Abstract Summary
To assess metacognitive strategy knowledge, the ScenEx questionnaire uses six strongly language-driven scenarios typical of university life. This presentation will discuss the results of a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis between L1 and L2 university students that tackles possible L1/L2-related group differences in the scenarios.
Abstract :
In order to successfully complete their programmes, students need to be able to deal with difficulties arising from the use of academic language at university, e.g. when following the fast pace of lectures or reading complex academic texts. While also L1 students face problems in these situations, they are particularly demanding for L2 students, as language difficulties can be assumed to increase the challenges involved.
The competence for handling situations such as these involves the students’ ability to self-regulate their learning processes and to adapt their learning strategies to critical situations.
To assess this competence, the ScenEx questionnaire uses six strongly language-driven scenarios, typical of university life. Participants are asked to evaluate various strategies on their appropriateness for each of the scenarios. The students’ evaluations are then compared to a standard set by expert ratings of the same strategies. The individual comparisons are summed up to a final score for the separate scenarios and for the entire test.
As academic language usually poses problems not only for L2, but for L1 students as well, we assessed measurement invariance of ScenEx in L1 and L2 first-semester university students. Descriptive statistics show similar raw score results for both groups, though slightly higher for the L1 participants (L2: m = 26.7, sd = 4.9; L1: m = 28.5, sd = 4.5). With a maximum of 33 raw score points and a minimum of 8 and 9, respectively, the results differ on a wide range. In our presentation, we will report the results of a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis between L1 and L2 university students that tackles possible L1/L2-related group differences in the scenarios. The results will shed light on students’ ability to strategically deal with academic language by revealing common challenges of L1 and L2 students and particular difficulties L2 students experience.
