Reasons for Afghan Teachers’ First Language Use in EFL Classes
Keywords:
first language use, EFL classes, teaching, Afghan language educatorAbstract
The use of L1 in EFL classes has been an ongoing debate for many years since language educators use L1 in EFL classes for different reasons. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the reasons for Afghan teachers' L1 use in EFL classes at Balkh University. Semi-structured interview was conducted with a sample of 5 EFL educators with 10-15 years of teaching experience from the English Department of Balkh University. The sample for the study was chosen purposively due to proximity, easy accessibility and availability of the participants. Content analysis was employed for the analysis of the obtained data from the study based on the emergent themes. The result shows that Afghan EFL teachers at Balkh University use L1 in their classes for different purposes, namely, as a pedagogical tool for clarification, as a tool for establishing rapport, as a discipline and class management tool, based on curriculum and syllabus demand and as per need of students’ level of language proficiency.
Downloads
References
Al Sharaeai, W.A.A. (2012). Students’ perspectives on the use of L1 in English classrooms. Graduate Thesis and Dissertations. Iowa State University.
Al-Amir, B. A. H. (2017). Saudi Female Teachers' Perceptions of the Use of L1 in EFL Classrooms. English Language Teaching, 10(6), 12-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n6p12
Beressa, K. (2003). Using L1 in the EFL Classroom: The case of the Oromo language, with particular reference to Adama teachers’ college (MA Thesis, Addis Ababa University).
Blackman, N. (2014). EFL teachers’ perceptions on the use of L1 in a primary and secondary classroom in Belarus. Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Bolitho, R. (1983). Talking shop: the communicative teaching of English in non-English-speaking countries. ELT Journal, 37(3) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/37.3.235
Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (Vol. 4). New York: Longman.
Cook, V. (2001). Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review, 57(3), 402-423. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.57.3.402
Creswell, John W. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage, 2014.
Cummins, J. (2007). Rethinking monolingual instructional strategies in multilingual classrooms. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique appliquée, 10(2), 221-240.
Dixon, D. (2011). Measuring language learner autonomy in tertiary-level learners of English (Doctoral dissertation, University of Warwick).
Gabrielatos, C. (2001). L1 use in ELT: Not a skeleton, but a bone of contention. Bridges, 6(33-35).
Grim, F. (2010). L1 in the L2 classroom at the secondary and college levels: A comparison of functions and use by teachers. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 7(2), 193- 209.
Hawks, P. (2001). Making distinctions: A discussion of the use of the mother tongue in the foreign language classroom. Hwa Kang Journal of TEFL, (7), 47-56.
Karimian, Z., & Mohammadi, S. (2015). Teacher's use of first language in EFL classrooms. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2(3), 61-71.
Krashen, S. D. (1987). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford University Press.
Langer, R. (2001). The effect of home language use in the ESL classroom: additive or subtraction. Retrieved from: the effect of home language in the ESL classroom.
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2004). A handbook for teacher research. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Mattioli, G. (2004, October). On native language intrusions and making do with words: Linguistically homogeneous classrooms and native language use. In English teaching forum. 42( 4)
Meyer, H. (2008). The pedagogical implications of L1 use in the L2 classroom. Maebashi Kyoai Gakuen College Ronsyu, 8, 147-159.
Norman, J. (2008). Benefits and drawbacks to L1 use in the L2 classroom. Proceedings of the JALT Conference, 691-701.
Pablo, I. M. (2011). Students and teachers' reasons for Using the First Language. Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 6, 267-292
Prodromou, L. (2001). From Mother Tongue to Other Tongue. Retrieved from www.Tesolgreece.com
Schweers Jr, C. W. (1999, April). Using L1 in the L2 classroom. In English teaching forum. 37(2)
Tang, J. (2002). Using L1 in the English classroom. English Teaching Forum, 40(1), 36-43.
Yavuz, F. (2012). The attitudes of English teachers about the use of L1 in the teaching of L2. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 4339-4344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.251
Published on: 2023-12-19
Also Available On
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Muska Momand, Mohammad Haroon Hairan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to this journal retain the copyright of their articles but agree to publish their articles under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that they indicate if changes were made. They may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses them or their use.
