Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

Acknowledgement

I sincerely thank my mentor and advisor, Mr. Abderrahim

Fachtal for his insightful comments, professional guidance and
detailed advice throughout developing myself as an EFL teacher in
the practicum part of my training. I remain greatly indebted to my
advisor for his fruitful comments and suggestions at the very earliest
stage of writing a report, a case study and building a teacher, me. I
am also grateful to my inspector, Mr Abderrazak Es-sobti for his
enthusiasm and warm-hearted encouragement. Also, I am grateful
to him for being such a source of inspiration because of his ever-
smiling face that reminds us of the core of our profession. I am also
indebted to thank my inspector for believing in each trainee teacher
of us. In fact, he gave us hope; he gave us a chance to shout and say
here is a teacher under the make.

I shall like to express my particular gratitude to my mother and

father for their unfailing moral support.

Abdelkrim hayab 1
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

Table of Content:

Acknowledgement..............................................................................................................................................1
Table of Content:................................................................................................................................................2
Phenomenon: Learners’ Reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom...........................................................................3
I. Scope of the Case Study:........................................................................................................................3
II. Introducing the case study (phenomenon):........................................................................................3
III. Basing the phenomenon studied........................................................................................................4
IV. Approaching the Case Study...............................................................................................................5
V. Solutions:............................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................................8
References:.........................................................................................................................................................9
Index:...............................................................................................................................................................10

Abdelkrim hayab 2
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

Phenomenon: Learners’ Reliance on L1 in the EFL

Classroom.
I. Scope of the Case Study:
The current research has a limited scope, as it bases itself on a limited number of
classes, four classes. Moreover, the data used in this study is obtained through
constant observation, my daily interaction with students, and some oral questions that
I ask from time to time. The research is set out to investigate students’ preference of
the language used to explain the English language lessons and the attitudes students
have toward the use of Arabic in English classrooms.

Moreover, timing is considered a limitation when doing this research, especially

we are supposed to teach, observe and then reflect on the teaching process and all its
elements to spot a phenomenon. Furthermore, there was no time for extensive reading
of literature and previous conducted researches on the phenomenon of using L1 in a
language classroom.

II. Introducing the case study (phenomenon):

September 19th 2016 was my first day as a trainee teacher in DAKHLA High
School, Boujniba city. The first session was devoted for exchanging personal
information with my students. Apparently, students should only use basic English to
introduce themselves. However, in each of the three classes I had that morning, just
three out of twenty could present themselves correctly and appropriately in each class.
I thought that it is just a matter of getting used again to English after the summer
holidays, so I started giving them expressions of how to express themselves and I even
explained. Nevertheless, my students kept staring at me.

The following sessions, after I shared my course policies with my students and
examined them diagnostically, I devoted the sessions for revising the syllabi of their

Abdelkrim hayab 3
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

previous year. I started explaining and explaining to be shocked when one of my

students asking me in the Moroccan dialect, “won’t you use Arabic”. Another adds,
“other teachers use Arabic”. While another says, “we don’t speak English”. I tried to
save the session and stop student from such complaints by saying in Arabic “Ask the
school to change the session from English to Arabic dialect, then I will teach using
Arabic”. I spent few sessions using the same expression and refusing to speak in
Arabic in my sessions. Consequently, my common core students got used to it and
ceased Asking me to use Arabic in my EFL class. However, for some reason, my 1 st
year baccalaureate students are still insisting and complaining for not using the mother
tongue in my EFL classes.

Hence, I chose to work in this paper on students’ reliance on the mother tongue in
the EFL class. This case study tries to answer many stuck questions, but the
highlighted ones are:

- Does the use of Arabic in the EFL class oppose the guidelines of teaching
English in Morocco?
- What are the attitudes of teachers towards the use of Arabic in their
classrooms, and do they use Arabic?
- Does students’ attitude toward using Arabic in English classrooms vary
according to their English proficiency level?
- Are there any learning occasions where using Arabic during English
classrooms may be beneficial?
- Does the use of Arabic in the EFL class cause linguistic tardiness and laziness
among learners?

III. Basing the Case Study.

The use of L1 can be traced through history when the grammar translation
method reigned in Europe. The main objective of grammar translation method was for
students to speak a foreign language. The means to accomplish that was through
bilingual activities like memorization and translation. As a result of the grammar-

Abdelkrim hayab 4
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

translation method, the students’ communicative needs were not attended to and most
found “the conceptual leap from the classroom to genuine communication outside the
classroom” a difficult one (Nunan 1999: 73).

Later, foreign language teaching got rid of its dependence on the mother tongue
in teaching languages. In fact, foreign language teaching moved from a passive to an
active use of the target language in a language classroom. That is moving from
grammar translation method to Direct Method and Situational Language Teaching
where there is an effective elimination of students’ L1 in the classroom. The students
became exposed to more language, in fact. That is trying to provide a native-like
environment for students to learn. In this trend, S. Krashen, with his Natural Approach
to language acquisition, says that students learn and acquire their second language in
the same way that they learn and acquire their L1. That is, he says, through exposing
students to massive amounts of the target language (Tang, 2002).

Furthermore, the Moroccan ministry of education made it clear in the note n° 132
that no other language is allowed to be spoken in a classroom but the language of the
specialty1. However, in the Moroccan school and due to tardiness, some teachers and
students alike prefer to use Arabic to explain and communicate in the classroom. This,
in fact, kills the only opportunity students have to speak in English.

IV. Approaching the Case Study.

As a teacher of English in Morocco, I argue that foreign language learning needs
as much exposure to the L2 as possible during precious classroom time, and any usage
of the L1 or translation is a waste of time. 2 In fact, it is not the mother tongue that is
not allowed, but the excessive use of it by teachers. in fact, the excessive use of L1 in
the classroom gives students an excuse to speak in Arabic. Moreover, “translation
should be avoided” (Richards and Rodgers 2001: 10).

1
Note n° 132, supporting mastering languages ‫دعم التمكن من اللغات‬. Published on September 16th 2009.
2
“Role of Mother Tongue in Learning English for Specific Purposes” by Galina Kavaliauskiene, in ESP
World, Issue 1 (22), Volume 8, 2009, [Link]

Abdelkrim hayab 5
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

I believe that, when teachers start using L1 in the classroom, even pedagogically,
students get used to it and rely on it to learn English. This can be called a linguistic
laziness. Consequently, students start using L1 to give answers, especially when
discussing a given topic in groups or having a pair work or even answering simple
questions asked by the teacher. Moreover, students keep waiting for the L1 use
whenever the teacher is explaining a new introduced language point.

As I mentioned before, students in my classes in dakhla high school got used to

explanations in their mother tongue in the previous classes of foreign languages. They
acquired dependency on their mother tongue while learning other languages.

Hence, one common problem of L1 use is the fear of excessive dependency

(Atkinson, 1987, p.246). Atkinson broadly listed the following as the possible dangers
behind the overuse of L1, the same that I observed in my two classes of 1 st year
Baccalaureate:

 Students began to feel that they did not “really” understand any
items of the language till it was translated: this is what happened to me when I
started the teaching sessions with my students. They just stopped trying to
understand what I was saying in English. So when I passed to explain another
point, most of my students stopped me and complained of not using Arabic.
 Students failed to observe distinction between equivalence of form,
semantic equivalence and pragmatic feature and thus over simplified o the point
of using crude and inaccurate translation: sometimes, I cannot find words in
Arabic that describe a vocabulary item. Sometimes translation is impossible.
 Students spoke to the teacher in the mother tongue as a matter of
course, even when they were capable of expressing what they meant: this
problem happened even with some my hard-working students. Though I told
them that they can give examples of other terms lay under the same umbrella,
synonyms or antonyms, students still tend to say the equivalence of the word
and end it. For example, I was explaining once what a secondary school is by

Abdelkrim hayab 6
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

giving synonyms. I gave my students the terms (high school and senior school),
but I was shocked when I wanted to check understanding. One of my students
just gave me the equivalence in Arabic, ‫الثانوية التأهيلية‬.
 Students failed to realize that during many activities in the
classroom, it was crucial that they used only English: Sometimes I feel that
students cannot understand that the class time is the only precious time that they
must use carefully to practice English.
As Chambers (1991) illustrated, students in the EFL classes can be enticed to use
L2, even if minimally and in its simplest form, for request, asking for help, apologies
and self-evaluation. Otherwise, students run the risk of engaging in much and
unorchestrated L1 use, which may jeopardize the students’ optimal learning. It should
be kept in mind that overuse of L1 in any circumstance “challenges the very purpose
of the class and of integrity of those involved” (Cole, 1998).

V. Solutions:
To face this problem of student’s dependency on the L1 in the EFL classroom,
teachers of English need to conduct more research and reflect more upon their
behaviours in the classroom and their students’. I believe, to get rid of this
phenomenon, teachers of English need to:
1. Create an Environment of both Learning and Acquisition. Simultaneously,
students need to acquire and learn language. That would be possible only if
the teacher makes their students exposed to massive amounts of the target
language. Students, in fact, are not obliged to grasp and assimilate every word
uttered in the classroom. Sometimes, students must listen to the target
language being spoken in the classroom only to get accustomed to it.
Accordingly, the teacher should use music and videos of native speakers of
English in his/her class to create a native-like environment.
2. Make it clear from the very beginning that there would be no L1 use in the
classroom especially by students. A teacher must create some Course Policies.

Abdelkrim hayab 7
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

The course policies mustn’t be discussed. the teacher should mention speaking
only L2 is one of the course policies. Thus, students would take it as a rule.
For example, in my classes, anyone speaks Arabic means they will get a zero
in the behaviour mark.
3. Create English language clubs. Language clubs is an extra environment for
students to be exposed to more amounts of English. Hence, in every school
there must be a language club. Language clubs must be created by all the EFL
teachers in the school so they collaborate to always have solutions for students
to speak only English.
4. Make extra hours for remedial work and reinforcing learning. Extra hours can
be for more practice. However, most of the time in extra hours, students come
with a fixed idea that the teacher will speak in Arabic. Hence, the sense why
extra hours are held is lost totally. So, as a teacher make it sure that no Arabic
should be used; only students who want to learn will come.
5. Encourage students to have English-English dictionaries. I agree that English-
Arabic dictionaries are of great usefulness for EFL students, but students grow
dependent on Arabic language to understand and learn new vocabulary.

Difficulties I faced as a Novice Teacher

This is my first year in teaching

Abdelkrim hayab 8
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

Conclusion
Throughout this paper that slightly tries to approach the phenomenon that all
language classrooms suffer from, we tried to answer different questions. These
questions revolved around:

Abdelkrim hayab 9
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

References:
- “Role of Mother Tongue in Learning English for Specific Purposes” by Galina
Kavaliauskiene, in ESP World, Issue 1 (22), Volume 8, 2009, [Link]
[Link]
- Note n° 132, supporting mastering languages ‫ات‬TTT‫دعم التمكن من اللغ‬. Published on
September 16th 2009.
Tang, J. (2002). Using L1 in the English classroom. English Teaching Forum, 40(1),
3643. Retrieved Aug 10, 2007, from
[Link]
- Atkinson, D. (1987). ‘The mother tongue in the classroom: A neglected
resource?’ English Language Teaching Journal 41/4(pp.241-246).
-
-

Abdelkrim hayab 10
 Students’ reliance on L1 in the EFL Classroom

Index:

Abdelkrim hayab 11