Thesis (M.A.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

Paraphrasing is an essential skill which helps students to avoid plagiarism when completing writing tasks, especially at the undergraduate level. Extensive research has revealed how the poor mastery of such a skill can lead to inappropriate textual borrowing practices and inadvertent plagiarism among undergraduates. The current study investigated how a metacognitive-based approach of teaching paraphrase can aid learners enhance their paraphrasing skills and correctly shape their textual borrowing practices. The present mixedmethods study adopted a quasi-experimental comparison groups design in which EFL undergraduate learners at a private university (n=30) were divided into control (received cognitive instruction of paraphrasing) and experimental (received metacognitive training of paraphrasing) groups. Pretest and posttest measurements were conducted, and three instruments were employed to collect data; an adapted version of McInnis{u2019} (2009) Appropriateness of Paraphrase Checklist, Keck{u2019}s (2006) Paraphrase Types Taxonomy, and pre-and post-intervention interviews. Data was analyzed quantitively and qualitatively and the results indicated that metacognition had a significantly positive effect on learners{u2019} textual borrowing practices and paraphrasing skills appropriateness. The pre-and post-treatment interviews revealed that participants in the experimental group possessed better perception of their textual borrowing skills following their metacognitive training. Building on the findings of the study, it is suggested that metacognition be incorporated as an instructional model of paraphrasing in EFL academic writing context. Future studies should further investigate the efficacy of metacognition as an instructional medium on EFL learners{u2019} textual borrowing skills by exploring new methodological approaches of teaching paraphrase metacognitively with respect to other variables such as learners{u2019} proficiency of EFL

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