Scribd
Upload
200 views2 pages

The Pros and Cons of Using Mother Tongues in English Teaching

The document discusses the pros and cons of using students' mother tongues in English language teaching. It notes that while some experts believe using the mother tongue leads to better language acquisition by lowering anxiety, others argue it can make students overly dependent on translation. The document also discusses Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis and how punishing students for using their native language can increase anxiety. However, overly relying on the mother tongue can cause students to fail to recognize the importance of English. In general, the document concludes the mother tongue can help students initially but too much reliance on it could hinder English acquisition.

Uploaded by

Leiram
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
200 views2 pages

The Pros and Cons of Using Mother Tongues in English Teaching

The document discusses the pros and cons of using students' mother tongues in English language teaching. It notes that while some experts believe using the mother tongue leads to better language acquisition by lowering anxiety, others argue it can make students overly dependent on translation. The document also discusses Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis and how punishing students for using their native language can increase anxiety. However, overly relying on the mother tongue can cause students to fail to recognize the importance of English. In general, the document concludes the mother tongue can help students initially but too much reliance on it could hinder English acquisition.

Uploaded by

Leiram
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Name: Mariel S.

Alabata

The Pros and Cons of using Mother Tongues in English Teaching

One of the most controversial issues faced in Education today, is the relevance of the students’
mother tongues in their process of learning and acquiring English language. As some experts, claim its
importance and relevance in language learning led to positive results. On the other hand, there are some
who claim the opposite idea; as they believe that using it in the classroom only deteriorates students’
ability to acquire the language. Let’s dig deeper into the positive and negative opinions of the usage of
mother tongue in English class.

Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis suggests that “when feelings such as fear, anxiety or
embarrassment are elevated, it becomes difficult for language acquisition to occur”. English only policy
schools put too much pressure on their students to utilize the target language only otherwise they will
get punished whenever they code switch. This is a terrible practice. In fact, research has shown that
code switching between languages and translation happens instinctively to all language learners and the
mother tongue (L1) is actually an important resource in the second language (L2) learning (Cook, 2001;
Woodall, 2002). As a result, they would rather shut up than speak (Goldstein, 2003) as they felt a
sense of shame whenever they get punished from using their own language. Krashen’s Hypothesis also
states that when the affective filter is low most likely the students feel highly motivated, confident and
safe thus, they will acquire the language better. According to Harbord (1992), teachers communication
with students in their own language seems to improve student rapport in the class.

On the other hand, there are some advantages when mother tongue is overly used in the class. As
believed by Tugrul Mart (2013 p. 12) too much use of mother tongue in class can make students
comprehension of L2 dependent on mother tongue (L1) translation. Furthermore, students will fail to
recognize the importance of the second language. The teachers/ students fail to observe distinctions
between equivalence of form, semantic and pragmatic features and thus oversimplify to the point of
using crude and inaccurate translation (Akitson,1997, p. 246; Harbord,1992).
Using translation regularly creates the problem of oversimplification. What’s more, students will have
lesser opportunities for L2 speaking practice which could lead to the deterioration of their skills.
In general, believe that language is not a barrier to learn things including another language.
Mother tongue is necessary since the students’ fundamental knowledge of English is not yet complete to
be able to speak it without help from students’ mother tongues. It is a bridge that links the transition of
acquiring the second language. Students shouldn’t be punished for code switching as it is part of
learning learning. However, it should be managed well so that students will not be too dependent on
their mother tongue that they will fail to realize the importance of acquiring the second language.

Resources:

https://www.cram.com/essay/What-Are-The-Advantages-And-Disadvantages-Of/
FCS6LV7YVU#google_vignette

https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/l1-in-the-esl-classroom/using-the-mother-tongue-in-the-
english-language-classroom/

https://seidlitzblog.org/2020/09/22/what-is-the-affective-filter-and-why-is-it-important-in-the-
classroom/

https://youtu.be/haBs6nZMP-c

You might also like