Talking About Grammar in the Foreign Language Classroom

Abstract

Meta talk - defined here as explicit talk about grammar - is a facet of foreign language (FL) teaching which has not attracted much research interest over the years. Prompted by this gap in our understanding of FL instruction, I undertook a study of the role of meta talk in the classroom practice of two teachers of English as a foreign language. The research provided both descriptive data about the initiation, development, and outcomes of meta talk in the teachers' work, as well as insight into the rationale behind the approaches to meta talk which these teachers adopted. The study identifies a wide range of methodological, psychological and experiential factors which shape the role meta talk plays in FL classrooms and outlines issues for further research in this area of FL teaching.