1.- FROM MOTHER TONGUE TO OTHER TONGUE
by Luke Prodromou
British Council, Greece
The issue of whether or not to
use the mother-tongue (L1) in the English language (L2) classroom is complex.
This article presents the results of a survey into student attitudes towards
the use of L1 in class and some suggestions for using the L1 and its culture as
a learning resource.
Reinstating the mother tongue
In Teaching Monolingual Classes
(1993) Atkinson suggests 'a careful, limited use of L1' to help students get
the maximum benefit from activities which in other respects will be carried out
in the target language. The mother tongue may be useful in the procedural
stages of a class, for example:-
- setting up pair and group work
- sorting out an activity which is clearly not
working
- checking comprehension
Beyond these basically
managerial functions of L1, Atkinson also suggests using the L1 for translation
as a teaching technique.
From my research with teachers,
the overall rationale for this procedural use of L1 is that it is necessary to
keep the lesson from slowing down or because things just can't be done any
other way.
What about the learners?
But do the learners agree with
such uses?
A questionnaire was addressed to
300 Greek students at three levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The
students were, for the most part, adolescents or young adults. They were asked
general questions to elicit their view on whether the teacher should know and,
in principle, use the students' mother tongue.
Survey result summary
65%
of students at beginner level and about 50% of students at intermediate and
advanced level believe the teacher should know the students' mother tongue.
Should teachers USE the mother
tongue in class? Here, the figures for beginners and intermediate are quite
high (66% and 58% respectively) but only a minority of advanced learners (29%)
find the use of L1 in the classroom acceptable.
The greatest differences arise
when students are asked to approve particular uses of L1 in the classroom.
Overall, the higher the level of the student, the less they agree to the use of
the mother-tongue in the classroom. For example, with regard to the use of L1
to explain grammar, beginners are significantly in favour (31%) and
intermediate and advanced are almost unanimously against (7% and 0%).
- Explaining
differences in use between L1 and L2 rules
It seems that roughly 1 in 3 beginners and 1 in 5 intermediate/advanced students find using the L1 for 'contrastive discourse' acceptable. - Asking
for vocabulary
'How do we say ( L1 word) in English ? ' The intermediate learner feels most strongly the usefulness of asking for the English equivalent of a mother-tongue word (38%).
In all other instances of L1 use
in the classroom, most students of intermediate and advanced levels feel they
should be hearing and using English. This feeling includes 'procedural' or
managerial uses of the target language: giving instructions; checking listening
and reading. The conclusion is that procedural language in the classroom is too
good an opportunity to expose students to natural English to waste on the
mother-tongue. This contrasts very strongly with the view of Atkinson given
above.
On the other hand, the general
scepticism towards L1 in the ELT classroom shown by these particular students
does not mean there is no place for the L1 at all. I will go on in the next
section to illustrate a range of techniques for using the L1 to promote both
learning and acquisition.
Beyond monolingualism
In response to the survey and in
the light of my own feelings that the L1 language and culture are a valuable
resource, I now make some suggestions for activities which use L1 in some way.
I assume mono-lingual classes.
- Awareness-raising
activities
A questionnaire such as the one I used opens up the debate concerning the use of L1 and so may help deal with some of the students' scepticism. - Contrasting
L1 and L2
Useful areas for study in this way are collocations, proverbs and idioms. Comparing verb-noun collocations across the two languages helps students understand how L1 interference can often give them problems. Comparing proverbs gives an insight into cultural as well as linguistic differences. - Research
in L1, Presentation in L2
For example, following textbook work on famous English writers, I asked the students to research famous people from their country (using L1 and L2) and to make a presentation in a later class, in L2. An alternative is a local history project, in which grandparents are interviewed in the L1, and a report is made in L2.
In these examples, the foreign
language is a medium through which the students explore their own culture,
using the mother-tongue as a bridge towards English. The English language can
help you learn things about your own community.
Conclusion
In general, students seem
sceptical about the use of L1 in the classroom, particularly at higher levels.
However, the bilingual / bicultural teachers are in a position to enrich the
process of learning by using the mother tongue as a resource, and then, by
using the L1 culture, they can facilitate the progress of their students
towards the other tongue, the other culture.
References
Atkinson, D. 1987. 'The
mother-tongue in the classroom : a neglected resource ?' (ELT Journal, 44/1 :
3-10)
Atkinson, D. 1993. Teaching Monolingual Classes (Longman)
Baynham, M. 1983. 'Mother Tongue Materials and Second Language Literacy' (ELT
Journal, 37/4 : 312-318)
Brumfit, C. 1980. Problems and principles in English Teaching. (Pergamon)
Duff. A. 1989. Translation (Oxford University Press)
Kramsch, C. 1993. Context and Culture in Language Teaching (Oxford University
Press)
Kramsch, C. 1998. Culture (Oxford University Press)
Krashen, S. 1988. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning
(Prentice Hall)
Medgyes, P. 1994. The Non-Native Teacher ( Macmillan)
Phillipson, R. 1992. Linguistic Imperialism (Oxford University Press)
Richards, J.C. and T. S. Rogers. 1986. Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching. (Cambridge University Press)
Widdowson, H 1996. 'Comment : authenticity and autonomy' E L T Journal, 50/1:
67-68))
Survey results in full
Survey : 300 students
The figures refer to percentage (%) responses by students at beginner,
intermediate and advanced levels.
|
1:
Should the teacher know the students' mother-tongue? |
|
65 |
53 |
53 |
|
2:
Should the teacher use the students' mother-tongue? |
|
66 |
58 |
29 |
|
3:
Should the students use their mother-tongue? |
|
63 |
53 |
35 |
|
It is useful if the teacher uses L1
when: |
|
|
|
|
|
4:
explaining new words |
|
25 |
35 |
18 |
|
5:
explaining grammar |
|
31 |
7 |
0 |
|
6:
explaining differences between L1 and L2 grammar |
|
27 |
4 |
6 |
|
7:
explaining differences in the use of L1 and L2 rules |
|
33 |
22 |
20 |
|
8:
giving instructions |
|
3 |
9 |
0 |
|
Students should be allowed to use L1
when : |
|
|
|
|
|
9:
talking in pairs and groups |
|
22 |
3 |
3 |
|
10:
asking how do we say '..' in English ? |
|
13 |
38 |
6 |
|
1:
translating an L2 word into L1 to show they understand it |
|
18 |
13 |
6 |
|
12:
translating a text from L2 to L1 to show they understand it |
|
21 |
7 |
6 |
|
13:
translating as a test |
|
21 |
2 |
6 |
|
The teacher and students can use L1 to: |
|
|
|
|
|
14:
check listening comprehension |
|
27 |
9 |
3 |
|
15:
check reading comprehension |
|
14 |
7 |
6 |
|
16:
discuss the methods used in class |
|
21 |
13 |
6 |
©2013, by Luke Prodromou