The Use of L1 in Teaching English
by Ms Daisy
The issue of using L1 (mother tongue) in teaching English has become debatable, in fact there are no clear guidelines on it. Most of the teachers feel that use of L1 should be minimized and feel guilty if they use it frequently. But if asked why they feel so, it is difficult for them to answer.
The general assumption is that English should be learnt through English, like one learns mother tongue and not by using L1. But the idea that learner should learn English like a native speaker does, or try to think in English is an inappropriate and unachievable aim. English is a world lingua franca and what we should be aiming for today is to make our learners speakers of English. Moreover a dangerous side- effect of banishing L1 from the English classroom is the implication that somehow the learners’ mother tongue is inferior, or does not count, thus discriminating against the learners’ linguistic identity.
The only valid argument in my opinion, in favor of minimizing (not banishing) L1 use is that over-use of L1 lessens the time available for English use in the classroom. Obviously we want our students to have maximum exposure to English in our lessons. But this is possible only by limiting L1 use, not banishing it altogether. Insisting on using English even when students does not understand what is being said may lead to the message it does not matter if you do not understand’ or the morale-lowering assumption by learners, ‘I don’t understand English’.
This leads to the belief that use English as long as the students understand it well enough to get the message, and insist on their using it as long as they can get their message across. Otherwise, allow L1 use. Some purposes of L1 use might be: for explaining difficult grammar, for giving instructions which might not be understood in English, for checking comprehension for saving time which can then be used for communicative work in English.
Now the question is how to decide when to use English and when to use L1? It is essentially a question of professional judgment. Many times during a lesson we need to ask ourselves: should I insist on English here, or should I use mother tongue? It is necessarily a split second decision. The answer will depend essentially on how easy or difficult the message will be to convey and understand in English.
Another possibility which emerges out of this whole debate is of using L2 and then L1. The solution of saying things in English and then translating into L1 incidentally is not a solution at all. Students learn very quickly that they do not need to listen to the English ad the mother tongue version is coming up, and this strategy simply gets them used to ignoring the English. The decision as to which language to use in any specific case has to be made, you can not ignore it. These dosses not mean that there is no place for translation.
In fact the issue of L1 in L2 teaching is connected to some more pertinent issues. A few of such issues are:
1. Can mother tongue(s) be used in a multi-lingual classroom?
2. What is the place of L1 in explaining vocabulary?
3. Is it useful to compare/contrast L1 and English?
4. Can L1 help error correction?
5. Can translation be useful in the English classroom
6. Can/should L1 be used in classroom management?
One of the opinions on the issue is that L1 must be used only when a teacher or a speaker in a conversation is at a loss for words and when the conversation is stuck in a rut. Certainly, natural acquisition through immersion in the home, may be through TV Channels etc but its success depends on two main factors: (a) a lot of opportunities for exposure, (b) sheer time, and ready availability of TV and other means and a lot of motivation. For a lot of teachers, teaching large heterogeneous classes of unmotivated learners, neither of these conditions exists. In such a situation mother tongue can substantially assist learning.
Most of us would agree that extensive use of L1 does not help any one, including the teachers themselves. However I do believe that it can be useful in limited doses in the classroom and especially for lower levels. Apart from the purely technical aspects of language acquisition, there are other factors at work in the classroom. Among the most important is the development of a good rapport between students and teacher. This is made easier if the student can express themselves, at least during the first stage of learning a language, in their own tongue. Otherwise students may feel unwilling to express any queries they have or avoid contributing to the lesson at all.
Another interesting situation is, when the teacher does not know the L1, or learners speak different languages. In such a situation a teacher can make use of another language that they both know, in order to facilitate understanding. The use of a stronger language to facilitate a weaker language. Moreover learners can help each other by translating things when the teacher can not do. About explaining grammar, there are various opinions; whether to explain it in L1, whether to explain it at all, how much detail to use. The only succinct reply to that is to use L1 occasionally to clarify certain grammatical rules.
Teaching L2 the same way, learners learned their L1, this idea is not justifiable because in a school learning situation,we can not give learners the kind of exposure, motivation and number of factors which a child has when learning mother tongue. You should have clear rules in the mind, when L1 is not allowed and stick to your drawn boundaries. Although there are some valid reasons for using L1 in the classroom, it is often resorted to when teachers worry that their learners won’t understand. I think we must trust our learners more and give them the chance to experiment. Of course our attitude to errors matter a lot in this regard.
The most important thing a teacher can do in the classroom is to create the condition in which the learner feels that he/she belongs. We must understand that in learning a foreign/second language we are doing more than simply absorbing a body of knowledge, in fact we are dealing with students’ sense of identity, especially in case of adult learners, whose sense of self has fully developed. It is useful to use L1 in the classroom, by sandwiching some expressions or words in L2 with L1 and it works wonderfully.
There is no need to feel guilty when using L1. It is a point of professional judgment and this is especially so when the teacher is not able to convey ideas in the L2. The question of using L1 or not has not been answered satisfactorily to date. However two trends appear; (a) the idea of translating to the L1 difficult words and parts of any text teachers are working with where spending time on them would be a waste of effort and confusing, (b) the teachers using the L1 to give instructions or explanations of the procedures of the lesson and its rationale, so that aims and objectives of the lesson are clear and achievable. How about incorporating texts written in L1 into the L2 lessons? It could bring out differences between the two languages and as such help overcome kinds of fossilization that can occur because of other kinds of teaching where the differences are so great that the differences do not lead itself to learners making the kinds of mental adjustment that are required.
Conclusion: There is no rule that you should never use L1 in English lessons, nor on the other hand is there any excuse for using L1 most of the time. Like many other teaching strategies, the use of L1 involves rapid on-your-feet decision making: is it worth switching to L1 at this point? Or would it be better to stay with English? We should finally free ourselves from the misconceptions and try to appreciate the existing alliance between the L1 and L2. Our ultimate aim should be to have students who are proficient L2 users rather than deficient L1 speakers.
About Daisy
Daisy, a poet by nature is an Assistant Professor of English in BPS Women University, Khanpur Kalan (Sonipat) Haryana. She has been teaching undergraduate students for the last 15 years. Besides being a seasoned teacher, she is also engaged in training school teachers in effective teaching of english. Also, she has jointly been awarded a Major Research Project by UGC on teaching of English in Haryana. She has presented many research papers at National Conferences and has published three text books. She is pursuing Ph.D in English.
**ELTWeekly would likt thank Ms Daisy for contributing this article.