This study describes the grammar-related behaviours of three experienced non-native teachers of English working in state secondary schools in Catalonia and investigates what beliefs may explain, from the teachers' point of view, these behaviours; it also examines what factors in their turn determine these beliefs. The results uncover three essentially different approaches to metatalk, which have their origins in complex and varied relationships between cognitive, experiential and contextual factors. (Contains 6 notes.)