Metacognitive strategies, intercultural communicative competence, and language proficiency among Chinese vocational college students

This quantitative descriptive study assessed the metacognitive strategies, communicative competence and language proficiency of 425 college students in a vocational college in China.This research also determined the relationship between these constructs to propose an enhanced language program for students at Chinese vocational colleges.This research administered a researcher-made survey questionnaire during the first semester of school year 2024-2025.The data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation test.Findings revealed that the respondents exhibited very good level of metacognitive strategies.The overall communicative competence was rated highly across all areas and the respondents generally agreed on their competence, with reading scoring the highest and listening scoring the lowest.Additionally, strong positive correlations were found between metacognitive strategies and both communicative competence and language proficiency.Based on the findings, a comprehensive training program for Chinese vocational students is proposed to emphasize metacognitive strategy development, focusing on self-awareness, goal-setting, and planning.This program may enhance communicative competence by incorporating targeted activities to improve language proficiency across reading, writing, listening, and speaking.