Metalinguistic Awareness in Contemporary English Language Teaching: Challenges in EFL Contexts with a Focus on Bangladesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36312/86t5t755Keywords:
Metalinguistic awareness, English language teaching, Speaking skills, Higher-order thinking skills, EFL learnersAbstract
Metalinguistic awareness has gained increasing attention in English language teaching because it enables learners to reflect on linguistic forms, meanings, and communicative functions. However, many EFL classrooms, including those in Bangladesh, remain dominated by teacher-centered and examination-oriented practices that provide limited opportunities for students to develop speaking competence and higher-order cognitive skills. This study aimed to explore the implementation of a metalinguistic-oriented English language teaching model and examine its contribution to middle school students’ speaking development and cognitive engagement. A qualitative research design was employed involving 27 EFL learners in middle schools in Bangladesh. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the model supported learning through five interconnected dimensions: explicit language reflection, contextualized speaking activities, metalinguistic feedback, HOTS-oriented tasks, and utilization of learners’ linguistic resources. Students reported increased confidence, improved language awareness, enhanced reasoning ability, and greater learner autonomy. The study concludes that metalinguistic awareness functions not only as a mechanism for improving linguistic competence but also as a cognitive bridge connecting language learning with critical thinking development. The findings contribute a context-sensitive ELT model for multilingual EFL environments.
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