Introduction
In most Iranian private language institutes, inspired by the rise of Communicative Language Teaching, EFL teachers are largely encouraged to run their classes on the bases of a “monolingual approach” where only English is used within their classrooms. Some scholars have supported this approach and believe that since the process of L2 and L1 acquisition are similar, more exposure to L2 which results in less exposure to L1 is essential, because interference from L1 knowledge hinders L2 learning process (Cook, 2001; Krashen, 1981). Although, by referring to the current theories of second language acquisition, it can be understood that L1 has a necessary and facilitating role in all aspects of language teaching. Various theorists have argued against rejecting L1 from L2 classes (e.g., Nation, 2003; Larsen-Freeman, 2000) and have stated that a well thought-out and planned use of L1 can be positive (Cook, 2001).
The use of L1 in L2 classrooms, as Mahmoudi (2011) describes it, has been a matter of “to be or not to be”. She states that it is controversial because different theories of L2 acquisition afford different hypotheses about the value of L1 use in L2 classes. However, the role of teachers as experts in this principle has to be taken into account. Inspired by these views, this research tends to explore the Iranian EFL Teachers' attitudes and perceptions toward the use of L1 in their classrooms at private language institutes.
Statement of the Problem
Some sympathetic EFL teachers ask that is it acceptable or even helpful to use Persian in English classes or not. While the literature provides us with the necessary factors that must be taken into account for using L1 in classroom, it is important to consider that ...
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Mahmoudi, L. (2011). The Use of Persian in the EFL Classroom–The Case of English Teaching and Learning at Pre-university Level in Iran. ELT Journal, 4(1).
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Nazary, M. (2008). The role of L1 in L2 acquisition: Attitudes of Iranian university students. Novitas-ROYAL, 2(2), 138-153.
During the first day of ESL academy, I realized the inadequacy of my knowledge concerning the needs of ELL students and how woefully lacking my instruction had been for former students whose first language was not English. Partici...
Daniels, Harvey A., and Urbana, IL. National Council of Teachers of English. Not Only English: Affirming America's Multilingual Heritage. 1990. ERIC. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Of the several challenges that ELL students may face at school, one of the most important to remember is that these students not only have the pressure of learning at the same pace of their peers that have most likely spoken English their whole lives, but they have to do so while attempting to understand the English language. Graves' makes a paramount point on page 411 of his text where he states "it is not that English language learners come to school with a language deficit. They come with a lack of knowledge of the particular language that is used in the schools they will be attending-English."1 Therefore, it is easy to assume that even the most ready-to-learn student will have huge amounts of trouble trying to learn everything in a language that is foreign to them.
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the impact of English language learners in the classroom. As a foreign student, English language learner in the United States faces multiple challenges for achieving academic success. To successfully complete a task, they need to master both English as a language and how it is used in core content classes especially when they are an adult. When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation,
“In my teaching, I do not usually make reference to the home language of the ELL students I have in class, and I also do not allow my students to speak in their home language in class. I offer practical advice to the ELL students who wish to maintain their home language, but allowing students to speak in their home language at school does not help the students learn English.” (Shim, 2014, p. 47)
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Andrew Sampson states that total proscription of mother tongue is detrimental to some extent, suggesting that code switching of mother tongue and English, under a good strategy of control, is useful for academic needs and even communicating purposes by concluding, “The results of this study suggest that code-switching is not necessarily connected to learners’ ability level and rarely signals an unwillingness to communicate in L2, but rather serves communicative classroom functions such as expressing equivalence, discussing procedural concerns, floor holding, reiterating concepts, and forming group relationships” (302). Code-switching not only improves the learner’s proficiency in English, but also allows the students to learn. In most cases, English language is meant for English-speaking students’ at level L2 or L3. Therefore, teachers should help non-native English-speaking students to code-switch in their communications. Code switching would improve the learner’s ability to identify his or her mistakes and correct those mistakes while she or he continues to learn English. At the same time, if possible, the teachers might use code switching to illustrate particular concepts and subjects. In other words, the teachers themselves can use the learner’s L1 or any other language to explain concepts or offer examples on the subjects in the learner’s L1. However, the teachers should avoid using oversimplified English words and vocabularies. This is because such approach would not help the learner to perfect his or her English
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The idea to include L1 as part of the language teaching system has been debated upon in recent years. The strong anti-L1 suggest on a complete prohibition of L1 in classrooms, while many others see L1 as a tool to better students’ learning of the TL. This section will highlight the pros and cons arguments for using the L1 in classrooms, along with further evidence supporting the advantages mother tongue bring to the language learning, and teaching process.
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There are many researches added the role of attitude in the studying of foreign languages with different civilizations, English schemata, and classes. For example, Shams (2008) investigated the learners’ attitudes, motivation, and concern for English language learning. The result emphasized that there are students’ agreeing viewpoint and high eagerness to English language. It is also underlined that mostly students revealed positive viewpoint to English language and its studying highlighted the worth of English language capability in everyday
Teaching students a language that is foreign can really be challenging for students as well as for the teachers. The dynamic rule for implementing instructing in a diverse class to English-learners is to use resourceful life skills such as diligence, hard work and patience. There are also methods that are involved in teaching English as a second language that can be creative for the teacher, yet beneficial to the student. First building a strong foundation that is essential to English learners will promote the language acquisition process. To do this teacher’s should always start with preparation. Advance preparation is essential in order to provide necessary adaptations in content area instruction and to make content information accessible for second language lear...
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For decades, foreign language teachers wandered in a scientific abyss. Until 1983, there had been little real research dealing with the ways in which someone acquires a second language. Teachers mostly used the audiolingual classroom model that had been in place for the past twenty years (or, even worse, the literally ancient grammatical translation model that had been used by civilizations millennia old). Clearly, language teaching methodology was in a poor situation. In 1983, however, Krashen published the results of an unprecedented body of research and paved the way for a revolution in our field. His five-point hypothesis focused on the difference between the acquisition of and the learning of a second language. Krashen has his detractors, of course, not the least of whom are American school districts, which have been reluctant to implement his teachings. Most experts agree, however, that his ideas are the most meritorious of the theories in circulation now, and schools that refuse to incorporate them are doing their students a disservice.