Linguistic Taxonomies for Teaching English at a Technical University

: Underdeveloped awareness of and skill in using linguistic terminology is viewed as one of the factors that compromises mastering the English language at a technical university. Drawing from an ecological semiotic perspective on a language as a technology of meaning construction, the role of linguistic terminology in foreign language learning becomes obvious. It requires innovative instructional designs that support students’ acquisition and mastering of this important group of academic vocabulary. Bilingual classifications of linguistic terms as one of such instruments were introduced as a curricular intervention. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the classifications’ efficiency. Its results have revealed that students who systematically worked with the classifications possessed a higher level of knowledge of grammar terminology and metalinguistic skills in comparison with those who did not work with the classifications.