Impact of Metacognitive Learning Strategy on Formal Letter Writing Ability of Senior Secondary School Students in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

This research work investigated the impact of met cognitive learning strategy on formal letter writing ability of Senior Secondary School (SSII) students in Sokoto State, Nigeria. The objective was to find out the impact of training on metacognitve learning strategy on formal letter writing of the students. Five research questions along with five null hypotheses guided the conduct of the research. Ninety-five (95) students from SS II in the state served as samples for the research. A Quasi-experimental design was used where a pre-test, treatment and post-test were conducted. Researchers developed test instrument called Formal Letter Writing Test (FLEWT) was used to collect data for the study. The test was designed to measure students' formal writing ability. The validity of the instrument was established by three experts in the field of Language Education, Test and Measurement and Curriculum and Instruction of the Faculty of Education and Extension Services of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. A pilot study was conducted to establish the reliability of the instrument which indicated the reliability index of 0.78. Two intact classes served as experimental and control groups respectively. The experimental group received instruction on formal letter writing with training on met cognitive strategy of learning. The control group received instruction on formal letter writing using the product approach to essay writing. The statistical tools used in the analysis of the data were mean, standard deviation and t-test. Findings from the research revealed that students in experimental group performed better than those in control group. The conclusion drawn from this was that metacognitive strategy can help improve students' formal letter writing ability. Thus, it was recommended that students at Senior Secondary School level in Sokoto State be given metacognitive strategy training to enhance their formal letter writing ability. Furthermore, adequate training should be offered to teachers of English as a second language (L₂) and they should be encouraged to integrate instruction and metacognitive learning strategy into their classroom teaching.