Motivating language learners through metalinguistic knowledge: an intervention study

This paper reports on a research project investigating effects of teaching meta-linguistic knowledge on students’ attitudes towards language learning,  delivered to 97 students aged 13-14 ( Year 8 & Year 9) in three different state schools. A questionnaire measuring attitudes towards languages and language learning, closely tailored to the content of the intervention, was administered one week before and two weeks after the intervention, and differences measured. In addition, qualitative student feedback was gathered and analysed. Results show significant changes in two out of three constructs (quantitative), and effects on students’ thinking about language learning (qualitative). In conclusion, the results suggest that pedagogical interventions which foreground cognitive effects of language learning and global linguistic issues positively influence Anglophone language learners’ attitudes towards language learning.