ESL teachers' metalanguage as evidence of their metalinguistic knowledge of the English intonation system

The present study investigated six experienced English as a second language (ESL) teachers' metalinguistic knowledge of the English intonation system through analysis of their metalanguage. Participants' metalanguage related to intonation was collected while completing three tasks: (1) a semi-structured interview, (2) a simulated teaching demonstration, and (3) a pronunciation needs assessment. Qualitative content analysis revealed information related to their metalinguistic knowledge of the intonation subsystems of parsing, prominence, and pitch contour. Although broad patterns of metalinguistic knowledge across participants were evident, metalanguage variation showed individual differences in conceptualization and descriptiveness of the subsystems, suggesting a lack of a systematic and in-depth understanding of the characteristics and functions of the interrelated subsystems. Findings highlight the need to enhance teachers' metalinguistic knowledge of the English intonation system, with more emphasis on the interconnectivity of intonational features and contextual meaning-making phenomena of intonation. The study provides implications for second language (L2) teacher educators and education programmes, suggesting that more attention should be given to teachers' use of metalanguage for explicit pronunciation instruction. In addition, more training opportunities are needed to foster a systematic and in-depth understanding of the intonation system. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY To investigate English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers' knowledge of English intonation, this research study examined the spoken language used by six experienced ESL teachers when talking about intonation. Teachers' spoken language about intonation was collected during three tasks: (1) an interview, (2) a teaching demonstration, and (3) a pronunciation assessment. Based on the data collected, teachers' spoken language revealed three features: thought groups or pausing, sentence stress or highlighting, and meaningful melody of speech. Although teachers' language choices showed some similar patterns of knowledge, there were differences in how individual teachers thought about or described the characteristics and functions of the intonation-related parts, suggesting an 'isolated parts' perspective of intonation rather than a 'subsystems that work together' perspective. The research findings highlight the need to improve teacher training with more emphasis on teachers' knowledge about intonation, particularly on how different parts work together and how they affect meaning in different contexts. Teacher trainers and teacher training programmes need to pay more attention to the language teachers use to describe language in instructional practices of intonation. They also need to provide more training to help teachers in developing in-depth understanding of intonation as a system.