The effect of cognitive and meta-cognitive strategy instruction on academic performance Abstract. The purpose of the article is to explore the effect of cognitive and metacognitive language learning strategies on learners’ academic performance, strategic thinking, and self-regulated learning to tackle a major problem regarding Kazakhstani students’ low level of functional competence and literacy according to PISA-2018 results. To address the issue, the article considers a wide array of classifications of higher order cognitive and metacognitive strategies presented by researchers, different ranges and types of learners’ actual strategies use, models of cognition and metacognition as well as positive and negative research findings focused on single and multiple strategy trainings. Multiple sets of explicit strategy instructions are needed for learners to comprehend and perform the task successfully, achieve a learning goal, monitor selected cognitive strategies, regulate the whole cognitive learning process when doing the task and transfer prior knowledge to new learning and life situations. The article also presents many issues raised in teachers’ strategy instructions. As a solution, directions for further research are given to integrate all three cognitive, metacognitive, and social-affective strategies into classroom settings as the power of social interaction, cooperation, motivation, and self-efficacy believes is crucial to improve learners’ academic proficiency and functional competence. Keywords: cognitive, metacognitive strategies, strategy instruction, single and multiple strategies, reading comprehension, model of strategy instruction.
