Talking about texts: Middle school students’ engagement in metalinguistic talk

In this paper, discourse analytical methods are applied to data from two middle school classrooms, as a teacher, researcher, and students’ engage in research based curricula (Martínez et al., 2008 and Orellana and Reynolds, 2008) designed to leverage students’ language brokering skills and facilitate discussion about languages. Analysis centers on teacher and researcher mediated talk that engages students in exploring their linguistic skills through an examination of voice and register in multiple settings. This paper argues that engaging in talk about how language meets our social needs can provide an authentic and valuable way for teachers and students to recognize what they can do and do bring to the classroom. This type of talk can also help to cultivate students’ metalinguistic awareness and promote students’ discursive consciousness.

► Students explore how language meets their individual and collective social needs. ► Talk mediates understandings of voice and register. ► Talk helps to cultivate students’ metalinguistic awareness and promote students’ discursive consciousness. ► Documents an authentic and valuable way for teachers and students to recognize what they can do and do bring to the classroom.