Role of Mother Tongue in Learning English for Specific Purposes
ESP World, Issue 1 (22), Volume 8, 2009, http://www.esp-world.info
ROLE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Galina Kavaliauskienė
Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania Abstract A revival of interest to using a mother tongue in the English classroom is stipulated by necessity to improve language accuracy, fluency and clarity. This paper aims at examining students’ perceptions of the use of mother tongue and translation in various linguistic situations. The activities that help raise learners’ awareness of the language use are described. The findings demonstrate that all learners need a support of mother tongue in English classes, but the amount of the native language needed depends on students’ proficiency in English. The statistical significance of the research results was computed by employing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software.
Introduction The state-of-the-art teaching of languages is based on the communicative method which emphasizes the teaching English through English. However, the idea of abandoning the native tongue is too stressful to many learners, who need a sense of security in the experience of learning a foreign language. In the past, the prevalence of grammar-translation method led to the extraordinary phenomenon: students were unable to speak fluently after having studied the language for a long time. This led to the idea that all use of the mother tongue in the language classroom should be avoided (Harmer, 2001:131). Translation has been thought as uncommunicative, boring, pointless, difficult, and irrelevant.
ROLE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Galina Kavaliauskienė
1
ESP World, Issue 1 (22), Volume 8, 2009, http://www.esp-world.info
Recently there has been a revival of interest to translation due to the shift of its emphasis - to using a mother tongue as a resource for the promotion of language learning. Translation develops three qualities
ROLE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Galina Kavaliauskienė
Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania Abstract A revival of interest to using a mother tongue in the English classroom is stipulated by necessity to improve language accuracy, fluency and clarity. This paper aims at examining students’ perceptions of the use of mother tongue and translation in various linguistic situations. The activities that help raise learners’ awareness of the language use are described. The findings demonstrate that all learners need a support of mother tongue in English classes, but the amount of the native language needed depends on students’ proficiency in English. The statistical significance of the research results was computed by employing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software.
Introduction The state-of-the-art teaching of languages is based on the communicative method which emphasizes the teaching English through English. However, the idea of abandoning the native tongue is too stressful to many learners, who need a sense of security in the experience of learning a foreign language. In the past, the prevalence of grammar-translation method led to the extraordinary phenomenon: students were unable to speak fluently after having studied the language for a long time. This led to the idea that all use of the mother tongue in the language classroom should be avoided (Harmer, 2001:131). Translation has been thought as uncommunicative, boring, pointless, difficult, and irrelevant.
ROLE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Galina Kavaliauskienė
1
ESP World, Issue 1 (22), Volume 8, 2009, http://www.esp-world.info
Recently there has been a revival of interest to translation due to the shift of its emphasis - to using a mother tongue as a resource for the promotion of language learning. Translation develops three qualities
References: Benson, C. (2002). Transfer / Cross-Linguistic Influence. ELT Journal 56 (1), 68 -70. Carless, D. (2008). Student Use of the Mother Tongue in the Task-Based Classroom. ELT Journal 62 (4), 331-338. Cook, G. (2007). Unmarked Improvement: Values, Facts, and First Languages. IATEFL Conference, Aberdeen, 18 – 20 April. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/iatefl2007/jasmina_day2.shtml Dornyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers. New Jersey. USA. Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching. England: Pearson Education Limited. Janulevičienė, V. and G. Kavaliauskienė. (2004). Legal English: Translation Issues. Jurisprudencija 57 (49), 141-146. Vilnius: Edition of Law University of Lithuania. Mahmoud, A. (2006). Translation and Foreign Language Reading Comprehension: A Neglected Didactic Procedure. English Teaching Forum, 44 (4), 28-33. ROLE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Galina Kavaliauskienė 11 ESP World, Issue 1 (22), Volume 8, 2009, http://www.esp-world.info Mattioli, G. (2004). On Native Language Intrusions and Making Do with Words: Linguistically Homogeneous Classrooms and Native Language Use. English Teaching Forum 42 (4), 20-25. Odlin, T. (1996). Language Transfer. USA: Cambridge University Press. Ross, N. J. (2000). Interference and Intervention: Using Translation in the EFL Classroom. Modern English Teacher, 9 (3), 61-66. Schweers, C.W., Jr. (1999). Using L1 in the L2 Classroom. English Teaching Forum 37 (2), 6-9. Survey “The Use of Mother Tongue” (not dated). http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/vote/vote15_mothertongue.shtml ROLE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Galina Kavaliauskienė 12