Reassessing Readers' Comprehension Monitoring

Abstract

For the past three decades, most metacognitive studies in the research field of reading have focused on how metacognition functions best in specific, successful strategies, instead of investigating how comprehension monitoring can be developed. This results in knowing what metacognitive strategies to use and how they are used, but still does not account for their successful and automatic utilization. The internalization of metacognitive competency therefore seems to deserve further investigation. The present study aims at reassessing both proficient and less-proficient readers' comprehension monitoring. The findings of this study show, first of all, that proficient readers displayed more competency in monitoring their on-going thinking process since they tended to monitor their reading process all the time in order to compensate for words that had not been previously decoded. Secondly, the proficient readers employed higher levels of comprehension monitoring which included internal and external consistency (Baker, 1985, 1996). Thirdly, comprehension monitoring can be developed by interaction with a knowledgeable person. Teacher intervention enhanced the less-proficient readers' development of comprehension monitoring by providing them with basic language knowledge as a resource for comprehension monitoring and integrating sporadic information. Finally, the present study suggests that comprehension monitoring is no less significant than reading strategies. Comprehension monitoring can only become possible when there is something available to be monitored (Perfetti, Maureen, & Foltz, 1996). Instruction of basic language knowledge, therefore, should come before that of comprehension monitoring.