AbstractThis study investigates the use of metacognitive thinking by eight high ability students preparing for their Cambridge A-level and English language qualifications in a Malaysian pre-university college and its impact on their ESL learning. A further aspect of this study was to investigate how these Malaysian students respond to new perspectives on learning English. The research relies mainly on qualitative data produced by a cycle of reflection and self-regulation. The Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) was used to identify the students’ relative strengths in seven dimensions of learning. Individual reflection and written self-reports, interviews with the teacher-researcher, video-recorded and audio-recorded interactions between the participants and their classmates, and selected ESL learning activities were also used for data collection. The findings indicate that awareness of learning dimensions promoted metacognitive thinking and crystallised self-knowledge about learning.....