A.

Describe (a) metacognitive, (b) affective and (c) social blocks you have experienced in your own
attempts to learn English.
Be specific for each (a,b,c).
a) METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES
For what concerns the metacognitive strategies, I could not say I used them all, or at least, I did not
use them consciously. For instance, even though all my teachers told us to always read the theory before
actually doing our homework, my focus was only to finish it or the tasks given in class or at home. I did,
somehow connect the new information with previous material if I knew there was something that could
help me finish the tasks easier or quicker.
I was a student with a not so big attention span (and Im still working on this) and I could not
concentrate for a very long time on a task if it was not interesting enough for me or if I somewhat could
predict what I had to do. Because of this, I would turn my directed attention into selective attention,
focusing on what I thought I would have to pay attention to (specific words key words, speaker
intonation or attitude). But although my intuition was pretty good, my answers were not as complete as
my teachers expected.
When it comes to planning my learning, I couldnt say I was driven by intrinsic motivation, I only
wanted to be better than any of my classmates and have better marks than them. In order to achieve this
goal, that also implied the purpose of the given task, I addressed every task pragmatically, as if it had
been a math problem: I focused on what I had to accomplish then on the steps required for this to happen.
I was, on the other hand very bad at organizing my materials (I used to have a universal notebook for
several subjects, including English, Biology, Psychology, French, etc) and I used to pay more attention to
what the teacher said than writing it down.
Then, I did not pay so much attention on self monitoring or on self-evaluation, because I was never
satisfied with myself. I let my teacher do this job and I trusted my grades. I did, somehow, remark
whether my reading skills improved or the quantity of the language production increased, but it remained
only in my thoughts.
b) AFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
I am usually a relaxed person, but there are moments when I panic and cannot see a way out, but this
happens rarely. As a student I used to listen to music a lot while writing or reading, and I still do this.
Sometimes I feel that it inspires me when I lack of ideas. Music calms me down and helps me
concentrate on what I have to do; it kind of keeps me going on. I also use music as a short break (10-15
min) between longer periods of studying.
But that would only happen at home. In class, in high school, I was quite shy and preferred not to
take risks than saying something stupid or wrong, because the teacher was a bit too demanding and would
not forgive or forget a mistake. When it was my turn I was so nervous and always seeking her look to see
if everything was okay and if I could continue. The good thing was that everyone felt the same and I
did not see myself different. At some point we discussed with our form teacher to help us out somehow,
but we only made things worse.
c) SOCIAL STRATEGIES
When it comes to asking questions, I remember that once, when I was in the 9 th grade, I asked my
teacher something about a phrase or a word and she told me she was not a dictionary and that I should
find the answer by myself. So I did not repeat this anymore with her. She was only stuck to her own ideas

and would not accept ours, without any explanations. This is why most of the times I would ask my
classmates for clarification and I would give them my answers whenever someone asked me something
and I had something to say.
Also, we did not have to do many group projects or group activities during classes, but whenever we
did, we did enjoy the class and had fun and were motivated to learn and accomplish the task.
B. What would you recommend (be specific!) that students with the same problems should do to overcome
those barriers?
Please elaborate.
To those who have problems in organizing their materials, like I did, I would suggest that they should use
sticky notes, markers, and diagrams when they have troubles in finding what they have to do and how.
Then, they could also ask for the help of the teacher or of one of their classmates or friends that do not
confront with this problem and use their methods if possible.
In what concerns self evaluation or self monitoring, I really think it is a good idea that students should
keep some sort of diary in which they would write their feelings about their progress and the actual
elements that show this progress and how they managed to do it. Because, if they will confront stagnation
or languor and do not find a way to overcome it, they could go to their diary and see what they used
previously.
Then, those who are anxious all the time and nervous should think that they are not alone and all of the
other students have the same problem. They should ask, again, a piece of advice from their classmates,
and try to be more positive, take a deep breath and continue. They could listen to music, lay down a bit,
take a break and then have another look at the task, when they are at home. Then, they should eat well and
have a good sleep every day. In time they will overcome this anxiety in public as well.