Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, November 2015 Part V _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 62 P-ISSN 2350-7756 | E-ISSN 2350-8442 | www.apjmr.com Metacognitive Strategy Awareness and Reading Comprehension of Prospective Pre- Service Secondary Teachers Boyet L. Batang Isabela State University, Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines bbatang827@gmail.com Date Received: September 6, 2015; Date Revised: November 6, 2015 Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Vol. 3 No. 4, 62-67 November 2015 Part V P-ISSN 2350-7756 E-ISSN 2350-8442 www.apjmr.com Abstract –Reading is done to extend one’s knowledge, to enrich one’s experience and to develop desirable attitudes, habits, skills, and interests in reading. It is the most useful means for learning among students. Employing Metacognitive strategies enable students to comprehend easier and read faster. This research aims to draw the relationship between the awareness on metacognitive strategies and reading comprehension levels of prospective pre-service secondary teachers. Results revealed the respondents’ reading comprehension level had a significant relationship towards Metacognitive strategies they apply in understanding text in English that is, those who apply effective strategies in reading had higher comprehension level in reading. It is recommended that the teachers should teach and emphasize the advantages of applying Metacognitive strategies in reading. Thus, students’ reading comprehension level will be enhanced. Keywords –Metacognitive strategy awareness, reading comprehension, prospective pre-service secondary teachers INTRODUCTION The role of metacognition in the area of research is now a subject of different studies especially on reading. Metacognition is a relatively new nomenclature for body of theory and research that answers learners’ knowledge and use of their cognitive resources[1]. According to Sen [2], metacognition engages a child’s knowledge about his or her own thought processes through exploration of learning activities, including reading, thinking process, self–awareness, understanding memory techniques and learning characteristics. Furthermore, metacognition includes thinking about strategies that help students in understanding their schema with new information and to code them in their memories [3],[2]. Knowledge on tasks may include extracting and magnifying the level of difficulty of information. For instance, in the area of reading, it is said that the familiar topic information is easier to understand than that of the unfamiliar. Concerning strategies, it is also known that the verbal expansion of material assists in retrieval or prediction of article; and that of content based on titles improves comprehension. Metacognitive awareness, therefore, involves levels of comprehension and conscious application of one or more strategies to improve knowledge [4]. Metacognitive strategies are related to how a person think and learn [5]. Baker and Brown [6] conducted several different studies on the aspects of the relationships between metacognitive ability and effective reading. From this, two dimensions of metacognitive ability have been recognized. These are: (1) knowledge of cognition or metacognitive awareness, and (2) regulation of cognition which as stated includes the reader’s knowledge about his or her own cognitive resources. For example, if a reader is cognizant to the demand of performing effectively, then the reader take steps to meet the demands of a reading situation more effectively. If, however, the reader is not conscious of the task complexity, then the reader can hardly be expected to take action or to anticipate activities or to recover from task difficulties [7],[8]. Many studies have found a correlation between effective use of metacognitive skills and fluent reading. In fact, a typical of good readers must possess the metacognitive skills e.g., adjusting reading rate, skimming, previewing, monitoring, cognition as well as self-regulation strategies such as