What If Learners Keep Using Their L1?

Article Content:

Introduction

Why do learners use their L1?

How can we maximize/encourage English use in the classroom?

Conclusion

Introduction

As part of my DELTA Module 1 preparation, I've started reading and referring back to some general methodology books to delve into some issues and different classroom practices. I'm currently reading How to Teach English by Harmer, and this article was written as a short summary of a section from Harmer's book and my own experience dealing with L1 use in the English language classroom.

Why do learners use their L1?

I've had many discussions with my colleagues and candidates on Cambridge courses about how desperate they are to get learners to utter one or two words in English, especially when they're working together (pairwork or group work). In order to solve this issue, we'll look into some possible causes.

1- The task given is too challenging or unclear: if the task is not graded or too authentic for the learners, they might be discouraged from even attempting to do it. If it's appropriate but learners are unaware of what's required of them, they will normally seek help by asking their peers in their L1 what to do.

2- The task is too easy: if learners are not challenged to some extent, they won't take the task seriously. They'll end up bored to death and use their L1 to discuss something irrelevant.

3- Nature of topic: the learners want to discuss something important and because they're not as confident in English, they opt to use their mother tongue to get their message across clearly.

4- The teacher himself uses the learners' L1: if my teacher knows my L1 and uses it often during the lesson, why shouldn't I? It's much easier and time-saving to just express myself in my own language.

5- The learners are total beginners: learners may use their L1 temporarily to survive in the lesson.

6- To check understanding: learners, especially those whose learning experience had a lot of translation, got into the habit of finding equivalents in the two languages and checking with their peers or teacher.

7- Embarrassment: adults and adolescents in group classes are more prone to this issue; the feeling of shame in speaking in a foreign language may really force even competent users to use their L1.

How can we maximize/encourage English use in the classroom?

Talk about it: bring up the subject explicitly in the classroom. Talk to your learners about the advantages of using English and the disadvantages of using L1. This is much easier to do with learners who are motivated to learn English. You may as well ask them why they're using their language, though it's often evident why.

Negotiate with them: I've seen many teachers doing a big mistake by totally banning L1 in the classroom and intimidating learners of the consequences of using it. Learners may protest or be stubborn to follow, or they simply may turn off and not participate at all. Encourage your learners to agree on a rule/punishment for using L1. One of my colleagues uses a reward/punishment system with her young learners. She puts a marble ball in a vase for every English use and takes out one for every L1 use. If the vase is full of marbles, she doesn't give her students homework or she may play a game with them.

Only respond in English: this is easier to be done by those teachers who don't share the same L1 as their learners. I've done it many times (though I secretly known my learners' L1); I pretended I don't understand them when they were talking to me or asking for help. It proved effective as they desperately were trying to negotiate meaning with me using isolated words which I combined and helped them form a sentence.

Be a role model: I don't think the teacher has the right to complain about his learners using L1 if he himself uses it for language clarification or communication. Maximize English exposure and create an English environment by using English as your medium of instruction and teaching English with English. Even when meeting your students out of the class in the staff room, communicate in English. This shows that you're not merely acting in the classroom. At beginner levels, it may be tempting to use L1 to save time and to help a desperate learner, but the teacher has to use other means for clarification such as visuals, gestures and cognates in L1-L2. Similarly, confirming/acknowledging learners' answers, which are in L1, by responding in English only.

Be consistent: the aforementioned tips may be applied and learners may still use L1 often in the classroom. Try to be consistent and remind learners to use English when you run activities. Take part in their discussions, and use English and supply language where needed.

Motivate them: verbal motivation is not enough to induce learners to use the target language. This has to be combined with selecting and designing appropriate materials that are relevant to the learners' age, level, interests, contexts and needs.

Establish rapport and a supportive environment: learners have to be encouraged and praised when they attempt to use English regardless of whether their attempt is a success or failure. When learners understand that nobody is going to laugh at them or shame them when they make mistakes, they'll use English more frequently and this will develop to even make them take risks by experimenting with the language. Rapport shouldn't be only limited to teacher-student but also between the learners themselves where mistakes are welcomed and considered as signs of learning.

Conclusion

The use of L1 in the classroom may be more prevalent among monolingual or non-English speaking teachers. But before attempting to fix the problem, teachers should ask themselves 'why are my students using their own language?'. By identifying the source of the problem, teachers can take steps to move learners from completely relying on their language to using English in the lessons, even between themselves.