The impact of L1 in EFL lessons in public schools from the provinces of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos.

Research problem

The debate over whether English language classrooms should include or exclude students’ native language has been a contentious issue for a long time (Brown, 2000, as cited in Miles, 2004). Different opinions and perspectives as regards the use of L1 in L2 classrooms and its disadvantages have been expressed. However, little has been said about the significant impact of L1 in L2 classrooms.

Research questions

What if teachers include the use of L1 in L2 lessons?

How can the use of L1 impact on L2 lessons?

The two most important concepts in our research problem

-          Second language acquisition.

-          Mother tongue.

Research problem development

The use of learners’ mother tongue in the EFL classrooms has always been an ongoing discussion by many researchers. Some experts claim that strong mother tongue foundations provide children with the skills they need to learn additional languages because not only, they can transfer their understanding of the structures of language to new languages easily but also they can develop a positive attitude towards school.  A Bilingual Approach might argue that to make the separation or distinction between L1 and L2, explanations in L1 are necessary, because the teaching of grammar is so complex, that without the use of L1, there would be little or no comprehension on the students’ part, especially at lower levels (Miles, R., 2004, p.10. As a result, providing explanations in the learners’ mother tongue may be beneficial. However, opponents of this belief advocate that the use of L1 in the EFL classroom should be reduced as much as possible and sometimes even banned so that learners are exposed to maximum target language input. In the same line, proponents of English-only also claim that using L1 in the classroom is not in accordance with SLA theories, which advocate modified input and negotiation in L2 as a means of learning (Polio, 1994, p156). Several conflicting opinions regarding the impact of using the mother tongue in ELF lessons are on debate. In the light of this situation, this proposal paper will intend to delve into these conceptions in order to assess the L1 impact in the EFL lessons at public schools.

Justification

There are different opinions and perspectives as regards the impact of using the L1 in our L2 lessons. Some theories claim that the use of L1 in the lessons can be beneficial; others state that the mother tongue usage in FL classes is unnecessary or even detrimental for learners. From our experience, when we were training to be teachers, our former instructors did not allow us to speak Spanish when delivering our trainee lessons (not even a word); it was forbidden, but now, as years went by, we have grown up as professionals and we found that L1 could be useful in some circumstances so we asked ourselves to what extent is it positive or negative to use L1 in our lessons. In order to unveil this question, we want to explore this topic so as to have theoretical and empirical evidence that support these views.

General objective

To examine the impact of L1 in EFL lessons in public schools from the provinces of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos.

Specific objectives

To study the impact of the mother tongue in English language lessons in public schools.

To compare the impact of L1 in different EFL lessons.

To evaluate the effects of L1 in EFL lessons in public schools.

Literature review

Miles R. (2004) Evaluating the use of L1 in the English Language Classroom:

Miles discusses a research in order to examine whether or not the use of students’ L1 in the classroom by either, the teacher, the students, or both, hinders the learning of a second language (English) or can facilitate it. In first place, the author attempts to demonstrate that using L1 in the classroom does not hinder learning, and secondly, that L1 has a facilitating role to play in the classroom and can actually help learning. Observations, experiments carried out with Japanese students and a thorough literature review, conclude that the findings could be classified as positive.  Miles found that the findings were generally favourable and supportive of his original thesis, that L1 use in the English classroom does not hinder the learning of an L2, and L2, and can actually facilitate it.

Cook, V. (2001) Using the First Language in the Classroom:

The author intends to outline teaching methods and describe some of the different ways in which the L1 may be used positively by teachers and students. She asserts that the first language can be a useful element in creating authentic L2 users rather than something to be shunned at all costs. Conclusions based on her research are that L1 can be used systematically in the classroom.

References

Cook, V. (2016). Second Language Learning and Language Teaching (Fifth Edition). New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Cook, V. (2001) Using the First Language in the Classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.viviancook.uk/Writings/Papers/L1inClass.htm

Miles, R. (2004) Evaluating the use of L1 in the English Language Classroom. Retrieved from:
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/collegeartslaw/cels/essays/matefltesldissertations/Milesdiss.pdf

Saville-Troike, M. (2012). Introducing Second Language Acquisition (Second Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Turnbull, M. & Dailey-O’Cain, J. (2009).  First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning. Multilingual Matters. Retrieved from: https://majdi123.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/184769196x.pdf