Metacognitive Strategies for English Proficiency: A Study on Primary School Learners’ Self-Regulated Learning

Metacognitive strategies help learners regulate their language learning by planning, monitoring, and evaluating their progress. However, young learners often lack the metacognitive awareness needed to apply these strategies effectively, which may hinder their English proficiency. This study examined how primary school pupils used metacognitive strategies in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. A basic qualitative research design was utilised, using semi-structured interviews with 30 purposely selected pupils aged 10 to 12 from two national primary schools in Malaysia. Participants were chosen based on their active engagement in English lessons and varying proficiency levels. Thematic analysis revealed that planning was the most consistently used strategy, especially in reading, writing, and speaking. Monitoring was applied to a moderate extent, often relying on external feedback such as teacher guidance or peer reactions. Evaluation was the least developed, usually limited to surface-level checks rather than deeper reflection. These findings emphasise the need for explicit modelling, guided reflection, and integrated strategy instruction in the ESL classroom. The study provides practical implications for teachers to support metacognitive growth through structured planning tools, monitoring prompts, and post-task reflection activities. Future research could explore the longitudinal development of strategy use or examine how contextual factors such as curriculum design or home support influence metacognitive learning.