Enhancing EFL reading proficiency through mediated learning: Impacts on cognitive and metacognitive strategies

Abstract

This study explored the impact of teacher educators' mediation on the development of cognitive and metacognitive strategies to foster autonomous learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading skills among freshman pre-service teacher trainees. Additionally, it investigated how these strategies influenced reading performance. A mixed-methods quasi-experimental design was conducted at Kotebe University of Education, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 80 first-year social science students randomly assigned to experimental (n = 40) and control (n = 40) groups. The experimental group received targeted mediation from an experienced English instructor, while the control group underwent traditional instruction. Data were gathered via reading proficiency tests, questionnaires, and classroom observations, analyzed using descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, percentages), inferential statistics (t-tests), and thematic analysis for qualitative insights. Findings revealed that mediation significantly enhanced the experimental group's use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, promoting self-regulation and independent learning in EFL reading. The experimental group outperformed the control group in reading proficiency tests, with Cohen's d indicating a large effect size. The study underscores the efficacy of mediated teaching in developing cognitive and metacognitive skills, fostering learner autonomy, and boosting academic success. It recommends that EFL instructors adopt mediation strategies to enhance students' learning strategies and reading performance.