Theme #18-19. The use of the mother tongue

Research on students under the question “When teachers can use mother tongue in teaching L2:
Survey results in full
Survey : 300 students
The figures refer to percentage (%) responses by students at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

1	Should the teacher know the students' mother-tongue?	65	53	53
2	Should the teacher use the students' mother tongue?	66	58	29
3	Should the students use their mother-tongue?	63	53	35
	It is useful if the teacher uses L1 when:
4	explaining new words	25	35	18
5	explaining grammar	31	7	0
6	explaining differences between L1 and L2 grammar	27	4	6
7	explaining differences in the use of L1 and L2 rules	33	22	20
8	giving instructions	3	9	0
	Students should be allowed to use L1 when :
9	talking in pairs and groups	22	3	3
10	asking how do we say '..' in English ?	13	38	6
11	translating an L2 word into L1 to show they understand it	18	13	6
12	translating a text from L2 to L1 to show they understand it	21	7	6
13	translating as a test	21	2	6
	The teacher and students can use L1 to:
14	check listening comprehension	27	9	3
15	check reading comprehension	14	7	6
16	discuss the methods used in class	21	13	6

Luke Prodromou - teacher, teacher trainer, writer British Council, Greece
LITERATURE

1. Penny Ur. A Course in Language Teaching- Practice and Theory, Cambridge University Press, 1992.

4. Skills. Thomson Learning. Sixth Edition.
5. Harmer, J. (2004). Just (Reading and Writing. Marshal Cavendish.
Suggested web sites:
www.teachingenglish.org.uk
www.brochure/jhb.com/
www.literature.org/
www.developreading.com


Glossary
MOTHER TONGUE- language, way of speaking
DESCRIPTION – descriptive statement
SCEPTICISM- doubts that someone has about something that other people think is true or right
TOOL- something that you use in order to perform a job or to achieve an aim