This research study focuses on the grammar native speakers of French develop when leaming English in anacademie context. This work is based on an analysis of the difficulties leamers encounter when having toanswer questions of a metalinguistic nature. Initially, leamers do not seem to be equipped with the necessaryskills to either discuss the observed phenomena, nor to attempt at metalinguistic labelling. The study willfocus on the teacher-student negotiation thal takes place in the classroom, and which is inevitably linked tostatus and role. We will show thal when prompted to discuss linguistic issues in the right way, bringingstudents to uncover the implicit rules of the foreign language, students then become able to develop theirawareness of the language. This also allows them to build up a coherent and constantly evolvingmetalinguistic competence, which enables them to deal with linguistic challenges in a very empowering way.
