This presentation will address the issue of drawing for teaching and explaining. After Reichler-Beguelin (1990), I consider the epilinguistic activity, the unconscious perception of the structure of language, to be an emotional perception that needs metalinguistic objectivation. However, the shift from an individual emotional perception to a rationalized construction demands negotiation. I will argue that drawing or sketching may become a space for personal negotiation for the trainee teachers to improve their knowledge of English syntax as well as their own capacity to explain it, but that first and foremost, it might also become a personal space to take the time to reflect on the pupils’ cognitive processes.