Teaching/developing vocabulary through metacognition

Metacognition, or the practice of thinking about thinking, has the potential to be a powerful tool toward the development of second language vocabulary. Strategies connected with metacognition are concerned with the regulation of learning, and are further categorized in relation to planning, monitoring, and evaluation, that is, the point at which they occur during the learning process. Although the benefits of metacognition extend to all aspects of language acquisition, these strategies have been demonstrated to be effective in regard to the learning of L2 vocabulary in that they allow learners to become more self‐regulated in their learning. Teachers can foster metacognition by incorporating reflection into classroom activities and assignments, for example through the use of vocabulary notebooks, reflective questions, frequent no‐stakes testing, and learning journals. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.