What and Why?
The mother tongue plays an important role in all language learning. Firstly, it is an important tool for the teacher to clarify explanations, give instructions and provide translations. At the beginning of the course, many of the instructions about classroom activities will need to be given in the mother tongue to make sure that the students know what they are expected to do.
Secondly, the mother tongue is a primary learning tool for the students. As with all other kinds of learning, a large part of language learning involves relating what you are learning to what you already know, in this case the mother tongue. Studies show that all beginning students use the mother tongue as a resource consciously and subconsciously in language learning activities. Thus, the tasks and activities in the CES provide opportunities for the students to translate sentences and texts into the mother tongue so that they can compare the form and meaning of the two languages and ensure that the correct meanings are learned.
Practical ideas
- Students may also use the mother tongue because they feel embarrassed about speaking English in front of the whole class. In these cases, you can give them time to prepare what they are going to say (see processing time).
- If you feel the students use too much of the mother tongue (for example, in groupwork), you will need to consider why this situation is arising and what you can do about it. It may be that the task is too difficult for them, not interesting enough, not clear to them, or too unstructured. You could try to discuss the problem with them, give clear examples of what they have to do, or ask for suggestions from them.
- As you gradually introduce more English into your classroom management, encourage the students to reply in English to questions like:" Where is Peter today?" or " Are you ready?"
- You will need to decide when you will use the mother tongue. You might for example limit yourself to explanations of grammar and vocabulary and to when you are monitoring and guiding.
- You will also need to decide when you will accept the mother tongue from the students. For example, you may accept use of the mother tongue in brainstorming activities in which you translate their ideas and put them on the board.
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