Functions and Functional Preferences of Code Switching: A Case Study at a Private K-8 School in Turkish Context

This study investigated teachers’ use of mother tongue in EFL classrooms in Benishangul Gumuz region, Asosa Zone junior schools during actual classroom instruction of first and second semesters in 2014 academic year. The investigation focused on the functions of Amharic language and its amount in target language classroom. Subsequently, it looked at teachers’ knowledge of L1 use in L2 and if they had guidelines of how mother tongue (Amharic) could be well treated in EFL classes. To select target population for the study, cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used. Stratified sampling technique was also employed in order to select target population proportionally from clustered woredas. To answer the research questions qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Classroom observations, interviews and questionnaire were used to collect data. Observations were accompanied by tape recording and recorded data were transcribed and analyzed to investigate the functions of Amharic during lessons, the amount of L1 use and the distribution of L1 use within teachers and across lessons. It was found that the amount and functions of L1 used were varied between teachers, and the overall proportion of L1 talk was higher than that of found in previous studies. Some teachers consistently used high L1 within the lesson. Data obtained through interview confirmed that the variability was attributed to teachers’ personal feeling about L1 in L2 use. Most of the teachers used Amharic for specific functions such as translation and maintaining discipline. Questionnaire was also used as a complement of qualitative data that aimed at gathering data on teachers’ knowledge of the pedagogical values of L1. The findings showed that there was disparity between all teachers (beginner-higher led teachers) in responding to items and ANOVA confirmed that there was no significant difference between groups of teachers on the current trained of L1 in EFL classroom. Finally, it was found that most of the teachers had no clear guidelines of how to handle Amharic in EFL classes. Finally, teachers’ commitment in maximizing target language input appeared to be indispensable in English language teaching. Educational experts and teacher trainers are also needed to intrude on the problem of maximal amount of mother tongue in target language classroom.

Bu çalışmada İngilizce derslerinde anadil kullanımına ilişkin İngilizce öğretmenlerinin görüşlerini belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Yabancı dil öğretiminde anadil kullanımı çok sayıda çalışmanın yapıldığı ve çoğu kez birbirinden farklı görüşlerin ileri sürüldüğü tartışmalı bir konu olarak günümüze gelmiştir. Öğretimin ana paydaşlarından olan öğretmenlerin konuya ilişkin görüşleri hem öğretimin doğrudan içinde olmalarından hem de yabancı dil öğrenme deneyimleri nedeniyle önemli görülmüştür. Öğretmenlerin önemli bir çoğunluğu (%61,7) şaşırtıcı bir şekilde anadilin İngilizce sınıflarında kullanılması gerektiği yönünde görüş bildirmişlerdir. Anadilin ne zaman kullanılması gerektiği konusunda ise katılımcıların yarısı özellikle dilbilgisi konularının öğretiminde anadilden faydalanmak gerektiği yönünde görüş bildirmişlerdir. Anadilin kullanılmaması gerektiği durumlar için ise ilk sırada (%23,5) konuşma ve dinleme aktiviteleri gelmiştir. İkinci sırada (%17,6) görüş bildirenler ise öğrenciler anlamasalar bile anadil hiçbir zaman kullanılmamalı yönünde görüş bildirmişlerdir. İngilizce öğretmenlerinin literatür ile benzer görüşlere sahip oldukları, ortak bir dile sahip olmanın avantajlarından faydalanmak gerektiği yönünde çoğunluğun görüş belirttiği görülmüştür.

<p>Translation and language teaching techniques which take language learners’ first language (L1) as point of reference for teaching the second language (L2) have been long discouraged on the ground that these teaching techniques would end in the fossilization of L2 structure forms in the learner’s Interlanguage system. However, in recent years, the status of L1 use in L2 teaching and learning has revived as a result of the recognition that L1 can serve purposes in L2 teaching and learning (Hunt, 2012). In the last two decades, strong theoretical arguments have been posed for L1 use in language classrooms. Most of these arguments are based on the ground that L1 use can facilitate the processes of both L2 teaching and acquisition. Abundant research has been done in recent years to validate these theoretical arguments. The current paper would give a review of this research, with reference to three L1-based techniques for language teaching and learning that have appealed most to L2 researchers (i.e., translation, code switching<strong>, </strong>and L1 glossing). The conclusion drawn from this research is that language learners can benefit L1 use and L1-based techniques in their L2 acquisition. Further, along with the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence in defense of L1 use in language classrooms, L2 learners and teachers have begun to express more positive attitudes towards L1 use, and related techniques, in their own classrooms. Yet, there remain some challenges and obstacles for L1 use in language use. Suggestions are made as to how to address these challenges so that L2 pedagogy and use would benefit most from L1 use in language classrooms.</p>

The aging population is a worldwide phenomenon. An increasing number of older adults are interested in learning languages but they often become disheartened because of strict rules imposed on them by language teachers blindly following the trend of “foreign language only.” For many decades following the end of Grammar Translation method, students’ mother tongue has been banned from language classrooms. Fortunately, however, this trend is beginning to shift giving place to more lenient approaches to teaching based on allowing and encouraging own-language use. Indeed, recent studies prove that there are a number of advantages resulting from permitting the use of translation, whereas it seems that there are hardly any real obstacles besides the ones existing as part of teachers’ own beliefs. Adults are not a homogeneous group and yet it is rarely acknowledged in studies on the use of mother tongue in language classrooms. As in case of any other age group, younger and older adults’ abilities, needs and learning preferences should also be taken into account to make their learning process more effective and more suitable. The aim of this article is to provide a foundation for future research on the adult learners and the use of their mother tongue in the classroom environment.

<p>Foreign language instructors want and need to keep up with the rapid changes in the field of foreign language teaching and learning, but sometimes have a hard time identifying which areas they should focus on (and within each area, what to do) to make their instruction in line with 21st century approaches. The present article describes 10 areas instructors should examine and reflect on (technology, culture, collaboration, interaction with native speakers, communication and grammar, materials, skills, content, motivation, and professional development) to assure they are using innovative techniques that reflect modern philosophies in the field of foreign and second language teaching. </p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0761/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The Use and Functions of Mother Tongue in EFL Classes

According to option-based conceptualizations of Focus on Form instruction (FonF), put forward by Ellis (2012), in EFL contexts employing mother tongue can be a viable option to be embedded in FonF instruction. This study investigated the use of the mother tongue in FonF instruction and its possible effect on language learners’ written performance. To this end, 100 language learners at elementary and intermediate levels of proficiency, in four groups of 25, participated in this study. Two experimental groups received four FonF instructive sessions mediated by their mother tongue, and for the other groups, no L1 use was allowed. After the instruction, the participants were required to take tests in which the intended grammatical structures were supposed to be produced in a written format. The results showed that the learners receiving the L1-mediated instruction outperformed their counterparts. The findings were discussed psycho-linguistic factors involved in language data processing, and they can be useful to language teachers in the EFL contexts regarding making decisions about using L1 in L2 language teaching contexts.

Previous studies were conducted to discover the use of L1 in EFL classrooms, however, few studies investigated the students’ perception towards the teachers’ use of L1 in EFL classrooms, especially those for English – majored students. The present study was conducted to examine English – majored students’ perceptions towards their teachers’ use of mother tongue as Vietnamese in EFL classrooms in a university in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The research was designed as a descriptive study with the mixed method using questionnaire and interview as the research instruments. There were 131 participants in this research. The findings of the study revealed that students preferred teachers’ use of mother tongue in the specialized classes (linguistics course, literal courses, and interpretation and translation courses, etc.), grammar courses, and some activities such as explaining incomprehensible words. However, they wished to have more English instruction in language skills classes to enhance their target language proficiency. Several disadvantages of using Vietnamese were also mentioned, for instance, hindering learners’ language improvement, causing their laziness and passiveness. Suggestions are proposed to raise EFL teacher’s awareness on the extent of English and Vietnamese in their teaching to help leaners achieve objective of the class.

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This study investigated the effects of using the mother tongue as an instructional tool on the English performance of elementary students using a quasi-experimental design. The research aimed to evaluate whether the use of mother tongue in teaching English concepts significantly improves learners’ classroom test scores. A total of 59 samples were selected from two classes in a public school in the Southern part of the Philippines, with one class receiving the mother tongue as the medium of instruction in teaching English and the other as the control group using the traditional methods. Pretest and posttest performances were assessed using a teacher-made instrument with 30 questions. Data analysis involved frequency count, weighted mean, t-tests for dependent samples, and z-tests. The pretest results for both groups were similar, showing fair performance. However, the posttest results indicated a significant improvement in the learners who received mother-tongue-based instruction compared to those taught using traditional English teaching methods. Initially, both groups struggled with retaining facts and vocabulary. Despite this, the study found that using the mother tongue as an instructional tool greatly improved academic performance in English. The study recommends teacher training to effectively incorporate the mother tongue into English instruction, consistent use of the mother tongue, local contextualization of English vocabulary, and a gradual introduction of English alongside the mother tongue. Overall, the study emphasizes the positive impact of the mother tongue on English proficiency and offers practical strategies for integrating it into English language teaching.

Contents: Introduction. Part I: Important Social Contexts in Research on Second Language Teaching and Learning. Introduction. M.E. Brisk, Bilingual Education. M.R. Hawkins, ESL in Elementary Education. P.A. Duff, ESL in Secondary Schools: Programs, Problematics, and Possibilities. D.E. Murray, ESL in Adult Education. S. Carkin, English for Academic Purposes. P. Master, English for Specific Purposes. C. Roberts, English in the Workplace. B. Tomlinson, English as a Foreign Language: Matching Procedures to the Context of Learning. Y. Kachru, Teaching and Learning of World Englishes. Part II: Methods in Second Language Research. Introduction. L. Harklau, Ethnography and Ethnographic Research on Second Language Teaching and Learning. L. van Lier, Case Study. A. Lazaraton, Quantitative Research Methods. D. Nunan, Classroom Research. A. Burns, Action Research. Part III: Applied Linguistics and Second Language Research. Introduction. T. Pica, Second Language Acquisition Research and Applied Linguistics. S.L. McKay, Sociolinguistics and Second Language Learning. J. Zuengler, K.M. Cole, Language Socialization and Second Language Learning. G. Kasper, C. Roever, Pragmatics in Second Language Learning. J.P. Lantolf, Sociocultural and Second Language Learning Research: An Exegesis. N. Markee, Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition. R.B. Kaplan, Contrastive Rhetoric. S. Conrad, Corpus Linguistics and L2 Teaching. Part IV: Second Language Processes and Development. Introduction. G. Ioup, Age in Second Language Development. R. DeKeyser, A. Juffs, Cognitive Considerations in L2 Learning. Z. Han, L. Selinker, Fossilization in L2 Learners. M. Swain, The Output Hypothesis: Theory and Research. E. Tarone, Speaking in a Second Language. M. Rost, L2 Listening. T.G. Wiley, Second Language Literacy and Biliteracy. P. Byrd, Instructed Grammar. D.E. Eskey, Reading in a Second Language. I.S.P. Nation, Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. J.S. Hedgcock, Taking Stock of Research and Pedagogy in L2 Writing. E. Hinkel, Analyses of Second Language Text and What Can Be Learned From Them. Part V: Methods and Curricula in Second Language Teaching. Introduction. S.J. Savignon, Communicative Language Teaching: Strategies and Goals. S. Fotos, Traditional and Grammar Translation Methods for Second Language Teaching. J. Williams, Form-Focused Instruction. M.A. Snow, A Model of Academic Literacy for Integrated Language and Content Instruction. R. Ellis, Instructed Language Learning and Task-Based Teaching. M. Celce-Murcia, E. Olshtain, Discourse-Based Approaches: A New Framework for Second Language Teaching and Learning. C.A. Chapelle, Computer-Assisted Language Learning. N.J. Anderson, L2 Learning Strategies. Part VI: Second Language Testing and Assessment. T. McNamara, Introduction. A.J. Kunnan, Language Assessment From a Wider Context. A. Davies, C. Elder, Validity and Validation in Language Testing. M. Chalhoub-Deville, C. Deville, A Look Back at and Forward to What Language Testers Measure. T. Lumley, A. Brown, Research Methods in Language Testing. D. Douglas, Testing Languages for Specific Purposes. C. Leung, Classroom Teacher Assessment of Second Language Development: Construct as Practice. Part VII: Identity, Culture, and Critical Pedagogy in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Introduction. T. Ricento, Considerations of Identity in L2 Learning. M. Byram, A. Feng, Teaching and Researching Intercultural Competence. S. Canagarajah, Critical Pedagogy in L2 Learning and Teaching. Part VIII: Language Planning and Policy and Language Rights. R.B. Baldauf, Jr., Introduction. R.B. Baldauf, Jr., Language Planning and Policy Research: An Overview. T. van Els, Status Planning for Learning and Teaching. A.J. Liddicoat, Corpus Planning: Syllabus and Materials Development. R.B. Baldauf, Jr., R.B. Kaplan, Language-in-Education Planning. D.E. Ager, Prestige and Image Planning. S. May, Language Planning and Minority Language Rights.

Language learning and acquisition requires exposure to a language whether in a formal or informal learning environment as well as opportunities to produce the target language in a meaningful context. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the development of tools and web-based applications that allow written, audio, visual, and audio-visual material to be produced and shared - Web 2.0 - have been embraced by language teachers and learners. Authentic materials, those derived from the culture of the target language rather than specially produced for language learners, can not only be easily adapted to language learning using these new tools, they are potentially more relevant to learners because they increase opportunities for the creation of meaningful contexts for language learning. The objective of this paper is to assess the authenticity of English ODQJXDJHOHDUQLQ OLVK� language learners or teachers. To reach this objective, the blog ranking site Technorati was used to select the most popular blogs for English language learners and teachers and each blog was analysed according to the authenticity of the cultural material used for language learning. The analysis reveals that more than 80% of the material posted on English as a foreign or second language (EFL/ESL) blogs is authentic material reused for language learning. The results show Web 2.0 technologies to be conducive towards providing contemporary authentic material for language learning - the technology itself encourages the use of authentic materials.

Reviewed by: Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teacher’s guideby Jo McDonough and Christopher Shaw D. Brent Barnard Materials and methods in ELT: A teacher’s guide. 2ndedn. By Jo McDonough and Christopher Shaw. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003. Pp. xiii, 280. ISBN 0631227377. $29.95. The purpose of this book is to apprise ELT (English language teaching) instructors around the world of major contemporary trends in ELT materials and methodology. It succeeds admirably in bridging the gap between ELT theory and pedagogical practice. This new edition is helpful in that it incorporates the theoretical gains the field has made since the publication of the first edition in 1993. Part 1 examines the principles on which modern materials and methods are based. It begins with a look at the educational framework of materials and methods relevant to every pedagogical context, regardless of institution or locale (Ch. 1). Next, the authors discuss the development of the communicative approach and its impact on methods and materials (Ch. 2). Various critiques of the communicative approach are then examined, as well as the different ‘post-communicative’ trends that have arisen over the last ten years, including the multi-syllabus, the process syllabus, and the task-based syllabus (Ch. 3). The last two chapters of Part 1 provide the reader with strategies for evaluating and adapting these communicative-approach materials to specific classroom environments (Chs. 4–5). Part 2 shows how the principles raised and discussed in Part 1 can be applied to the design and use of teaching materials in the four primary skill areas: reading, speaking, listening, and writing. Each skill area is treated in its own chapter (Chs. 6–9). Finally, the authors look at how materials related to all of these skill areas can be effectively integrated (Ch. 10). Part 3 focuses on different methods for organizing and managing the resources of the classroom. Because of this specific focus, the authors do not discuss tangential topics, like testing, which enjoy extensive treatment elsewhere. The first chapter examines interaction patterns relating to student groups and pairs (Ch. 11). The authors then relate classroom structures to the concept of the individual learner, and they examine interactions between teachers and learners (Chs. 12–13, respectively). Part 3 concludes with a treatment of the shifting nature of the teacher’s role in contemporary ELT settings, examining such issues as in-service education courses (Ch. 14). Finally, there is a useful appendix that directs teachers to important ELT resources on the internet. Throughout the book, the authors provide readers with questions that help them consider more deeply the topicunder discussion. This animates the intense scholarship of the book and makes the assimilation of the ideas come more naturally. The authors provide suggestions for further reading at the end of each subsection, which complements the text’s bibliography. Finally, in almost every chapter, the authors include copies of handouts that illustrate how the concept at hand can be applied to teacher-student interactions. This book alerts readers to the development of the most recent ELT methods and materials, and it does [End Page 209]so in a relatively compact form. It will be a welcome aid to instructors who are attempting to translate advances in ELT theory into real-world classroom praxis. D. Brent Barnard Louisiana State University Copyright © 2006 Linguistic Society of America

Own-language use has commonly been discouraged by language teachers worldwide ever since the Grammar Translation method gave place to other methods. In the last decade, however, there has been a visible shift in the use of mother tongue and, what is notable, an increasing number of methodologists have begun to point that the use of students’ mother tongue may in fact facilitate the process of learning. Despite the long awaited return of own-language use students’ learning preferences regarding the use of L1 are still often dismissed by teachers either due to lack of experience or to some reservations. Such attitudes may be especially harmful to a group which often demands own-language use in the classroom environment and which remains understudied – the elderly. Therefore, the primary objective of the proposed paper is to highlight the differences between various teacher perceptions of whether or not own-language use does facilitate the process of older adult students’ learning and to collate them with older adult students’ own answers. The secondary objective is to present a possibly wide spectrum of various views reflecting the issues connected with the use of students’ own language and the related influence of teachers’ experiences and perceptions. The disparity between the answers provided by inexperienced teachers, experienced teachers and the elderly learners, especially while taking into account the use of students’ L1, is aimed at drawing some conclusions that may point to alternative directions in the future studies of own-language use in the classroom environment

This research aims to evaluate the possible positive aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in English language teaching that occur when training learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL). The study seeks to understand how AI technology and methodologies enhance language learning and teaching, including the unique possibilities that arise when considering learners and educators with an evolving role in increasingly larger education systems and educational environments. It seeks to understand the potential of AI for personalizing English language training. Also, by asking the question study, if there are methods including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), and AI-based analytics or tools, can they personalize learning experiences for EFL-ESL learners? A qualitative study was completed through interviews with learners from different experience levels engaged in EFL or ESL programs that used AI-based tools in the pedagogy. The results demonstrate that AI has positive opportunities for personalized language education in the EFL and ESL contexts, the ability to enhance language skills in specific domains, and offer customized language learning experiences. This research has indicated challenges that surround cultural elements, technical challenges, and distinctly human teaching and learning elements. The research also offers helpful information for English language learning and recognizes the shifting nature of personal learning experience whether enhanced through AI, the practical requirement of incorporating AI will also provide a unique lens and perspective in English language learning and teaching, recognize the affordances AI can offer, alongside students and language learning never being exclusively cultural or human.