Metalengua, metalenguaje, metadiscurso, algunos valores y usos aplicados a la enseñanza-aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras

The use of metalinguistic functions in the teaching of foreign languages is not restricted to employing traditional or decidedly explicit methods, as can be demonstrated through a series of empirical exercises as well as through a more exacting analysis of the matter. Nor is their use exclusive to the teacher. Language's potential for becoming its own object is a reality intrinsic not only to everyday communication but also to the communicative exchange proper to the learning/teaching of foreign languages. In this article three key notions are presented:'metalangue', metalanguage and metadiscourse. These notions are born of the exercise of metalinguistic function and the differentiation between language as a descriptive instrument and language as an object, the aim being to examine their applications to the field of learning/teaching foreign languages.