ISSN 2348-3156 (Print) International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-3164 (online) Vol. 10, Issue 4, pp: (168-174), Month: October - December 2022, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
Exploring Teachers Perceptions of L1 Use in the English Language Classroom at Language Schools in Istanbul 1
Maher ABOU ALBOURGOL
Maher ABOU ALBOURGOL, MA student, Istanbul Aydın University, Institute of Graduate Studies, English Language Teaching.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7183208
Published Date: 10-October-2022
Abstract: There have been numerous professional discussions on whether or not to adopt the use of learners’ own language in English language classes for best learning results since the spread of English as a primary language in various domains worldwide. Yet, lately, this hypothesis about using only English in class has been gradually investigated, and the use of own-language is still being examined. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on L1 use practices from the perspectives of teachers. The sample consists of one hundred and three English teachers in Istanbul in Turkey. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were the main methods used to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the research questions. The results revealed that the majority of the respondents agree with using L1 in language teaching and learning. Gender, age, qualifications, types of schools show some associations with the use and attitudes towards L1. Female, novice, graduated teachers in the public sector show more inclination towards the use of their own language as revealed by the one-way analysis of variance and the chisquare tests. The findings of the current study suggest that L1 use practices occupy a larger space in English curricula. Keywords: attitude, perceptions, own-language use, L2 maximisation, primary language.
1. INTRODUCTION Language has always been the main method of human communication. So, people have sought to learn foreign languages for a variety of purposes throughout history. Several languages like Latin, Greek, and then French and Italian have received more attention since the 16th century due to political changes in Europe. Alongside the technological developments, industry, and commerce, English has quickly spread and become popular in the world, eventually becoming the primary means of communication in global contexts (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). As a result, efforts to figure out the best way to teach English have begun, resulting in the creation of several language teaching methodologies, each with its own set of rules. In the world of language pedagogy, there is a debate about including or excluding the first language (L1) use in a second language (L2) classroom. Consequently, many studies have tended to elaborate on this issue, e.g., the reduction of using the learners’ mother tongue in some teaching methods and adopting the TL only. As a result, previous studies shed light on the monolingual approach to language learning which not only emphasised the use of target language (TL) but also prohibited the learners' native language (L1). So, the monolingual approach states that the classroom instructions should only be given in the target language. Supporters of an approach that states English as the only means in learning and teaching
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