The Representation of Metacognition in L2 Listening Textbooks

Metacognition plays a crucial role in textbook development for second and foreign language (L2) listening, but research targeting the intersection between metacognition and L2 listening textbooks is scarce. This study examined the extent of the coverage of metacognition in 19 English listening textbook series for college non-English majors in China and the ways it was represented. Twenty-five items of metacognition were used as the theoretical framework against which the extent of metacognition coverage was examined. Based on the findings, eight pedagogical criteria were used to investigate the ways the covered items of metacognition were represented in L2 listening textbooks. Results suggest that metacognition was inadequately covered in L2 listening textbooks in terms of its content and that the ways it was represented were also inadequate to assist the teaching of metacognition to L2 listeners. Due to such inadequacy, learners may develop inappropriate conceptions of L2 listening and take improper learning methods that are irrelevant to self-regulated listening. It is believed that these findings could work as an impetus for changes in L2 listening textbooks in similar educational contexts. Implications are given in terms of metacognitive instruction and textbook quality enhancement.