For example, not many native English-speakers can tell you what the phrase "present perfect tense" means. Of course teachers know, and professionals who work with language (journalists, editors etc.) also know. Other English-speakers use present perfect every day - it's part of their native language - but they have no reason to learn this phrase, so most of them don't.
However, if a native English-speaker asked you "What's present perfect tense?" you could explain, couldn't you? You could show them the form (have/has + participle), and explain some ways to use it, and give some examples ... in fact, you have a lot of detail about this tense in your head.
This is because the phrase "present perfect tense" is metalanguage. It is the language that we use to describe language.
You probably use more metalanguage than you realise. If you see a new word in a text, but you're not sure what kind of word it is, you might ask "Is it a noun?". "Noun" is a word we use to describe language: it's metalanguage. And you've probably used this word hundreds or thousands of times.
"Ok, but what's your point, Anthony?"
Good question :-)
To improve your IELTS results, you need to know two things about metalanguage.
1: Metalanguage works.
Let me explain this. Some teachers don't like using metalanguage, because they think it's unnecessarily technical. For this reason, researchers got interested in finding out whether metalanguage helps students to learn or not. They did a series of experiments, in which students asked questions about language and teachers answered. The researchers instructed some teachers to answer using metalanguage that the students knew, and others to use no metalanguage at all. Then, a few weeks later, they tested the students on the things they had asked about.
Guess what? The students whose questions were answered with metalanguage did much better in the tests! This suggests that knowing some technical terms for language can really help you to improve your English and get a better IELTS score.
2: IELTS has its own metalanguage.
I'm going to list some of these words and phrases below.
It would be a really good idea to print this list, read the definitions, then put the list on your bedroom wall. Every week, we'll talk about a few of these metalanguage words in class. At the end of the week, look at your list, and tick the phrases you heard during our lessons.
Ok, here we go ...
The IELTS Metalanguage list
- a collocation / to collocate
- a converse
- a filler
- an infinitive
- a filler
- an infinitive
- predictable topics
- to speculate
Explanations
a collocation / This is about how words work together.
reasons - like we say "I am tired", not "I do tired".
However, at other times, there aren't any clear
grammatical reasons - it just seems that some words
are 'friends', and some aren't.
Think about the words strong and heavy. Their
main meanings are different, but we can use both of
them to mean "a lot". For example:
"I've got a strong pain in my stomach"
"The traffic was really heavy on the way home."
Strong pain means a lot of pain, and heavy traffic
means a lot of traffic. But we can't reverse these.
"I've got a
"The traffic was really
Is there a grammatical reason for this? No, there
isn't. It just seems that strong and pain like to
be together, and heavy and traffic like to be
together. We could say that heavy and traffic
are 'friends', but strong and traffic are not.
"collocate", or that heavy traffic is a collocation.
We also say that strong and traffic don't collocate.
In IELTS preparation course, you see the words
"collocate" and "collocation" a lot.
They are similar to opposites in a way, but they're
not exactly the same. One person can be both a
mother and a daughter ... whereas one person can't
be both tall and short, because those are opposite
qualities.
We can think about converses as being in a
relationship with two sides, like a pet and its owner,
or a driver and their passenger.
Converses can also be verbs, like learn and teach or
lend and borrow. Again, they suggest a relationship
with two sides.
Of course, there are thousands of these converse
pairs.When you learn a new word which you think
you might use in the exam, you should find out its
opposite or its converse. This will help you to
paraphrase.
a filler: This is a word or a phrase that you use when you're
thinking about what to say next. Some fillers are just
noises, like ummmm. Others are single words like
Well, which come at the beginning of speech. There
are also longer fillers like I mean and I suppose (that).
In fact there are hundreds of these, but if you know
a few important ones and you can use them well, it
will give you time to think in the Speaking Module.
thinking about what to say next. Some fillers are just
noises, like ummmm. Others are single words like
Well, which come at the beginning of speech. There
are also longer fillers like I mean and I suppose (that).
In fact there are hundreds of these, but if you know
a few important ones and you can use them well, it
will give you time to think in the Speaking Module.
an infinitive: This is a grammar term, and we don't actually study
much grammar while preparing for IELTS. However,
you do need to know this.
Every verb has a lot of different forms. There's the
he/she/it present simple form, for example, which
changes walk to walks and go to goes. Then there
are the past forms, as in walk/walked/walked
and go/went/gone, and the continuous forms like
be walking and be going.
If you look in a dictionary, you'll notice that thesemuch grammar while preparing for IELTS. However,
you do need to know this.
Every verb has a lot of different forms. There's the
he/she/it present simple form, for example, which
changes walk to walks and go to goes. Then there
are the past forms, as in walk/walked/walked
and go/went/gone, and the continuous forms like
be walking and be going.
forms don't usually appear. You won't find a
definition of going in a dictionary - instead, you'll
just find the basic verb go with no added parts.
This is what we call the "infinitive" - it's the basic
form of the verb, with no special parts added.
It's important to know this, because a lot of
grammar structures include an infinitive. For
example, "would + infinitive" can mean
- "I'm imagining something" OR
- "This happened repeatedly in the past"
"Would" + something else has different meanings.
Therefore, you need to recognise infinitives.
to paraphrase: It means "to say the same thing in a different way".
This is incredibly important in IELTS. When definition of going in a dictionary - instead, you'll
just find the basic verb go with no added parts.
This is what we call the "infinitive" - it's the basic
form of the verb, with no special parts added.
It's important to know this, because a lot of
grammar structures include an infinitive. For
example, "would + infinitive" can mean
- "I'm imagining something" OR
- "This happened repeatedly in the past"
"Would" + something else has different meanings.
Therefore, you need to recognise infinitives.
to paraphrase: It means "to say the same thing in a different way".
you write your essay, for example, you can't start
by repeating the question.You have to paraphrase
it. Also, in the Listening Module, a lot of answers
depend on your understanding of paraphrase. A
speaker will say something that paraphrases some
words on your exam paper, and you will have to
depend on your understanding of paraphrase. A
speaker will say something that paraphrases some
words on your exam paper, and you will have to
understand that words you hear and the words
you can see have the same meaning.
predictable topics: The word "predictable" means "We can be
sure in advance that this might happen".
In IELTS, "predictable topics" are those topicssure in advance that this might happen".
which often appear in the exam. Examples include
Your Home Town (a very common topic in the
Speaking Module) and Climate Change (which
appears regularly in all the modules, but especially
in reading).
Researching these topics is a very important part
appears regularly in all the modules, but especially
in reading).
Researching these topics is a very important part
of preparing for IELTS. You need to know some
vocabulary related to the topics, and also some
ideas.To give you an example: in relation to the topic of
Sport, it's very helpful to know
- the names for different types of sporting
equipment
- places where sport is played (e.g. the difference
between a stadium and a sports oval)
- language we use to describe actions in sport
(especially verbs and prepositions, like
"hit the ball over the net")
- language to describe benefits we get from sport
general, and more specifically from different
kinds of sports
(e.g. swimming is good for building strength
and endurance, and it provides a
low-impact workout for all your major
muscle groups.)
to speculate: This is a language function that we use almost every
day. Look at the dialogue below:
A: "I'm looking for William. Have you seen him?"
B: "No, I suppose he could be in the library. I
know he's doing some research for a major
assignment this week."
B is speculating here. She is saying "I don't know
for sure, but using the information I have and
some logic, I can tell you what might be true".
Many IELTS questions ask you to speculate on
different issues, especially in the Speaking Module.
There is a lot of grammar that relates to speculating,
and also some speculating vocabulary. Knowing
some of this will be very useful in the exam.
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