The role of metalinguistic awareness in foreign language learning: Reporting research results
The role of metalinguistic awareness in foreign language learning: Reporting research results

Summary/Abstract: The ability to perceive language as a structured system, identify its constituent elements and rules, and employ this understanding reflectively in communication, learning and mediation represents one of the most significant factors influencing success in foreign language learning and use. This understanding of metalinguistic awareness also constitutes a central concept related to plurilingual and intercultural competence. The article presents the results of a study conducted in two groups of participants: multilingual students from two foreign universities: Vilnius University and the University of Groningen, who, as representatives of philological and multilingualism-related programs, exhibit a highly developed metalinguistic awareness, and multilingual international students of the Jagiellonian University Medical College, who operate outside the context of conscious reflection on language as a system. The participants had no knowledge of the target language and no prior experience, even rudimentary, in learning it. The target language was Polish, which served as the basis for the language test used as the research tool. The findings - especially the significantly better results of participants with enhanced metalinguistic awareness - provide a foundation for discussing the significance of developing and utilizing plurilingual competence and metacognitive strategies in the process of foreign language teaching and learning.

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