Students’ Perceptions of Motivation and Use of Metacognitive Self-Regulated Learning Strategies In Remote Asynchronous Elementary Spanish Classes

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, task value, metacognitive self-regulation, self-efficacy for learning, and cumulative GPA predicts academic success among college students enrolled in remote, asynchronous Elementary Spanish I and II courses. The study was conducted during the Summer 2020 term at a large urban research university in the Southeastern United States. Data for this study were collected from students enrolled in Elementary Spanish I or II courses. One hundred and sixty-eight participants provided answers for five of the scales included in Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, and McKeachie’s (1991) Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Multiple regression was used to test the relationship between the predictor variables and the outcome variable. The results indicated that 41% of the variance in Spanish course grades was accounted for by the predictor variables. Three of the predictor variables were statistically significant, self-efficacy, metacognitive self-regulation, and cumulative GPA. Self-efficacy and cumulative GPA showed a positive relationship to course grade when examining correlation coefficients. Metacognitive self-regulation indicated a negative relationship to course grade when predictor variables were included in the model. When the predictor variables were not included in the model, there was a positive bivariate correlation between metacognitive self-regulation and class grade.
This research contributes to our understanding of the students’ perception of motivational constructs and metacognitive self-regulation during the COVID-19 crisis. As it pertains to Elementary Spanish classes, this study should be replicated once the pandemic abates to examine if there is a difference in perceptions of self-efficacy and metacognitive self-regulation in face-to-face, blended, and online classes. Academic coaching at the institutional level should be considered to support students whose self-efficacy and use of metacognitive self-regulation strategies may be underwhelming.