The Attitudes of Teachers on the Use of First Language in English

Authors

  • Hamza Zeebaree University of Duhok, Iraq

Keywords:

First language, second language, foreign language, teaching, English language.

Abstract

This study examines the use of the first language (L1), here Kurdish or Arabic, from the perspective of teachers in the process of teaching and learning English in EFL classrooms at the English Department, College of Languages, the University of Duhok in Kurdistan. The study investigates four different areas; the first one is to find out if the English Department/ the College of Languages have a policy for the teachers for using L1. The second one is to investigate if the use of L1 is a necessity. The study also investigates whether the use of L1 facilitates or hinders the teaching and learning of English at the department/college. Finally, it explores if the teachers’ use of L1 is based on other bases rather than the policy set by the department or the college if there is any policy. The last part presents the results of the study; the study concludes that there are no specific policies administrated neither by the English Department nor the College of the languages to use L1. In addition, judicious and limited use of L1 by teachers is a better approach to take in EFL classes than to include or exclude it totally, and the use of L1 is mostly based on the students’ needs and lesson content.

 

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Auerbach, E. (1993). Re-examining English only in the ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 27 (1), pp. 9-32.

Burden, P. (2000). The use of the student’s mother tongue in monolingual English “conversation” classes at Japanese universities. The Language Teacher, 24(6), 5-10.

Cole, S. (1998). The use of L1 in communicative English classrooms. LANGUAGE TEACHER-KYOTO-JALT-, 22, 11-14.

Crawford, J. (2004). Language choices in the foreign language classroom: Target language of the learners’ frst language? RELC 35(1), 5-20.

Deller, S. & Rinvolucri, M. (2002). Using the mother tongue: Making the most of learners’ language. London: Delta Publishing.

Duff, P. & Polio, C. G. (1990). How much foreign language is there in the foreign language classroom? The modern language journal, 74(2), 154-166.

Ellis, R. (1984). Classroom second language development: A study of classroom interaction and language acquisition. Pergamon.

Forman, S. R. (2007). Bilingual teaching in the Thai EFL context: One teacher’s practice. TESOL in Context, 16(2), 19-24.

Gadgil, M. & Bossert, W. H. (1970). Life historical consequences of natural selection. The American Naturalist, 104(935), 1-24.

Harbord, J. (1992). The use of the mother tongue in the classroom. ELT journal, 46(4), 350-355.

Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching. England: Pearson Education Limited.

Jingxia, L. (2010). Teachers’ code-switching to the L1 in EFL classroom. The Open Applied Linguistics Journal, 3(10), 10-23.

Khoshnaw, S., I., H. (2014). "An Investigation into the Use of L1 in EFL Classes in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq." Master's thesis, Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU)-Doğu Akdeniz Üniversitesi (DAÜ).

Kim, J. Y. & Wynne, M. J. (2021). Providing the Best Possible Learning Environment for K-8 English Learners in Social Studies Content. International Journal on Social and Education Sciences (IJonSES), 3(3), 429-438. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijonses.165

Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Krashen, S. D. & Terrel, T. D. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Hayward, Calif: Alemany Press.

Lightbown, P. M. & Spada, N. (1999). How languages are learned. New York: Oxford University Press.

Macaro, E. (2001). Analyzing student teachers’ codeswitching in foreign language classrooms: Theories and decision making. The Modern Language Journal, 85 (4), 531-548.

Machaal, B. (2012). The use of Arabic in English classes: A teacher support or a learning hindrance? Arab World English Journal, 3(2), 194-232.

McMillan, B. A. & Rivers, D. J. (2011). The practice of policy: Teacher attitudes toward “English only”. System, 39(2), 251-263.

Morahan, M. (2010). The use of students’ first language (l1) in the second language (L2) classroom. Retrieved on April, 5, 2020.

Pachler, N. & Field, K. (2001). Learning to teach modern foreign languages in the secondary school. Routledge: London.

Paker, T. & Karaağaç, Ö. (2015). The use and functions of mother tongue in EFL classes. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 199, 1111-119

Palmer, H. E. (1965). The principles of language study. London: Oxford University Press.

Seligson, P. (1997). Helping students to speak. Richmond Publishing.

Sukamolson, S. (2007). Fundamentals of quantitative research. Language Institute Chulalongkorn University, 1(3), 1-20.

Song, Y.& Andrews, S. J. (2009). The L1 in L2 learning: Teachers’ beliefs and practices. Munich: Lincom Europa.

Tian, L. & Macaro, E. (2012). Comparing the effect of teacher codeswitching with English-only explanations on the vocabulary acquisition of Chinese university students: A lexical focus-on-form study. Language Teaching Research, 16(3), 367-391

Weinberg, J. (1990). Pennies from the Vinh. TESOL newsletter, 24(3), 5.

Wells, G. (1999). Using L1 to Master L2: A Response to Anton and DiCamilla’s ‘Socio-Cognitive Functions of L1 Collaborative Interaction in the L2 Classroom’. The Modern Language Journal, 83(2), 248-254.

Weschler, R. (1997). Uses of Japanese (L1) in English Classroom: Introducing the Functional-Translation method, The Internet TESL Journal, 3 (2).

Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning (Vol. 60). Harlow: Longman.

Wong Fillmore, L. (1985). When does teacher talk work as input? S. M. Gass, & C. G. Madden (Ed.). Input in second language acquisition. (pp. 17-50). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers.

Downloads

Published

2021-12-01

How to Cite

Zeebaree, H. (2021). The Attitudes of Teachers on the Use of First Language in English . Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Language, 1(2), 138–149. Retrieved from https://jssal.com/index.php/jssal/article/view/41
صندلی اداری سرور مجازی ایران Decentralized Exchange

Issue

Section

Table of Contents
فروشگاه اینترنتی