52 metacognitive learning strategies in the writing activity. In addition, based on the
data, it can be seen that the contributions of metacognitive learning strategies to develop writing skills in the writing activity are classified into three, as follows:
a. To Center S
tudents’ Learning
According to Hyland 2002, writing is central to the writer‟s personal
experience and social identities, and people are often evaluated by their control of it. In addition, the writing process includes activity which contributes to the final
written product and one of them is by including the thinking practices Sobal, 2001. In the beginning of the writing activity, the thinking process will assist the
students to develop their writing and it will also give contribution for the students to get focused with what they will write or center their learning. Based on the
interview result, most of the students confirmed that they thought and got focused before starting to write when they were asked to write by their English teacher in
the writing activity. It led the students before starting to write the text in writing activity. According to the interview result, the students did several activities
before starting to write and they said: Berpikir
What I did for the first time was thinking. Student 1 Langsung menulis sambil berpikir
I directly wrote while thinking. Student 2 Mikir-mikir susunan kalimatnya biar jadi apa.. biar jadi pas
I thought about the sentence organisation in order to make it suitable. Student 3
53 Tanya-tanya dulu, kalau udah tau apa yang mau ditulis, ya ditulis
I asked about what I wanted to write to the teacher or friends and I would write as soon as I had gotten the information. Student 4
Langsung membuat I directly wrote. Student 5
Based on the students‟ responses above, it can be inferred that some students did the thinking process before they started to write. Furthermore,
according to Tompkins 2003, not all writers use that process in their writing activity as chronologically because some of them tend to move back and forth the
process as they desire. Besides, writing activity involves the knowledge to know when, where and why to use particular strategies for learning and problem
solving. Therefore, using metacognitive learning strategies helps the students as the prior knowledge to plan a strategy in a learning task, including taking
necessary steps in order to reflect and evaluate their learning process as needed.
b. To
Arrange and Plan Students’ Learning
By using metacognitive learning strategies, the students can control their learning, including strategy management their progress or goals in the learning
activities and writing makes it possible to gather, preserve, and transmit information widely, with great detail and accuracy MacArthur et all. 2008. It is
also associated with the learners‟ strategy to solve the challenges that they have in learning activity. Since metacognitive learning strategies provide learners to be
successful thinkers, Fogarty 1994 suggests that students must develop a plan in order to arrange and plan their learning. Based on the interview result, most of the
54 students confirmed that they develop a plan in writing the text. The plan guides
them in the writing activity. According to the interview result, the students made plans in writing activity and they said:
Cari topik sama temanya. Iya. Ya itu membuat topik, tema yang mau ditulis. Biar nanti nggak banyak kesalahan.
I tried to find the topic and theme. Yes, I make plan. I make the topic and theme which will be written. I make planning to decrease the
mistakes. Student 1
Ya. Yang mau ditulis, terus apalagi.. Setelah ditulis itu bentuknya mau kayak gimana gitu. Itu.. Agar lebih mudah kalau menulis.
Yes, I make plan. I make plans about the things that I want to write and how the writing will be. I make planning to make it easier when writing.
Student 2
Nggak. Mikir kalimatnya, disesuaikan sama judulnya. No, I do not make plan. I usually think about the sentence, so it can be
fit with the title. Student 3 Membuat. Ya, ceritanya mau gimana, kata-katanya. Ya biar.. keliatan
lebih mudah. Yes, I make plan. I make plan about what the story would be and the
words that I would use in my writing. I make planning to make me easier when I want to write. Student 4
Iya. Ya.. bagaimana membuat tulisan itu supaya baik.. ide pokoknya, terus nanti mau diisi apa aja tulisannya. Supaya untuk memudahkan.
Yes, I make plan. I plan about how to produce good writing. I also pay attention with the main idea and what the writing would be. I plan to
overcome the difficulties in writing. Student 5
Based on the students‟ responses above, most of the students make plan for their writing in order to help them in the writing process. It helped the students to
complete the task in the writing activity. It also helped to improve the students‟
