The paper focuses on the development of teacher thinking, specifically L2 teachers' subject-matter cognitions, i.e. their Teacher Language Awareness (TLA) (see e.g. Andrews 2001, 2003). The study examines the evolving TLA, as it relates to grammar, of three teachers, each a graduate with more than 10 years' experience of teaching English in Hong…

Rehabilitates teaching techniques that exploit both the meaning-driven and form-focused potential of reformulation and reconstruction tasks in English-as-a-Second-Language classes. Argues that the potential for focusing learners' attention on form has received little attention in instruction models. (30 references) (Author/CK)

Used a one-year longitudinal study to examine the extent to which grammatical awareness in preschool predicted reading independently of preschool general verbal skills, phonological awareness, and word recognition. Found that, independently of other skills, grammatical awareness predicted word recognition and pseudoword recoding, but not reading…

Discusses the consensus among language teachers that the teaching of grammar helps second language learners develop linguistic competence as part of communicative competence. The article argues that pedagogical grammar can be made less formal by keeping metalinguistic terms, concepts, and analysis at a minimal level. (45 references) (Author/CK)

Investigated a model of metalinguistic awareness, which consists of two components (the control of linguistic processing and the analysis of linguistic knowledge), in children between the ages of five and seven years. Each of the two components was assessed by four metalinguistic tasks. (Contains 35 references.) (JL)

In this paper, the authors explore a methodology for assessing learners' meta-pragmatic awareness of variation in French language use. "Meta-pragmatic awareness" is defined as knowledge of the social meaning of variable second language forms and awareness of the ways in which these forms mark different aspects of social contexts, and is therefore…

It is argued that teaching and learning a second language for communicative competence should not lead to neglect of students' understanding of the way the language works, but rather should include constant development of language awareness. While use of the language in a variety of communicative activities is the central goal of instruction,…

Analyzes the incorporation patterns of well-educated, but low proficiency, Chinese immigrants (n=4) to Spain and of high-proficiency Chinese university students (n=4) with extensive formal training in Spanish. Findings reveal that whereas the university students showed awareness of error and successfully incorporated native speakers' corrections,…

Investigates the relationship between metalinguistic awareness and second language (L2) proficiency of university-level learners of French. Learners' performances on two grammaticality judgment tests and on a test of L2 proficiency were examined in the context of demands made upon these two components according to whether the learners had been…

This paper looks at the employment of metalanguage by advanced English L2 users engaged in Dictogloss, a form-focused collaborative writing task, and compares it with that in an earlier study of intermediate learners. First, three commonly employed types of metalinguistic terms are recognised, listed and compared with those reported in a study of…

Grammaticality judgments are a metalinguistic task type frequently used in second language research. With the addition of response time measurement, often called reaction time measurement, a measure of metalinguistic performance is achieved that can be used to investigate the degree of automatization of linguistic knowledge in language users. This…

A study of Jordanian English-as-a-Second-Language learners examined their metalinguistic knowledge of 15 English grammatical concepts or categories via rule description and exemplification, and also explored the link between metalinguistic knowledge and proficiency in using those categories or their exponents in both formally and…

Surveys the problems of coordinating theory with practice in applied linguistics and language teaching within the context of the disconnections of theory from practice in theoretical linguistics. Explores the basic frameworks of language science in terms of the applicability and proposes an alternative program. (49 references) (Author/CK)

Investigates the linguistic and metalinguistic transfers that arise when French students learn comprehension and production in English. Analyzes how part of the metalinguistic knowledge they have of French is transferred into their metalinguistic knowledge of English, especially concerning simple preterite vs preterite + "be" +…

Discusses the tendency in second-language (L2) pedagogy to make fallacious comparisons between multicompetent L2 learners and monoglot speakers of the target language. The article describes the principal elements of multicompetence and presents a number of their implications for the construction of syllabi and examinations and the development of…