Integrating Metacognitive Strategies and Islamic Reflection: A Case Study of Speaking Instruction

Abstract

The study aims to identify the aspects of metacognitive strategies employed by the teacher in developing students' speaking skills and to examine how these strategies were implemented to enhance students' speaking skills. This qualitative case study involved an English teacher and students investigated the metacognitive strategies applied by an English teacher of the Islamic Junior High School in Sampit, Kalimantan Tengah Province, Indonesia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis of the teacher's lesson plans. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis following the six phases of Braun and Clarke, involving familiarization, coding, theme searching, reviewing, defining, and reporting. The findings show that the teacher systematically employed three interconnected metacognitive phases: planning through vocabulary-based and contextual preparation, monitoring through real-time feedback and peer-assisted learning, and evaluating through post-task reflection and differentiated feedback. These strategies were embedded in lesson planning and further reinforced through the Islamic value of muhasabah (self-reflection), creating a culturally grounded model of self-regulated speaking instruction. The teacher implemented the strategies through explicit modeling, guided practice, and gradual release of responsibility, resulting in observable improvements in students' confidence, fluency, and self-correction ability. This study concludes that the systematic integration of planning, monitoring, and evaluating strategies, combined with faith-based reflective practices, effectively supports speaking development and learner autonomy among EFL learners in Islamic junior high schools.