Use of
students’ mother tongue in the EFL classroom: taboo or just good sense?” It
seems there’s some revival of acceptance of using students’ own language in teaching
a foreign language, of integrating translation into L2 acquisition, and of
questioning the ‘all English, all the time’ direct method. How can we help
teachers integrate students’ L1 into L2 learning in a principled way?
A long
title, and a very popular one as far as the many participants were concerned.
I was doing
my first stint as a new moderator, and the discussion was fast and furious.
Was
the topic tonight more about teachers using their students' L1 or about
students
using it, or about both?
This was a
good question and we tried to answer it from both points of view.
students
using it, or about both?
This was a
good question and we tried to answer it from both points of view.
PetsNet suggested
that teachers actually feel positive about L1 use in class, but this was
disputed by HanaTicha who wasn't in favour of it, mitchefl, who was against it in theory, and
David__Boughton who was completely against it.
Agreement from the others seemed to depend on the
purpose to which it was put.
My question
was ‘What
are the benefits for students if they use L1 in
class?’
CotterHue suggested that if lower-level
students use L1, they have the language to analyse and advise in a
collaborative environment.
theteacherjames mentioned
that @willycard suggested putting people together by language groups: Latin, E.
Asia etc., which he thought was an interesting idea.
(Occasionally
I do something similar, but I do find that mixing the language groups up serves
to maximise the use of L2.)
MichaelaCarey
noted that Very Young Learners need to know that they can communicate
with you in their L1.
ShaunWilden pointed
out that there seemed to be an immediate assumption of monolingual classes.
This was indeed the case for some of the participants, yet others amongst us
taught predominantly multilingual groups. jo_sayers
held that the monolingual classroom was where using L1 was most
beneficial, but Shaun felt that there was a place for its use in both types of
classroom. Lisabrennan4B also queried the
distinction.
I don’t
really mind the collaboration in small groups or pairs done in L1, as long as
the production takes place in the target language. This was echoed by others,
notably teacherphili who felt that it was
unnatural to expect them not to use their L1 in these situations.
The general
consensus was that it was fine as long as the students weren't being lazy and
using the L1 as a crutch.
This gave
rise to a discussion about how unnatural it was to expect students to not use
their mother tongue. Pjgallantry’s point was
that restricting use of L1 can be a reductio ad absurdem – as it makes the entire
environment feel very 'artificial', especially in monolingual groups. He had a
lot of support:
Pigletruth said that
she had rebelled against the whole ‘language bath’ idea as it felt like
make-believe.
HanaTicha
thought that the pressure of the artificial atmosphere could prevent
students from giving of their best.
MrChrisJWilson: Let’s be
honest, it’s pretty weird to talk to someone from your own country in another
language. theteacherjames pointed out that
the whole classroom is, in fact, an artificial construct, but that didn't necessarily mean inauthentic. Hana agreed that the question of authenticity was a big issue.
pjgallantry suggested that it was probably
counter-productive to be too tough on off-task
conversation in the L1, as it increases the sense of artificiality.
ChristineMulla
asked whether we allowed students to help each other in class in L1.
There was a moment where we thought about situations where this happened in our
classes. Sometimes we might pull up students for chatting, and find they were
explaining something. Of course, other times we found that they were just
chatting! In these circumstances it is useful for your students to think you
speak enough of their L1 to know if they are off topic. A few of us admitted to
having smatterings of other languages- just enough to unnerve the studentsJ
In a
Multilingual class there could be management issues if one group of students
insisted on using their L1 to the detriment of the others in the class. MrChrisJWilson worried that acceptance of L1 could
lead to a slide in areas where it shouldn’t. Others expected that their
students would be disciplined enough, in a multilingual group, to communicate
in the L2.
Would prohibition of L1 maximize the effectiveness of learning the target language?
This
question came from PetsNet, and quickly
elicited answers from the group.
ShaunWilden felt sure
that it wouldn't. Pigletruth thought that
weaker students would be frustrated. Jo_sayers pointed
out that students tend to use the L1 in their heads anyway.
PetsNet: Banning
the use of L1, this underlies an ideological conception of L1 culture as being
inferior. pjgallantry: should remember that a classroom
is a community, and this means that all languages
have equality. Restricting L1 use has risks for learning. Pigletruth:
the idea of banning in class is a turn-off for me if it doesn't hurt or endanger.
While not
necessarily recommended, do you think it actually does real harm?
Naomishema
told us that her students would have bolted without the use of
some L1
Could the perceived wisdom be at odds with reality in the classroom?
L1 in EFL
classes is “a door that has been firmly shut in language teaching for over a
hundred years.” (Cook 2001)
Predominant
attitude in L2 teaching has been anti-L1 and discouraging of the use of
students' L1 in language teaching (Cook, 2001)
I think
that the Direct method was very strict about not having L1 in class, but it
benefits collaboration, especially in weaker students.
The use of
the mother tongue in the learning process should be minimized (Krashen
1981) Krashen: "learners acquire
foreign languages following basically the same path they acquire their mother
tongue."
Jeremy
Harmer suggested that the idea of supremacy of L2 led to the Nest/NNest
problems
MrChrisJWilson: Is all
the focus on direct method (and lack of evidence) just to support NEST
domination?
HadaLitim: I started
being aware of not using L1 during my CELTA but with time realised that, if
used judiciously, it could promote better learning.
jo_sayers: Translation
and L1 in general is used in many SLA settings, it's only really in CELTA/DELTA
areas it has such bad press
CotterHUE:
I suspect that over-use of L1 in class reduces language learning to a problem
solving task rather than language learning per se.
MrChrisJWilson:
I think we've come back to a “it isn't a firm rule” stance but often when we
talk about the specifics it is *usually* avoidable
Higher-level
students should always try L2 first, but can still benefit from clarity of
difficult language.
There's a difference between the Teacher using it and the Students using it according to HadaLitim .
ChristineMulla: How difficult is
it to find a balance: over-reliance vs tool?
Why do teachers use the students L1?
·
Sometimes using L1 is just a time saver when you need
to explain something. Nothing wrong with it on occasion , especially
when giving directions for how to do something- it cuts down time wasted
·
Instead of long explanations in L2 , it is more
efficient to give a translation of a vocabulary item or grammar explanation
·
Classroom management or admin
·
Translation - a great way of checking understanding
·
Using L1 can be helpful in learning new vocabulary
items and explaining complex idea and grammar rules
·
I sometimes use it when the need for metalanguage is
necessary, for example with forms
·
To comfort students who are overwhelmed
·
Translation to L1 is arguably the quickest way of
acquiring vocabulary
·
When working with very young learners
·
To establish rapport
·
Discipline for VYLs and YLs. Making sure they know
what they have done wrong
·
Also to offer comfort to YLs
·
I've used it occasionally to show students that I'm
learning too. It helps them to trust the teacher
·
To scaffold new language
·
In an emergency
·
After a traumatic event
·
Contrastive analysis
·
Don't you sometimes use L1 when a student addresses
you in L1 out of context?
·
I honestly admit that I sometimes use L1 when I'm
tired.
·
In a monolingual classroom it seems that there might
be more scope for T to integrate L1
·
In a monolingual class it’s practically unavoidable
·
Higher-level students should always try L2 first, but
can still benefit from clarity of difficult language.
·
Sometimes the use of L1 after a long stretch of L2 on
the T's side may be refreshing. Can bring students down to earth, let them
pause
Is it beneficial for teachers to be able to speak the students’ L1?
Teachers
who master the students’ L1 have far more advantages over the ones who don’t
know it….. although it isn't necessary to master
the L1 to use it in class….
Whenever I
say anything in Chinese the students just fall about laughing so it is a good
gambit.
Yeah my
Chinese is very limited makes my students laugh.
Not being
able to pronounce words in Vietnamese made my students more confident about
pronouncing English words
Yes, my rubbish
Polish was useful in (only) that respect
I sometimes
use my bad German to make them feel comfortable and think "eh, she makes
mistakes too. It's ok!"
Haha I do that
too - with my bad Arabic!
Good point.
I do this too. “You see, even though
your L1 is fiendishly difficult, I am not afraid to try”.
It builds rapport too: “I'm also a learner trying to
learn your language.”
It could
also be motivating to watch the teacher’s learning strategies, and sympathise.
Also, students
sometimes respect you more if you have some of their L1
Some
teachers don't have the luxury/inconvenience of sharing the students’ L1, of
course, though that can be used to the teacher’s advantage too. Also, teachers
with large multinational classes would be unlikely to speak all the students’
languages. Cioccas pointed out that she
might easily have 12 different languages in a class of 18 students.
There are
also groups of students who should use L2, perhaps because they need to make
the most of every opportunity for speaking the target language.
Of
course- using L1 and using Translation in class are not exactly the same thing.
HanaTicha thought that there was an important
distinction to be made, and that translation
had its place in the classroom. Problems could arise when there was no direct
translation available, which would necessitate dealing in near synonyms, even
if just in minutia. There was also the possibility of errors occurring, due to
the L1 transfer or cultural nuances. ChristineMulla
suggested that students needed to learn to stop being reliant on the L1. This
started a little side discussion about the use of dictionaries: should they be
bilingual or monolingual? No clear preference was shown. One idea put forward
was for Exam students to analyse passages in L1 and use for error correction etc. Or for the teacher to check concepts by allowing students to explain new
vocabulary in the L1.
Conclusion: A little judicious use doesn't do any harm,
as and when deemed necessary, but over-reliance on L1 as a tool in the
classroom is counter-productive, and may harm the chances of students making
good progress in the L2.
Links :
jo_sayers: Recent post I did here on use of translation and
L1 in online learning http://t.co/2fPFeEzEoT
I use an activity called Mother tongue scribes from the above
mentioned Rinvolucri + Deller book
Taking part in the discussion were, in order of appearance,:
SueAnnan, Shaunwilden, HadaLitim, joannacre,
naomishema, teacherphili, jo_sayers, HanaTicha, MrChrisJWilson, natibrandi,
MarjorieRosenbe, perikleis, theteacherjames, Cotter Hue, Pigletruth, PETsNet,
mitchefl, MicaelaCarey, ChristineMulla, joannacre, pjgallantry, mitchefl,
hannahpinkham, Lisabrennan4B, Mo_Americanoid, mmgrinberg, VictorHugo, ebefl, David__Boughton, cioccas,
evab2001, NewbieCELTA
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