The impact of teacher educators’ mediation on developing cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies for learning reading skills

This study investigated the impact of teacher educators' mediation on the development of cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies essential for autonomous learning in EFL reading skills and its effect on reading performance. A quasi-experimental design with mixed methods was employed at Kotebe University of Education in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, involving two intact sections of first-year social science students (N=80). Participants were randomly assigned to experimental (n=40) and control (n=40) groups. An experienced English instructor mediated the experimental group using mediation strategies (MLE), while the control group received traditional instruction. Data were collected through reading proficiency standardized tests, questionnaires, and classroom observations, then analyzed using percentages, mean, standard deviation, t-tests, and thematic analysis. The results of the research indicated that mediation significantly enhanced the experimental group’s cognitive and meta-cognitive strategy use, leading to greater autonomy in EFL reading. The experimental group also achieved higher scores on reading skills tests compared to the control group, with Cohen’s d indicating a large effect size. The study concludes that mediated teaching strategies substantially improve trainees’ cognitive and meta-cognitive abilities, fostering autonomy and academic success. The study recommends that English instructors integrate mediation techniques into their teaching practices to enhance students' learning strategies and overall reading performance.