An Analysis of the Relationships between Test Takers' Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategy Use and Second Language Test Performance.

Summary and Implications The relationships between strategy use and SLTP areextremely complex, and at times very subtle; multidimensionalconstructs are involved and multiplex interactions could occurbetweenandamongthestudyvariables.Nonetheless,thepresentfindingshaveanumberofimplicationsforSLAandlanguagetest-ing research.Theoretically, this study has drawn on learner strategyresearch, cognitive psychology, and SL assessment research topropose a model of the relationships between self-reported cogni-tive and metacognitive strategy use and SLTP, thereby contribut-ing to the formulation of a more comprehensive view of cognitionand SLTP. The model presented here showed that MP seems toexert an executive function over CP. Moreover, using certainstrategies appears to affect SLTP, albeit both negatively and posi-tively; using other strategies seems to have no effect at all. Thismodel, although limiting its notion of SLTP to the 5 tasks meas-uredbythe FCEAnchorTest andgeneralizableonlytothepopula-tions studied, provides baseline information for furtherexploration of the relationships between strategy use and LTP.Methodologically,thestudyusedquestionnairedatatorepre-sent mental processing. Although I thoroughly analyzed the databefore including them in the models, I cannot claim that data fromself-reports directly reflect mental processing. Nonetheless, manyresearchers,myselfincluded,supporttheuseofquestionnairesasaviable elicitation procedure because they afford such a degree ofstructure,despitetheconstantthreattointernalvalidity.Analytically, this study has demonstrated the value of usingexploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, andSEM as primary research tools for investigating multiple vari-ables simultaneously and providing insights into their possiblerelationships. It also showed that, in addition to the use of “stan-dard” models, the use of “non-standard” models allows for theexploration of “specific” effects—a use of SEM previously not seenin language-testing research.

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