Three Age-Level Metalinguistic Ability Tests. Theoretical Framework and Description.

The article describes three Italian tests of metalinguistic abilities (MATs, in acronym), from 4 years old to adulthood, which have been devised by the author, in collaboration with an Italian applied psycholinguist and applied linguist, Prof. Renzo Titone. The description of the tests is preceded by an introduction about the concept of metalinguistic development as an increasingly abstract capability of reflecting upon structures and meanings of language