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This article reports on a small-scale intervention
study that examined the impact of a metacognitive
approach to listening instruction, in the form of a
metacognitive pedagogical cycle, on Chinese university
English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ listening
proficiency and aspects of metacognitive knowledge over
10 weeks. During each week, participants in the experimental
group were guided through the processes of
prediction, problem identification, monitoring, selective
attention, evaluation and reflection. Quantitative data from
tests showed that the metacognitive pedagogical cycle
might positively affect learners’ listening proficiency.
Qualitative data from reflective journal entries showed that
it could contribute to learners’ growth in three aspects of
metacognitive knowledge, including person, task and
strategy knowledge. These findings are important in understanding
how the metacognitive pedagogical cycle
works to cultivate self-regulated listeners. This study provides
practitioners with an alternative to develop learners’
listening that focuses on the process of learning to listen,
especially in test-oriented EFL educational settings