"In
a foreign language situation where your students speak the same native
language, some negotiations might be possible in the native language,
allowing for a small amount of student control". What kind of
negotiations might be appropriate in the L1? What do you think of the
use of the L1 in a language classroom? Explain, with good
support/examples for your opinions.
(Additional comments on this post no longer earn points. Please choose a more recent entry).
I have observed classrooms where teachers would never allow the L1 to be used. While it was good so that students couldn't chit-chat, sometimes the student could not understand a certain concept without hearing it in their L1 and all they needed was a little nudge from their classmate and a one sentence answer in their L1 to clarify everything. Denying this help is denying the communicative approach, I think and is just a sign of an egotistical teacher.
ReplyDeleteI think L1 use in an ESL class should be kept at a minimum to discourage chit-chat. However, I also think sometimes it can be helpful not only to further understanding of a concept but also the encourage students to take control and help themselves.
When volunteering at the conversation clubs with the ELI, I saw numerous instances of first language use that were beneficial to learning. If a student did not understand a certain word or concept, or was confused by directions, a few words from another student who shared their L1 could help them catch up with the group. This help between students was especially useful in group activities, because it the activities flowed more smoothly, and group members were encouraged to solve problems together.
ReplyDeleteI would not encourage excessive communication in an L1---there were many instances of students (even those who shared the same L1) using English to clear up minor confusion---but do not want to deny its usefulness in the L2 classroom. As students become increasing confident in English they will be ready to ask questions in English, but in the meantime they will not fall behind because they can’t ask about the difference between “in” and “on.” Use of the L1 for asking complicated questions, clarifying the meaning of words/phrases, and explaining students concerns to the teacher are acceptable and beneficial uses of the L1. Like Caitlin said, students can be encouraged to help themselves!
Sometimes it is next to impossible to explain the meaning of a word or a phrase without some assistance from use of the L1. This is particularly true of abstract concepts and words. In my class at VMLC, we have 27 students of widely varying abilities. It is really helpful to have someone give a one on one brief explanation to someone who is really struggling with a concept in order to have that person understand so that they might 'move on' to the next thing with the rest of the class. Sometimes just a few words can make a huge difference and save a lot of valuable classroom time. Both Caitlin and Elizabeth explained that as well in their blog replies. I don't think that it is a good idea to have a lot of L1 use in the classroom, however. As an example, our class was doing a paired activity on writing a short account of what they had done over the past weekend. Even though the directions were 'English only" a few groups were strictly Spanish, and even with my limited Spanish ability, I overhead enough to know they were not doing the assignment at all but were socializing. I think that you have to be flexible, and when the situation calls for it, allow use of the L1 as a tool to briefly help out, but I would limit its' use as best as possible to keep focus on the task at hand: learning the L2.
ReplyDeleteI think the best advantage of using L1 in a language classroom is probably explaining abstract concepts (rules, etc..). Since these are usually taken in inductively by native speakers, it would be faster, and maybe clearer for students who are not native speakers to get the explanation done in their L1 (it will give them an idea or “feel” of what the other language is like, and then they can try to test the concepts themselves). I can see how having L1 in the classroom could also be quite disadvantageous though, since the students will always feel relaxed (they have a backup language), there isn’t as much motivation/challenge presented. For example, if a student wanted to really know the answer to something (an immediate need, or something that perks their interest), but instead of trying to say it in the language they are learning (and thus having spontaneous language construction), they might rely on L1, and that is sort of a hindrance to automaticity. In general, I just think it would be better if students can have the environment where almost everything is in the target language (then the language can be in every aspect of their life-kind of-and it would be easier to absorb because they are completely surrounded by the language). The more input of the language, the better the chances of the students understanding and being able to give output (usually).
ReplyDeleteWhile I think teachers should try, as much as possible, to explain concepts in the L2 (at least the first time), I also think students should be free to ask questions in their L1. If a student is confused by a concept early in a lesson, or a semester, and is uncomfortable or unable to ask for an explanation in their L2, they may end up lost very quickly. As several people above me have already said, a quick few words might save that student a lot of stress as well as a lot of time. In German last week, my group was identifying different types of verbs used in various conditions and we were confused. I was able to ask my teacher in English and use what I thought might be English equivalents, to explain why we were confused by the similar verbs and my teacher responded in German, pointing me in the right direction. If I had used German, I would have been forced to use the exact same words as the examples and might not have figured out why they were each used in the specific situations. It would also have taken a lot longer. However, I appreciate my teacher responding in the L2 rather than switching the whole conversation to English. A quick minute long conversation saved us lots of time, and from doing the exercise incorrectly, or from sitting there looking bored and frustrated until class ended.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if teachers use a common L1 as a crutch to explain things they are both limiting their students' exposure to the L2, as well as limiting their need to understand it.
Kailey Watson
In my experience of learning a second language, I benefited the most when the teacher stuck to teaching in the target language and never used my native language. In order to become the fluent speaker I wished to become, I strived to "think" in the target language. This is impossible to do when the teacher is constantly switching back and forth between L1 and L2. Teachers should strive, as much as possible, to stick to L2 all or most of the time.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I understand that every student learns in different ways and are striving towards their own individual goals. Although I still believe that the teacher should strictly teach in the target language, I don't think a few words, or explanations, here and there in the L1 is inappropriate. If a student doesn't completely grasp the concept of a lesson, or instructions for an activity, they can immediately fall far behind. This can be easily prevented with a few words in the student's L1. The key is to keep it brief. Here as some examples where I feel it is appropriate to use the L1:
1. Brief descriptions on how to carry out a technique
2. Brief explanations of grammar points
3. A quick description on meanings of words that, after several attempts to explain in the L2, are still confusing for students.
4. Possibly some cultural notes and comments
5. And, group work where more advanced students are helping lower level students.
With group work, I feel the L2 should be primarily used. However, when students are helping each other, I feel that using the L1 BRIEFLY can eliminate any intimidation that may be in the group (students often find comfort in their L1), and help the lower level students quickly catch up and understand what is going on so they can interact with the group in the L2.
Again, the goal is to have the class entirely in the L2. However, no one is perfect and no class runs according to plan every single time. Every teacher should be willing to be flexible and do anything necessary to help their students understand, all the while guiding them towards the goal of using the L2 consistently.
I have read an article carries out an experiment that investigates why teachers of English as a foreign language code switch to their native language in the language classroom. The results of the study indicated that nonnative teachers use their native tongue to limit the boundaries with their students. Also they use their L1 to negotiate the meaning when it is difficult to explicitly explain it especially in teaching vocabulary and grammar for beginners. I do agree that using L1 should not be considered ineffective because some students need to feel positive about their knowledge by getting limited feedback in their L1 otherwise they would go through the translation process which is boring and time wasting. I am saying that because that’s how my classmates used to do in my EFL classes.
ReplyDeleteNegotiation in L1 is necessary in learning L2. For the beginners of English learners, native language is an effective way to explain grammar rules and some abstract vocabulary. In L2 classrooms, the most important thing is to let the students understand and absorb the knowledge as much as possible in a limited time, so using L1 can save time and let them clearly know the meanings instead of using unfamiliar words to explain the complex sentence structures or abstract words. I found that when we learned English in the classroom, if the teacher spoke fast, ignored the pace of students’ understanding and had no L1 translation for some difficult words or important points, the whole class would be bored and no one wanted to listen. But if the teacher cared about our attention and understanding ability and mentioned some points in L1, all students could follow her and learned something.
ReplyDeleteBut if the students can follow greatly, teachers should try best to speak L2 as much as possible to students in order to provide a good language environment and push them to listen carefully and understand the words.
Teachers should be careful when they use students’ L1 in EFL environment. As you already know, when L2 learners are exposed to the utmost high-quality input of the target language, they can improve L2 effectively and efficiently. In EFL environment L2 classes may be the only chance to receive the target language inputs to L2 students. Therefore, as a L2 teacher we should try to use target language in class as much as possible. However, there is a limitation. In beginner level class, the novice students sometimes cannot understand some vocabulary or grammar rules. Then, teachers can explain the vague meaning of difficult words, grammar, and structures by comparing with equivalents of students’ L1. Even though this usage of students’ L1 could be very helpful to beginner level students, this should be modulated for students’ abundant L2 input according to the students’ proficiency level. Advanced level students may have enough competence to understand ambiguous things of L2 without explicit explanation in their mother tongue.
ReplyDeleteIn my class, we use L1 for difficult vocabulary that students can’t define in English. The word “procrastination” had my entire class stumped one day and we spent some time trying to find a good definition or L1 equivalent. I will also encourage a top-performing student to explain a grammar point to another student in L1. I think it helps build teamwork in the class. I use L1 as a limited tool in an ESL classroom when my other methods have failed. I agree with the other comments about limiting L1 discussions. For example, I discourage L1 discussion when students are working in pairs or on teams. I do feel that L1 explanations are appropriate in limited situations.
ReplyDeleteUse of L1 in the L2 classroom is OK on occasion to translate certain abstract words that have a direct translation in the L1 (example: Spanish “casi” = almost), and to also explain nuanced, difficult-to-understand concepts that don’t exist in the L1 (example: measure words in Chinese). Use of L1 can be beneficial to learning. However, I think use of the L1 should be limited because I believe it’s critical to use as much L2 in the classroom as possible to help students develop their listening skills, retain language through repeated exposure, learn new language via comprehensible input, and to set a stage for the whole class interacting and producing in the L2. It may be challenging to modify L2 use to be within the learners’ proficiency level while also keeping it as natural as possible (especially if it’s a beginning level class). But it’s worth the effort. The negotiations mentioned in this prompt (which benefit students’ feeling of autonomy?) can be made in the L2 as well as in the L1, given the teacher uses language within the students’ level of proficiency.
ReplyDeleteStefani Goode
ReplyDeleteUsually I would think that a negotiated syllabus or even a negotiated classroom is something that should be done in a more advanced class or level. However, in teaching the beginning level (0) I have found myself negotiating in the classroom. Since they are beginners I tend to allow more use of the L1. I get to see how they interact with each other as well as how effective my teaching is. I am lucky that my students use their L1 to help the slower students explain the grammar point or activity instructions. Sometimes they even lecture each other to ask me the the question in English. Since this is a beginning class and most of our activities require English I don't feel its an issue for them to use their L1 during the lesson. Now if they get off topic or seem to be rattling off I will bring them back to the matter at hand. So far it seems to be working well. I have noticed that while teaching a level 1 and level 3 that students will rely on their L1 to help explain the concepts to the other students. When I see they understand I will then continue on but I do stop frequently to ask if the students have any questions or if I need to repeat.
I seem to negotiate more with my students with activities. I allow them to decide if we will do certain things as a large group or as an individual. If I see them hesitating I take the initiative and and decide for them. So its a negotiation until I get a little resistance and then I take over, but I never give my students complete free reign over the class.
As a teacher I have learned that sometimes its difficult to not allow the L1 to be used in class especially when I don't speak my students L1. But I do believe that when students get higher in their levels and have an adequate vocabulary I would probably have them refrain from using their L1 too often in the classroom, since this is probably the only place they will use English.
The L1 is a good thing for clarification purposes. Sometimes there is only so much miming and lengthy explanations can do. For example, there could be expressions or even certain words that cannot be exactly translated, but if another student understand that expression, then maybe they can explain the meaning in their native tongue to their fellow classmates. The same thing can happen when explaining little things in conversation. This has happened before in my French class. The teacher really tried to explain certain words to us meant in their context in French. But it wasn’t until she explained it in English that I could relate it back to my native tongue. It’s complicated and certainly not perfect, but it has the possibility of being a positive.
ReplyDeleteI believe that negotiation can be particularly helpful in the earliest levels of English-language learning when the students are adults. At the first stages of learning, adults still have all the high-level reasoning capacity they possess when communicating in their L1, but aren't able to express those complex thoughts in their L2 yet. If they're never allowed to ask questions in their L1, the teacher may never know precisely how to address their confusion about a particular issue. However, I personally would tend to give answers back to the students in the L2 if possible, even when the student phrased their question in their L1. Also, occasional reversion to the L1 by students in group activities may be helpful since, as others have pointed out, a simple one-line explanation from another student may help to clarify an entire English concept for someone. The key to this, I feel, is the level of knowledge the instructor has of the students' L1. In situations where the instructor can understand exactly what the students are saying to each other, it's easy to monitor the dialogue and step in if students go off-task. However, if the instructor has no knowledge of the students' L1, monitoring interactions will be impossible and therefore could be far less productive and become an issue rather than a help.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do feel that student use of L1 is at times productive, I would be less likely to use the students' L1 as an instructor. Since use of the L1 tends to result in the students translating rather than simply learning the L2, I prefer a scenario in which the instructor only uses the L2. However, I do realize that there are situations in which it's nearly impossible to explain a grammatical concept without use of the L1, and at those moments I think the instructor simply has to know their students and recognize that L1 use is the only way to go.
Negotiations in L1 are a blessing and curse. With good classroom management, instructors should be able to limit the "L1 chit-chat" between students during group activities. In my Spanish classes I've been guilty of this very thing, but when the professor shouts "¡¡¡En español por favor!!!" the classroom full of well-behaved and motivated adults quickly transitions. Negotiations that can benefit from L1 usage in my opinion are as follows: 1. Brief asides between students sitting very near each other that do not stop the flow of the class. This saves time and energy on everyone's part. 2. Relating a grammatical structure or general rule to the L1 since this provides a level of clarification that an instructor may not be able to achieve at early levels. 3. At the advanced level, L1 can be called upon to help students identify shades of meaning. For example "That word means sad, but in a deep way, like if someone died," explanations like that are especially helpful for situations where an equivalent is not readily available in the student's L1. It is difficult to get students to absorb the deep meaning of some abstract ideas, especially emotions, without relating them to their native language.
ReplyDeleteThe lower the students' English proficiency, the more L1 they will need to understand and process English into their communicative schemas. For example, sometimes using the L1 is necessary for classroom management if students particularly children or teenagers are out of control because they will tune out English since they don't understand it well enough. Students learning English vocabulary words that have corresponding vocabulary words in their L1 may use their L1 to understand and remember what the English words mean. If students are learning a verb system such as the "to be" verb, then the teacher can compare and contrast this with the verb equivalent in their L1 so that they can avoid making mistakes based on assumptions about the similarities or differences of their L1 with English. Finally, using students' L1 may be necessary to communicate a teaching point when their English level is insufficient for them to understand an English explanation. However, teachers should use L1 out of necessity only, as a last resort, but should speak English to give the students as much input as possible. Teachers should also encourage students to speak English so they can produce as much meaningful output as possible.
ReplyDeleteJarrod Duarte
ReplyDeleteI use some Spanish in my classroom, especially in situations where I am explaining a specific rule or vocabulary and I am not sure if they are understanding the point but other than that I try to stay away from using it too much or relying on it. Similar to the other posts on this blog, I believe that the usage of the student's L1 in a classroom by a teacher or the students should negatively correlate with the students L2 skill level, i.e. the higher the L2 skill the less the L1 should be spoken. Overall, in my classroom, I do not discourage the students from speaking Spanish to each other, but I do not encourage it either, plus they are adults and I will treat them that way.
Jarrod Duarte
Everyone has posted very succinct replies about when and how much the native L1 should be used in the classroom, I'm afraid mine will only be redundant. That being said, I believe that the L1 can be very helpful in explaining both abstract and new concepts to beginner students to help them grasp the concepts, however the STUDENTS' use of their L1 should be very limited inside the classroom to restrict the classroom from getting out of control. I also believe that the higher level up the students are, the less the L1 should be relied on because after awhile it becomes a crutch: used to often for too long, it becomes more a hindrance than a help.
ReplyDeleteCurrently I am teaching a class that has some aspects of a foreign language situation in that all the students are from a Spanish-speaking background. I think it is appropriate to ensure that students have a good understanding of basic English words and allow them to look them up word meaning in a Spanish-English dictionary and discuss the words among themselves. In fact I often provide a list of words we are studying for them to look up the meanings in the classroom. However if I see that they are too dependent upon their dictionaries, I encourage them to try and learn the meaning from the class discussion.
ReplyDelete“Negotiations” in their first language occur when
1) A student has a question and they choose to ask a fellow student in their first language rather than the teacher because they can better phrase the question.
2) One student is dependent upon another, more advanced student and they discuss the lesson.
3) A student gains insight into a lesson and wants to share their insight with a fellow student.
I know enough Spanish that I can usually confirm or correct the student’s discussion, and I always do so in English. I think the above are fine on a limited basis. What is not good is when the conversation spreads to others in the native language and the teacher loses control.