students continued to struggle with linguistic accuracy, organization, and content with the lack of metacognition. With a mixed-methods approach, a 14-week intervention was implemented for an experimental group focusing on three metacognitive processes: planning, monitoring, and evaluation, maintaining the baseline for the control group. Data were collected via pre-tests, post-tests, semi-structured attitudinal questionnaires and open-ended interviews. The findings indicated that the experimental group demonstrated greater improvements in writing performance and generally reported positive attitudes, noting that these strategies helped clarify thoughts, identify mistakes and fostered learner autonomy. The results provide a pedagogical framework for Vietnamese ELT curricula, empower learners to become self-regulated, critical thinkers, and contribute to the development of a high-quality workforce, ultimately fostering a positive impact on education.
