Use Of L1 As Facilitator From Foreign Language Classroom

Cunningham (2003) remarks “While there may indeed be some negative effects from using translation,… there is a place in the learning environment for translation. With careful application aimed at specific goals and situations, translation can contribute to the students' acquisition of the target language, at all levels.” According to this, there are different situations in which students are more comfortable by using L1. While there are clear advantages on the communicative approach, not every student feels on a “safety” environment to apply their L2 knowledge, and by giving them the chance to have a transition from both languages, they feel that they have something to more familiar – native language – to rely

In recent years, a discussion has been brought forward about whether the mother tongue (L1) should be implemented in foreign language classrooms or not. “The issue of whether language teachers should use the students’ first language in their second/ foreign language classroom has always been a controversial one” (Sharma, 2006:80). When looking at the historical process of teaching a foreign language, it is observed that teaching techniques should not be based on mother tongue. The target language (TL) is best taught in that language and by the native speakers. It is widely believed that the more exposure to the other languages, the less effective the target

Effective teachers of CLD students must understand their linguistic background, culture and English language learning processes when planning instruction. Learning environments that support language acquisition, literacy development and content area achievement provide opportunities for increased academic success in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Planning and preparation for effective instruction involves building on CLD students backgrounds and experiences, scaffolding skills and concepts and appropriate strategies to engage all students.

Michael Gottfried, from the University of California Santa Barbara, wrote this article in 2014, in which he examined the effects of having a greater number of English Language Learner (ELL) students in general education classrooms on the other students in kindergarten and first grade. He based his research off the “research gaps” (Gottfried, 22), that other studies have done to examine this same issue, examining students’ achievement and socioemotional skills. Gottfried states that there are four primary ideas that other studies within the same topic failed to consider: studies focused on only the ELL students in a mainstream classroom, the studies only focus on student achievement, the studies have left out many factors within a classroom,

Since, the second language is an additional language after we acquire the first language, the L2 learning process can be influenced by the L1 learning process This essay will demonstrate the similarities and differences in L1 and L2 acquisition by discussing various theories. Then, draw a conclusion based on the evidence provided and my own experience.

Guidelines to teaching a foreign language highlight all of these elements. Listening, reading, writing, and speaking are all taught and tested at beginner, intermediate, advanced, and superior levels so that these different learning methods are highlighted and executed at varying levels. Children also learn and are shown new ways of looking at the world through the varying strategies. In fact, correlation studies have shown that “students who have had several years of foreign language do better on SATs, particularly the verbal part” (WALKER). As root words, prefixes, suffixes, conjugation, and noun agreements are taught in new languages, it is easier to see connections to the structure of one’s first language. The knowledge of a language one is raised speaking and understanding is simply obtained through experience. However, learning a second language emphasizes the parts of language that come naturally in the first. It takes self-motivated work and dedication to learn a second language later in life, so the outcome of attaining a comprehensive grasp on a foreign language early on pays off in multiple ways.

The rationale for not using the mother tongue was a mixture of pedagogical and pragmatic. First, use only of the target language allows learners…..

As a result of a disconnection of their culture, the forcefully assimilated students have reduced academic. Since these students are in an environment where English is increasingly valued, they struggle from the pressure of understanding not only the content in class, but the people around them. In the article English-Only Movement: Its Consequences on the Education of Language Minority Children, Mei-Yu Lu explains the struggle of students to learning both English and academic subjects. According to Lu, “These essential resources are made unavailable, however, when children are thrown into an English-Only situation where they are expected to learn unfamiliar content in an unfamiliar language. Without the bridge provided by their L1, their chances

L1 Learners in the native language environment, people in this environment are native speakers. For acquisition of L1, child learners have no pressure and competition. They do not worry about the level of mother tongue reached, because they are native speakers. In contrast, most of L2 learners rarely in such language environment, they are often in a highly competitive, stressful learning environment. They are learning another language in the first language environment. Moreover, L2 learners study language in the classroom, not a best language learning environment. For example, most of the Chinese students learn English in junior school or high school. Except of their weekly English class, students do not have a good foreign language environment. L1learners can learn language anywhere, and actual use first language, they learned the language in the real life. Most of L2 learners lack the regular practice, so they have to learn by rote.

students expect it and it is likely to be beneficial for their language development” (276).

The first language helps in the initial stages of second language acquisition as it can serve as a referent and a tool to which students can turn when needed. It is useful, for example, to turn to the first language during the acquisition of new vocabulary or to compare the structures of both the first and the second language for understanding in a better way some concepts like verb tenses.

There is a rising issue in today’s education system to whether or not we need to require and when the education system should start the second language learning in the school system. Some say that education system should wait until the students have reached high school and others say to start it young. Other school officials have said that they should require it in high school because they’ll remember the language better. Experts say that the education system needs to start it young while the child’s brain is like a sponge. The answer to this question is to simply start the foreign language learning young during their childhood which is why all the state education systems should require a foreign language class during the elementary years

“In boxing, they say everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Well, in language learning, we could just as easily say that everyone has the perfect conversation in mind until they speak to a real native.” says Why Language Classes Don’t Work author Tim Ferriss. Communication is not the focus of a foreign language class these days. Memorizing words and short sentences is not a natural function. Taking a foreign class is not effective and it’s outdated because it’s like placing a group of people, who don’t know how to calculate the area of a circle, into a room and seeing how much they know. According to Jay Mathews,“How students still look good on their report cards is easy to explain. Because much of the world is striving to learn English, Americans wonder why they should bother to learn other languages. We talk about the importance of foreign language learning to our national security, but we don’t mean it. If we need speakers of exotic tongues, we import them”.

There are a growing number of researchers that have begun to question the exclusion of the L1 from the L2 classroom (Turnbull, 2001; Macaro, 2001; Van Lier, 1995). However, many teachers are still resistant to use the L1 in foreign language learning. According to Cook (2001) & Van Lier (1995), one reason for this teacher

This instruments helped in knowing more about the students’ backgrounds, about their language skills, and the activities they usually do using English to figure how to properly address their needs and help them in the areas that they need help in or find difficult to do. It also helped in knowing what they want to learn in order for the teacher to use a learner-centered approach to engage the students in their learning process and keep them interested in learning the language.