Interactional Metadiscourse in the Classroom: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Native and Non-Native EAP Teachers

Abstract

Although interactional metadiscourse is recognized as a key feature of effective English for academic purposes (EAP) pedagogy, its use varies significantly across teachers’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This corpus-based study employs mixed quantitative and qualitative methods to address the scarcity of direct cross-cultural comparisons by analyzing 16 EAP writing classes, contrasting native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) in the United Kingdom with non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in China. Findings reveal that while both groups employ metadiscourse for pedagogical scaffolding, their strategies diverge notably. NESTs favor hedges and diverse tag questions, fostering dialogic environments that scaffold student autonomy and co-construct knowledge. NNESTs rely more heavily on boosters and restricted directives, creating monologic environments emphasizing authoritative knowledge transmission. Interpreted through sociocultural theory, these patterns represent distinct approaches to managing the Zone of Proximal Development, demonstrating how cultural constructs such as power distance and politeness manifest in classroom discourse. The study advances theory in sociocultural learning and cross-cultural pragmatics while offering important implications for EAP teacher education, advocating for critical reflection on how metadiscursive choices shape pedagogical environments.