Active Learning: An Effective Metacognitive Strategy for Language Acquisition

Active learning has gained momentum since the past decade as an effective instructional approach which draws students out of their comfort zone and drives them to take an active part into their own learning. This paper addresses the research proven metacognitive strategies that support the utilization of cognitive activators which encourages students to take a vital role in their own learning process. These cognitive activators are a set of meaningful activities which are embedded in the pedagogical framework to encourage more complex thought processes in students to promote language acquisition. This research is contextualized to English language teaching (ELT) in higher education institutions because ELT teaching has experienced a fascination towards the techniques and strategies applied in active learning. Furthermore, it emphasizes the use of these instructional interactive techniques in the classroom to have a strong impact upon students' learning to develop students’ writing, speaking and critical thinking skill.