Metacognitive Strategies for Enhancing Literal Reading Comprehension in ESP among Indonesian Civic Education Students

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study examined whether explicit instruction in metacognitive reading strategies improves literal reading comprehension among Indonesian ESP learners. Eighty-five second-semester civic education students at the State University of Makassar participated in either an experimental group (n=43) receiving four sessions of planning, monitoring, and evaluating strategy instruction or a control group (n=42) receiving conventional instruction without metacognitive training. Both groups completed parallel pretests and posttests of literal comprehension using authentic ESP texts on human rights and government structures. ANCOVA results revealed a significant main effect of the intervention, F(1,82)=8.94, p=.004, with a medium-to-large effect size (Cohen's d=0.68). While the control group gained 4 points (76 to 80), the experimental group improved by 10 points (75 to 85). Findings demonstrate that explicit metacognitive strategy instruction significantly enhances ESP students' ability to locate and recall explicitly stated information. The study contributes empirical evidence from the under-researched Indonesian civic education ESP context and suggests that embedding low-cost, high-impact metacognitive practices into early-semester ESP courses can transform passive reading into active, self-regulated comprehension.