In this study, the following terms were defined in this manner:
- Language Learning Disabilities (LLD): A student who has deficits in word recognition, listening comprehension skills, metacognition, and language in the areas of vocabulary, syntax, morphology, and text level processing (Catts & Kamhi, 2005).
- Metacognition: A student's awareness and reflection of his/her own mental processes, which allows the student to self manage by planning, evaluating, and regulating his/her processes to successfully accomplish tasks (Harris & Hodges, 1995; Westby, 2005). Metacognition consists of self-appraisal and self-management strategies. Self-appraisal is divided into three types of knowledge: declarative (what strategies to apply), conditional (when and why to apply strategies), and procedural (how to apply strategies) (Jacobs & Paris, 1987; Westby). Self-management includes the acts of planning (select and apply cognitive strategies to achieve a goal), evaluation (determine whether or not what has been read or heard is understood), and regulation (monitor progress and revise the goal or strategy as needed) (Jacobs & Paris).
- Comprehension Monitoring: A metacognitive strategy individuals use to determine success in completing a task and to self-correct an unsuccessful attempt by making adjustments to the selection and application of strategies (Harris & Hodges, 1995; Westby, 2005). Comprehension monitoring for listening comprehension has been described as the ability to detect a problem and attempt to resolve the problem by performing some type of action, such as asking for clarification (Walters & Chapman, 2000).
- Text Structures: How the information within a textbook is organized or presented, which is based on the pattern of the text (Harris & Hodges, 1995). For example, expository text patterns may be organized by cause-effect, lists, problem-solution, while narrative text patterns follow a more consistent pattern of character, setting, problem, action, solution (Harris & Hodges, 1995; Westby, 2005).