Sessions 4-5

Metalanguage in ESL/EFL CLASSROOM

What is metalanguage?
Group up.
Group 1 watches the video. Group 2 reads the passage about metalanguage.
Exchange the ideas.

Group 1

Group 2
Underline all the past simple verbs.
Is this a second or a third conditional?
Today we’re going to look at reported speech.
Sound familiar? These are examples of teacher talk which are probably heard
in English as a Foreign Language classrooms all over the world. They are also
examples of metalanguage. Metalanguage is the language used to talk about
language.
Why do we use metalanguage?
First of all, it makes it easier to talk about the technical aspects of the
language. It provides a common framework on which to give explanations of
language. Can you imagine trying to explain comparatives and superlatives
without using the term adjective? Or how to construct the present perfect without
using the term past participle? It would be a lot more difficult, would probably
include more fluffy language, might be a bit confusing, and would definitely take a
lot of time.
Similarly, metalanguage helps our language learners compartmentalise
language. Effectively, using these terms helps our learners process the new
language we are teaching and relate it to the language they already know. This is
useful because building on our learners’ previous knowledge can help them learn
more easily than learning a topic from scratch.
It’s expected!
 Then, bear in mind that our students have probably been language learners for
a while. As a result, they expect a certain degree of metalanguage as they are likely
to have encountered the language in previous English lessons or in coursebooks or
in reference books. Especially students who come from a very traditional
educational background would have been taught using the technical terms for
language and would find it very odd if you as their EFL teacher did not use those
same terms.
Finally, teachers are expected to know metalanguage as it is a sign of
knowledge. We learn metalinguistic terms as a part of our training and so it
becomes second nature to use it in the classroom. As soon as we learn to use the
terms appropriately, it is easy to slip into the habit of using them all the time – but
that’s also possibly because we understand its usefulness.
Does using metalanguage confuse our learners?
On the other hand, there are numerous arguments against the use of
metalanguage.
For one thing, using it may require teaching it, which is a waste of precious
classroom time that could be spent teaching the language that students will use in
the real world.
It can further be confusing for students if the metalanguage is not clear or if
the teacher is not totally comfortable with using metalanguage. Grammatical terms
can be tricky, so even slightly misusing a term can cause huge confusion with our
learners.
Plus, it can make language learning seem a lot more challenging. If a learner
doesn’t understand a metalinguistic term, they can be put off from even attempting
to learn the target language. If the teacher overuses metalanguage it might even
make the lesson boring. And, if this happens and our learners become bored or
give up, we have lost them at the first hurdle.
Should we use metalanguage?
As with most things in life, this is not a black and white issue.
To say we shouldn’t use any metalinguistic terms would be foolish, as they
can be very useful. Rather, teachers need to identify which metalinguistic terms
they should utilise in the classroom. These need to be metalinguistic terms that are
already familiar to their students and the use of which will save time and simplify
rather than complicate matters.
If any terms are likely to cause more confusion than clarity or if even the
teacher is not totally sure of the meaning of it, then it should be left out completely.
This will probably end up in the teacher using very common metalinguistic terms,
like parts of speech, but not more uncommon terms, like those referring to
paralinguistic features of language or theoretical terms.
On a general level, common metalinguistics terms are parts of speech and
names of tenses, while more uncommon metalinguistic terms are those which
relate to very complex grammar or literary devices. A good rule of thumb is if you
are comfortable with the term, then it is more than likely accessible to your
learners.
 Critical Incident. Jorge's Dilemma (HO2)
I provide EFL instruction to 16-17-year-olds on a daily basis. Where I teach,
students all share the same home language, which I also speak-but I try not to use
it during class time. They love being social together and have a lot of energy. It's
always a struggle to get the class started and to get them into the work. From the
moment I walked into the classroom the other day, my students were talking a lot,
but not in English. No matter how much I tried to get their attention and told them
to use English during the lesson, they kept reverting back to using their native
language. They used their native language with each other and even when
responding to my questions posed in English.
I had broken them into pairs to practice a speaking activity and that seemed to
work as they used the phrases provided in the workbook, but then they began
chatting again in their native language.
I really want to make them use English throughout the period since this is the
only time they really have to focus on English.
I know they are not shy or afraid; they just don't seem to realize that this is
their time to practice English. I know also that sometimes I probably use too much
of our common first language in explaining directions, reprimanding their
behavior, and so on. I wondered if I had been guilty too of not using English
enough during our class time.

Jorge Tries to Problem-Solve

I thought about whether I had really established a clear rule about English-
only during our class, and decided to start the next day with a new system. I started
class by telling the students that we would be using only English from then on in
our classroom, and I put each student's name on the board with a smiley face next
to it. If they used only English, the smile would stay. If they were caught not using
English, an eye / mouth / and so on would be erased. At first they didn't seem to
believe that I really was going to enforce the rule, but I kept to it. The class
definitely quietened down a lot as they now had to use English to communicate!

Scott Thornbury’s resume about grading. HO 3

Read and say how they are attributable to your learners. HO 1
Techniques: What can be graded?
There are a number of aspects of language that the teacher can grade when speaking to the
class. You might choose to grade none, one, some or all of these:
1 Grammar and lexis
Restrict language to those items below a certain perceived level of difficulty, for example, by
avoiding any grammatical or lexical items that have not yet been covered in the learners'
coursebook.
2 Sounds
 Avoid listening difficulties that might be caused by pronunciation features, for example, by
avoiding elision and assimilation (e.g. saying. 'What do you want?' with each word pronounced
separately, rather than running them together as, for example, /wodzu:wont/).
3 Stress
Simplify what is said by stressing important words more strongly. Leave short pauses before
and after the stress to aid understanding, for example, 'I want you to answer only the ... third...
question'. This is known as punching key words.
4 Sequencing of content
State information in a logical order, perhaps mirroring the order that students will have to do
things.
5 Speed of delivery
Regardless of the language items used, slow down (or speed up). Introduce longer - or shorter -
pauses between clauses or sentences.
6 Discourse features and noise
The clarity of what is said can be affected by language used that is not central to the core
message. Any noise or unnecessary wrapping around the key message may add comprehension
difficulties and lead to confusion. Noise may be words or expressions (eg. you know, 'Well, what
I want you to do is ...*), entire sentences that add nothing to the message or distracting pieces of
information or commands about other things, such as discipline issues. Repetitions of
information in slightly different wording can also cause problems.
7 Complexity of message
Quite apart from the language used, there is also, of course, the issue of how complex the ideas
conveyed by the language are. Break difficult concepts down into smaller, more easily
understood pieces.
8 Quantity of message
Aim to say very brief things and avoid much longer ones.
Here is an example of different degrees of grading in terms of some of the issues mentioned
above. The teacher wants the class to work in pairs and write answers to a grammar exercise.
Notice that the shorter graded instructions actually contain more of the useful information.
Ungraded 'So, could you please - what I wanted you to do was to talk together to do the
exercise in pairs... so get together with a partner, could you... and it's on page 22.. so, OK, when
you've sorted out your pair, make a start on what you've got to do, and jot down the answers.
Graded
'OK Everyone. I want you to get into pairs, please. Turn to page 22, and do exercise
B. Talk together to agree the answers.' Highly graded
'Get into pairs. (Waits for students to do it.) 'Page 22.' (Waits for students to
do It.) 'Exercise B. Work together.' (Uses a gesture to indicate pairs.)

AT HOME:
1. Come up with your classroom English for elementary/basic school:
- How to begin the class;
- How to reprimand the learners;
- How to finish a lesson.
2. Watch the video lesson and comment on the teacher’s metalanguage. Suggest necessary
changes. (elementary level, lesson 39)