Metalinguistic knowledge and cognitive style in Polish classroom learners of English

In this exploratory study, we investigated the relationship between level of English metalinguistic knowledge, or explicit knowledge about the English language, and cognitive style on the wholist/analytic dimension in an intact group of young adult Polish learners of English as a foreign language. Contrary to expectation, metalinguistic knowledge was found to be correlated with a wholist stylistic orientation in the participants. It is argued that there may be an association between a preference for considering information in context and for thinking inductively by moving from observation to principle, and successful performance on a range of language tasks, including metalinguistic tasks which require the correction of highlighted errors and the statement of grammar rules. The paper concludes with proposed implications for learners and teachers in the language classroom.

► EFL learners were tested for metalinguistic knowledge and cognitive style.
► L2 metalinguistic knowledge was found to be correlated with a wholist orientation.
► Inductive thinking may be associated with success on a range of language tasks.