Some reflections on using the L1 to reinforce learning in an EFL classroom
I have always thought the concept of learning English through the use of a student’s L1 to be the antithesis of what I believed to be sound English teaching. After all, if you are learning English, you should be immersed in it; or so I thought at one time. From my perspective, the goal of our students’ learning is for them to be utilizing the L2 in an authentic situation where they are able to communicate effectively and with ease. Thus, I assumed I should only teach using the L2. The question to ponder is: In which type of setting would it be feasible to use a student’s L1?
In a multicultural classroom, the odds of any given teacher being able to converse in 3 or more languages to explain things is a noble yet impossible feat. However, in a monolingual classroom, such as where I teach in Nicaragua, the use of the L1 to reinforce acquisition can be useful for several reasons including lexis, pronunciation, and instructions. I have found that knowing Spanish and being able to use it in the classroom has been useful, to say the least, and so I decided to reflect on this here.
I remember my first experience using an L1 to reinforce meaning in a kindergarten class where I was assigned a position as a substitute teacher in Worcester, Massachusetts. I was asked if I spoke Spanish because the learners that I would be teaching were in need of a bilingual teacher. The class was not necessarily an ESL class, either. So, I had to suddenly shift into Spanish for instructions and back to English quickly as well as manage the class in their L1 and the L2. Spanish proved to be more effective at managing the children. It seemed to lessen the blow of being a substitute, also. In my beginners’ class at the Universidad de Occidente, I generally give instructions and even explanations in both the L1 and L2. However, little by little I am trying to speak less Spanish.
While teaching here in Nicaragua, I realized (through my direct teaching experience) fairly quickly that if I were going to use the L1 in my teaching it would depend on on some basic criteria:
- I tried to explain this word through a visual on the whiteboard, or gestures, and the student(s) were still not making sense of the word.
- I graded my language and the students were still unclear about how they should proceed with a specific task or activity.
- The instructions needed to be repeated in the L1 to check understanding.
I often use Spanish in the classroom for the sake of drawing awareness to the acute similarities and/or differences in a word in both languages. I believe this helps a learner conceptualize things in each language. Let’s take for example, the word adhesive. I might ask: Do you have this word in Spanish? (even if I know they do). Why bother? First of all, the word sounds completely different in each language. The word, adhesive in English differs phonologically than its partial cognate, adhesivo, in Spanish. The /h/ is silent in Spanish. Also, there is the addition of the bound morpheme, /o/ in adhesivo. In adhesive, the stress falls on the second syllable while in adhesivo, the stress falls on the third syllable Lastly, adhesive has 3 syllables whereas adhesivo has 4 syllables. By drawing awareness to these differences, I believe a student can better conceptualize pronunciation in the target language. I have used this technique with lots of words for the sake of pronunciation and to illuminate how words are stressed in English.
Sometimes, if I get a gut feeling that I may not be able to explain a word well enough with pictures or some type of gesture, I will write the words on the board in the L1 and L2. Case in point, I was teaching sharp and dull as part of a role-play between a doctor and a patient that I wrote for my beginners to practice in an English for Medical Purposes class. I chose to write the words in Spanish and English (dull-sordo-agudo-sharp) because I did not know how to draw dull, and maybe sharp was easier to convey through a visual, but I felt the learners might still be unclear on the actual meaning.
What am I trying to say is that the use of the L1 to reinforce learning is not always necessary, but can be done more on a case-by-case basis where other techniques may have been exhausted or ineffective. In reality, I have not researched many academic articles on this subject; it has developed more as a strategy to make comprehension clear. I have used this technique in an EFL setting and rarely in an ESL classroom, unless the whole class had the same L1; as it did in a few beginner classes that I taught in New York City.
In conclusion, many teachers may feel conflicted about using an L1 to support learning in English. There seems to be a prevailing notion that it is wrong without a strong reason. Upon further consideration, I think most educators might find it has some advantages. After all, learning English is enough of a challenge. Why not make the process a little less daunting for our learners?
Author’s Biography:
Mark DeBenedictis currently resides in Leon, Nicaragua where he teaches at Centro de Idiomas in the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua and Universidad de Occidente. Mark has been teaching TESOL since 1996 in such places as Taiwan, New York City, and Massachusetts. Mark’s other passions are acting and the guitar/songwriting as well as languages.