As much as I enjoy teaching, there are many frustrations in the TEFL classroom – from the students who don’t want to learn, to a lack of materials. One thing that frustrates most English teachers is the overuse of and over-reliance on L1 by students during the lesson.
What is it?
L1 is simply the mother tongue of a student (where L2 would be their second-most familiar language, and L3 their 3rd most familiar… you get the idea). Hopefully, English is at least in the top L10.
If you are teaching English abroad, it’s likely that your students share the same L1 – for my classes, Japanese is the predominant L1. Teachers in English-speaking countries will probably find a mix of L1s in the classroom, which curbs the problem somewhat. What, then, is the problem?
L1 and English
There are mixed views on the use of L1. Many teachers (and, more importantly, employers) feel that in-lesson communication should be restricted to English only from both sides. This forces students to use the language they know when speaking to you and to others. An English-only environment is more conducive to learning, some argue, and makes students more mentally active.
Therefore, if L1 is allowed, English is relegated from being essential to just being something under study. Furthermore, an English-only lesson mimics the atmosphere of an English-speaking country.
Do you want them to use it?
Perhaps the question should really be ‘does your employer allow L1 in the lesson?’ This is an issue that most companies have strong policies on. Of course, your view also counts, as you are the teacher. The issues to think are about are:
- Does L1 have a negative impact on the lessons?
- Are students lazily using L1 to avoid speaking English?
- Does restrained use of L1 allow them to clarify English terms and ideas?
- Am I in control of the lesson when they are speaking L1?
UsingEnglish.com has a comprehensive list of questions to ask yourself when thinking about L1.
How can you control it?
Having decided on your stance on the issue, your next step is to implement it. In many classes, students use L1 even though they are aware of an English-only policy, so most likely you are going to need to be balanced when it comes to the practicalities of this issue. A few gentle reminders that only English is allowed if L1 gets out of hand can bring things back on track.
Another teacher recently highlighted one of the benefits of using L1 with low-level learners. When acting out role-plays or eliciting sentences, get students to do it first in their own language. Then they can work on constructing the same ideas on English. I tried this out recently with a student; the results were very positive and she was producing ideas and sentences in English much more fluently than usual.
Great site!