Exploring metalinguistic knowledge of low to intermediate proficiency EFL students in Japan

Abstract

In line with recent studies recognizing positive correlation between metalinguistic knowledge and language proficiency, this study aimed to find out how much metalanguage is understood by low to intermediate proficiency English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Japan. A very simple metalanguage test was designed and administered to 1,180 non-English majors at two Japanese private universities. Some of the participants’ metalinguistic ability was compared with their standardized test scores. For 639 participants who took the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) Bridge® test, their reading scores and their metalinguistic ability showed the strongest correlations (r = .66), and for 87 participants whose scores from the Visualizing English Language Competency (VELC) test were available, the strongest correlation between the two tests was also with the reading section (r = .80). The results revealed that even very simple metalanguage, such as noun, adverb, and article, was not recognized by many of the participants.