The Role Of L1 In The Foreign Context Of Teaching And Learning With A Focus On The Saudi Context

Foreign Context Of Teaching And Learning

Introduction to L1 and L2

Question:

The Role Of L1 In The Foreign Context Of Teaching And Learning With A Focus On The Saudi Context.

First language is the language which is learnt by an individual before learning any other language (Owens, 2016). This language is also often termed as the L1 or the “arterial language”. This is the language to which an individual has been introduced at an early age or from the birth itself. The birth of an individual person is followed by the parents and relatives speaking to that person and inducting them to the native language in which they themselves speak (Menyuk, Liebergott & Schultz, 2014). This is the starting of L1 induction in that person. The second language (L2) is the language spoken by the individual as the second most used language other than the first language spoken (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 2014).

There is a deep impact of the first language on process of learning a second language (Wang, 2014).  Because a person develops the thinking in their first language, hence, when learning further languages, be it the second language or other consecutive foreign languages, first language will always play a vital role. The complexities of the new language are comprehended and solved in the first language by the learner. In the case of teaching as well the teachers often take the help of the L1 in order to induct the students with the new language and its finer details.

In most of the classes where English is taught as a foreign language it is suggested that the use of L1 must be avoided. Krashen in his monolingual theory has argued that the process of learning the second language follows the same pattern as the acquisition of 1^st language. Languages follow a distinct system of development and the process should be kept independent (Krashen, 1981). However other studies have shown that there is a positive impact of L1 use in L2 learning and L1 can actually assist in the process (Copland & Yonetsugi, 2016).

Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries in the Middle East due to its oil resources (Dickson, 2015). The primary language spoken in the country is Arabic which is also the official language “mother tongue” for most of the people living here (Saudi Arabia Official Language, 2018). Often there are problems faced by the English teachers or foreign language trainers for inducting and training candidates aspiring to learn new languages. This is because from early child hood, Saudis are accustomed in speaking in their L1 in all spheres of life and little encouragement of learning foreign languages. Nonetheless, from observations and informal talks with my students this is changing quite quickly, the Saudi government are introducing EFL more and from as early as primary schools. The following paragraphs will delve deep into the role of L1, in learning and acquiring foreign languages, this will be done with a focus of my context, a preparatory year programme (PYP) in Saudi Arabia.

Impact of L1 on Second Language Learning

There are many ways how L1 affects the acquisition and learning of the second language. Behavioural theory is one of them which states that an individual shows natural behaviour and tendency in expressing in first language, this also focuses on the conditional roles. Another perspective is the cognitive theory that analyses how cognition, thinking and comprehending in the first language shapes the way a person perceives and learns the second language (Ma, 2013). The existing habits of the L1 naturally and behaviorally conflicts or synchronizes with the learning and acquisition of a new language. There are similarities in two languages and the similarities facilitate learning whereas the dissimilarities pose as a hurdle. The “nativist theory” or the “biological theory” explains how the genetic nature of a person is affected by the languages spoken by the parents are genetically imbibed by their son or daughter (Ma, 2013).

Lado developed the Contrastive analysis which compared and contrasted the two languages and their acquisition method and stated that the easiness to understand or the difficulty to learn a new language depends on the comparison of the two languages (Kramsch, 2014).

There are various theorists who have opined either in favor of the use of L1 in foreign language acquisition or against it. Many theorists have also given a moderate view about controlled use of L1. It is believed by a section of the language theorists that it is impossible to completely avoid the usage of L1 as it is genetically imbibed in the children from the very beginning of language learning (Ekman, 2015).

Figure 1: “The role of the L1 in L2 communication and learning”

Source: (Ellis, 1994)

This method of training is one of the very traditional methods of teaching foreign languages. The process includes learning the grammatical aspects of a language first and then trying to translate simple sentences in their own native language to the target foreign language using the grammatical knowledge gained from the training (Khan, Mansoor & Manzoor, 2016). This method is known as classical method as well. The objective is to enable the learner to understand the foreign language in comparison to the native language or first language spoken. Apart from that the induction of the grammar in the first phase enables the learner to understand the intricacies of the foreign language (Khan, Mansoor & Manzoor, 2016). However, there are some serious concerns about the choice of this method. The main difficulty is to learn the grammar of a language without even knowing anything about the language.

This method is taught deductively in the student’s native language, which includes learning of strict grammatical rules and the student is engaged in translation of sentences in the target language from the native language and back (Abdullah, 2013). Less emphasis is given on speaking and communicative skills, and importance is greater on teaching the translations and grammatical rules. The method is criticised for not enabling the learners to learn the communicative skills of the language.  The proponents of this method however argue that it gives a clear understanding of the technical aspects of the language to the students.

Theories Surrounding L1 and Second Language Acquisition

In a Saudi Arabian perspective, it can be said that the students aspiring to learn English first have to know the basics of English speaking or writing before going forward to learn grammar. The Saudi Arabian culture is mainly based on the native languages and it will be difficult for teachers to induct the students directly to English grammar and then asking the students to start translating without teaching them the basics (Eissa, 2016).

This method is an active way of inducting a foreign language into the learners and the process includes using the target foreign language in teaching and not using the native language much. This is highly contrasting with the “grammar translation methods” where the translation of sentences from the native language is an important part of the training. The main importance in this method is given to oral speaking skills of the language (Richards & Rodgers, 2014). Real life examples from objects around are used for giving examples while training and the teaching pattern includes question and answer sessions. This technique attempts in indulging the learner in the same process as learning the first language.

            In Saudi Arabia the government are taking steps to expose the students with foreign languages, most often in English. The training is done in advanced and integrated technology (Saqlain, Al-Qarni & Ghadi, 2013).  The direct method of language training is one of the mostly used in this country.

            The primary characteristic of this method is to avoid use of the student’s mother tongue as a medium to instil the target language. According to Abdullah (2013) some principles on which this method functions are-

• All the interaction and instruction in the classrooms happens in the target language. Discussion and dialogue helps the students in learning the language.
• The thinking has to be done in the target language.
• Speaking is primary, reading and writing is secondary.
• Pronunciations and the way of speaking is given more emphasis.

This is probably the fastest method of initiating the language acquisition in the learner, because it uses the same method as the learner used to learn his or her mother tongue. The ease in speaking and fluency is given importance. However, there are some problems in this method, the students cannot understand complicated terms or sentences easily. The method also gives too much importance on oral communication which may lead to lack of grammar learning.

As the name of the process itself suggests, it includes high degree of interactive sessions, between the teacher and the learner, also learners amongst themselves, including activities such as pair work and group work to help them to become more proficient in the target language (Duff, 2014). The interaction process inculcates a sense of ease in the learner and gradually a natural tendency to interact in that language is achieved. Teachers making use of classical literature in the target language, watching films and incorporating authentic materials related to the task and then discussing and interacting these topics among the students are effective procedures in learning the target language which falls in the category of communicative language teaching or CLT (Candlin, 2016).

Harmer has stressed on the importance on of communicative activities in Communicative language teaching or CLT and has stated that new language learners will get an increased expertise in the target language from such interactive activities (Harmer, 2007). The activities of the CLT classes are targeted at facilitating students to have the communication skills at a realistic level, and the successful observation of the tasks and activities in the class are as important and necessary as learning of the language.

The Use of Traditional Language Teaching Methods

Role play, games, language swapping, interviews are some of the activities which can be performed as task in the CLT (Chang & Goswami, 2011). Some of the characteristics and features of Communicative English Training as mentioned by Harmer (2007) are-

• The main focus is on the learning activities of the student rather than the teaching activities of the teacher. The teacher is a facilitator helping the learners in their endeavour. Teacher intervention should be kept at minimum.
• Activities will be provided to the students so that they can focus on the learning activities and take responsibilities of their own learning. Interactive and receptive use of the target language must be followed.
• Accuracy should not be compromised in search of fluency and performance should not be compromised for progress.

Krashen developed this method of language learning during the early 1980’s. It gives utmost importance in natural language acquisition. Learning a language in a mechanical way is not as effective as acquiring the language which prepares the sub-conscious cognition of the learner (Krashen, 2015). Learning grammar is not the main objective of learning a language, but communication is. The target language acquisition in this process is not forced but includes a natural harbouring of the target language (Mani, 2016). The technical aspects of the language like grammar and composition are automatically developed in the learner when the natural learning process advances (Krashen, 2014). This method is not very much widely used in Saudi Arabia but has got much popularity in teachers of Spanish language in the United States (Rhodes & Pufahl, 2014).

Firstly, this assignment has already discussed about different methods of foreign language acquisition in the native students as a background study. Secondly, the next section will discuss the arguments and reasons about why the use of L1 is not favourable when learning a new language. Thirdly, arguments in favour of using the L1 while learning a new language. The fourth section of this assignment will include methods and the processes of using the L1 in an Arabic context as a tool for learning a foreign language, and its effectiveness.  Following on, the next section will give present possible suggestions about methods and strategies that can be used by teachers of English as a foreign language to educate Saudi learners better in language induction. Finally, to conclude a summary of the use of L1 in the process of L2 acquisition, and possibilities of further study in the field will be given.

The process of using the first language may not be ideal when the students and teachers do not share the same L1 (Debreli, 2016). There will be problems in comprehending and understanding the communication in both the parties because if the teacher is a non-speaker of the native language, then he or she will be unable to express properly, and the students could misunderstand the instructions of the teacher. This will increase complexities in the learning process as the students are already entangled in the struggle of learning a completely new language (Xhemaili, 2016). The induction of the second language if done through a first language, requires proficiency of the teacher in the first language, in order to explain in details the complexities of the L2 (Liu & Zeng, 2015).

Indications that signal the start and ending of words will dissent from language to language, a person’s L1 will offer inaccurate information once learning L2 (Huffman & Schuhmann, 2015). Annie Tremblay, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Kansas, is attempting to observe the varieties of cues second language learners listen for once recognising words in continuous speech. The learners of second language perceive some indications as easier and some as extremely difficult (Kaan, 2014). Cues that include intonation are difficult to gauge and most often influenced by the learners’ L1 in terms of pronunciation. The student may contemplate some similarities of terms and word usage of the target language with his or her mother tongue and tend to overuse such terms because of the tendency of interference of the native language. The grammatical rules of the mother tongue may become a barrier in learning the new grammar of the target language which may have completely different rules. Over reliance on L1 leads to disruption in L2 acquisition.

Challenges Faced in Saudi Arabia

When too much use of L1 is done to induct L2 or other foreign languages in the classroom, there is chance that there will be lesser exposure of the learner to the target language and its intricacies. The interactive method of inducing a foreign language into the students which does not include use of L1 gives the maximum exposure and understanding of the student about the target langue. Exposure also increases when there is an interaction with native speakers of the target language. More exposure means more subconscious cognitive training of the language.

“Instruction Checking Questions” (ICQs) and “Concept Checking Questions” (CCQs) are tools used by teachers and trainers in classrooms to understand the student’s level of understanding the language (Gunning, White & Busque 2016). The medium of conveying the CCQ and ICQ in classrooms should be in the foreign language or the target language as this will increase interactivity in terms of spoken aspect of that language. Interactive sessions are very necessary in language classes to prepare the aspiring learners in terms of communication (Zarrinabadi, 2014). Many modern-day language experts hold the view that more important than the grammatical and technical aspects of the language, the communication ability of the speaker should be taken into count.

It is very important for the teacher to inculcate a sense of ease into the students while endeavouring to speak the new language. It is often found that because of the humiliation of the inability in speaking the second language the students often continue to speak the native language or L1 even in their classrooms (VanLier, 2014). The subconscious cognition of speaking and inducting the target language happens when the speaker undergoes a natural and spontaneous spoken practice of that language (Dörnyei, 2014). The continuous speaking of native language hampers the process of this induction and the inner ability and ease does not develop.

The learners who travelled to another country to learn another dialect started the initial couple of months making an interpretation of everything into his/her native language utilizing a bilingual word reference to get an information base of vocabulary. Truth be told, researches have demonstrated that exchanging amongst languages and interpretation happens intuitively to all language learners and the L1 is really an imperative asset in second language (L2) learning Therefore, educators should attempt to work with this inborn propensity instead of against it. From the educator’s viewpoint, speaking with trainees in their primary language appears to enhance instructor trainee affinity (James, Garrett & Candlin, 2014). For instance, if guidelines to a movement is confused, and trainee don’t appear to appreciate the English clarification, asking a student who understands to interpret for the whole class would make more opportunity for the action and keep away dissatisfaction considerably.

The strategy of using first language as a tool to induct and train the students into learning second language comes as a natural flow and easier for the students to pick up. At the point when learners can utilize their L1 to make inquiries and affirm perception, it regularly prompts a clearer acknowledgment of the shape and importance of the dialect. Students may ask either their educator or companions. Although learner’s can make comparative inquiries exclusively in English, bringing down level student’s may require facilitating elucidation on some point or part of the new material. They may not know how to express the inquiry to the appropriate response they look for. Without this chance to ask in their L1, a few trainees may get disappointed with their failure to get enhanced appreciation and dialect creation.  The L1 has been used by the student since childhood, it naturally comes as a method of communication, hence the learner can use it as a support to acquire the new language.

Seeing first dialect (L1) punctuation enables the educator to decide whether the principal dialect is affecting construction of the second dialect (L2). Knowing the structure of L1 gives educators snappy, solid data with respect to formative examples of sentence structure for English (Taguchi et al., 2016). In the event that the learner makes a sentence in English, utilizing the examples of their mother tongue, there will be a similarity in model of the newly created sentence. This can be corrected by the instructor and with time the student becomes more proficient in the language. Educators require a fundamental comprehension of cognates and false cognates to decide the effect that L1 has on significance in L2. Cognates are words that are comparative or indistinguishable in both English and the understudies’ local dialect. False cognates are words that have likenesses in spelling or sound, in the two dialects, yet the significance is unique. This is the place numerous L2 students commit understanding errors; they sum up the wrong importance of the word to the new setting. The mother tongue naturally allows the learner to complete and efficiently perform the tasks more swiftly, also people tend to have their thought process naturally work based on their native language. The student gets confidence in communicating and the relationship of the teacher and the student gets stronger. Less proficiency in the target language makes the learners embarrassed to communicate in that language.

The students are already proficient in their first language. Hence it is easier and faster for students to learn a foreign language with the help of the language in which they are already proficient and comfortable. Apart from that, an alien or foreign term in comparison to a known native term is easier for the learner to comprehend. Students should be presented to what Krashen calls ‘intelligible info’ – that is, introduction to intriguing and justifiable information and perusing material. In Krashen’s view, we learn languages when we comprehend messages. At the point when guardians address their kids, for instance, the accentuation is about significance instead of the right utilization of sentence structure.

Saudi Arabia is a desert country with a rich resource of oil which enables it to become one of the wealthiest countries in the region. For the teachers who are coming from the western countries, it is not easy for all of them. The desert climate, the unavailability of the luxury items and liberal lifestyle of the west and over and above the challenging task of teaching English to non-English speakers, can pose a challenge to the English language teachers coming here for the purpose. In the following paragraphs how L1 can be used to impart English language education to Saudi students will be discussed.

In the King Saud University, one of the best known and most popular universities of the country, there is a dedicated department of English language teaching. The course has an objective to make the students familiar with the practical application and theoretical understanding of the English language (“English language teaching methods”, 2018). The course constitutes of an Historical review of the teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL), Saudi Arabia and English in the country, skills of listening-reading-writing-speaking. Although the course is finely designed and conceptualized often there is a problem in execution because of the difference of opinion in professors who profess for the use of L1 in teaching of English and those who do not.

L1 or the first language may be sometimes used when there is a drastic problem for any of the student to comprehend the target language. Defenders of this framework additionally think trainees pick up a speedier capacity to read and write in their second dialect when they are taught utilizing their local dialect. As the student’s training is more centred around syntax and language ideas, he or she gets a command on the language’s natural structure faster and can viably read and write in their second dialect sooner than if they are not permitted to utilize their local dialect. 

In the method of grammar and translation the process is to actualize the student with the grammar of the new language and then translation is done by the student for simple sentences, which becomes complex with time as the training proceeds. The use of the L1 to quickly translate small, simple or moderately complex statements of the target language is useful for getting accustomed with the new target language. In the Saudi Arabian classroom, the trainers and the professors often use the quick translation method in the English language teaching classrooms. The Arabic sentences are translated by the learners to English as per their capability.

The teachers may use the first language or L1 to give instructions for the given assignments and tasks to the students. This makes the task comprehensible to the students and they get a clear idea about the nature of the work they must do. Giving instruction in L2 may make it impossible for the learners to understand in clarity. This makes the task comprehensible to the students and they get a clear idea about the nature of the work they have to do. Giving instruction in L2 may make it impossible for the learners to understand in clarity.

In the classes of English language when the regulation is to speak in the English language all the time, the teachers in Saudi Arabian universities are often found to give breaks (Al-Seghayer, 2014). Giving L1 breaks can open the window for the learners to discuss in detail their problems in catching up with the language they are learning, with their trainer or teacher.

There must be codes of conduct regarding the use and application of L1 in classrooms of L2. The students must not apply their native language whenever they feel like. As mentioned above there should be breaks or time limits when there would be opportunity of using L1.

There must be further developments in the process of teaching English language in Saudi Arabia. Still now a huge part of Saudi Arabian population is devoid of knowledge in English language. Firstly, the most modern techniques of imparting English language should be utilized by the trainers and the institutes pertaining training. The old age methods like the “Grammar and Translation” should be avoided and more interactive and modern techniques should be used. Secondly, as has been discussed above, often there is a difference in the methods utilized by different sections of English teachers and professors in Saudi Arabia. There must be a uniform system of imparting English language training in the Saudi Arabian universities. Thirdly, it is contentious whether the use of L1 in acquisition of L2 languages is fruitful or not, most of the experts opine against too much use of the first language because it leads to dependability on the language (Long, 2014). Hence maximum emphasis should be to avoid any such dependability. Lastly, the approach for training students in L2 should be case sensitive, which implies, different students have different learning abilities and cognitive responses. The training should be customized keeping the student in mind. The trainer would be the best judge to do so.

Conclusion

To conclude it must be noticed that there are different opinions about the use and effectiveness of L1 or the first language in acquisition of L2 or the second language. There are theories of language teaching which profess that the first language should be the base on which the second language must be built upon. Again, there are various schools which claim that the use of L1 actually impedes the acquisition of the second language. In the classrooms there are professors from both the sides of the debate. However, it might be understood that, it would be safe to take a middle path, of not using too much first language in teaching L2, which may cause dependability, but using it when necessary.

As recommendations it has already been discussed above that there must be a uniform system of English teaching in the Saudi universities which will follow the most effective way of imparting English language education to non-English speaking students. The training should be sensitive to the nature of student who is being dealt with, and the individual talent, ability and cognition of the student must be taken care of.

There is further scope of research in the field which may deal with how to customize the training of English language to each student according to their personal ability. What may be the criteria of the student to get entry into the training course and what should be the stages of learning for each individual student, research can be done in all these fields keeping in mind that each student is a conscious being with different levels of ability and responsiveness.

Abdullah, S. S. (2013). A contrastive study of the grammar translation and the direct methods of teaching. In International Conference on Business, Economics, Management and Behavioral Sciences (ICBEMBS’2013) January (pp. 26-27).

Al-Seghayer, K. (2014). The four most common constraints affecting English teaching in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of English Linguistics, 4(5), 17.

Candlin, C. N. (2016). Sociolinguistics and communicative language teaching. ITL-International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16(1), 37-44.

Chang, M., & Goswami, J. S. (2011). Factors Affecting the Implementation of Communicative Language Teaching in Taiwanese College English Classes. English Language Teaching, 4(2), 3-12.

Copland, F., & Yonetsugi, E. (2016). Teaching English to young learners: supporting the case for the bilingual native English speaker teacher. Classroom Discourse, 7(3), 221-238.

Debreli, E. (2016). Perceptions of Non-native EFL Teachers’ on L1 Use in L2 Classrooms: Implications for Language Program Development. English Language Teaching, 9(3), 24.

Dickson, H. R. P. (2015). The Arab of the Desert (RLE Saudi Arabia): A Glimpse Into Badawin Life in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (Vol. 1). Routledge.

Dörnyei, Z. (2014). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Routledge.

Duff, P. A. (2014). Communicative language teaching. Teaching English as a second or foreign language, 15-30.

Eissa, S. A. H., & Supervised, A. K. (2016). The Impact of Using Grammar Translation Method on the Performance of Saudi Secondary School Students (Doctoral dissertation, Sudan University of Science and Technology).

Ekman, S. (2015). Teacher beliefs on using Swedish in the teaching of English.

Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford University.

English language teaching methods. (2018). Faculty.ksu.edu.sa. Retrieved 9 January 2018, from https://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/yousif/Pages/Englishlanguageteachingmethods.aspx

Gunning, P., White, J., & Busque, C. (2016). Raising learners’ awareness through L1–L2 teacher collaboration. Language Awareness, 25(1-2), 72-88.

Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Longman Limited.

Huffman, M. K., & Schuhmann, K. (2015). Individual differences in phonetic drift by English-speaking learners of Spanish. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 137(4), 2268-2268.

James, C., Garrett, P., & Candlin, C. N. (2014). Language awareness in the classroom. Routledge.

Kaan, E. (2014). Predictive sentence processing in L2 and L1: What is different?. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 4(2), 257-282.

Khan, A. B., Mansoor, H. S., & Manzoor, S. (2016). The Effectiveness of Grammar Translation Method in Teaching and Learning of English Language at Intermediate Level.

Kramsch, C. (2014). Re?reading Robert Lado, 1957, Linguistics across Cultures. Applied linguistics for language teachers. Modern Language Journal, 98(1).

Krashen, S. (2014). Case histories and the comprehension hypothesis. TESOL Journal (www. tesol-journal. com), 9(1).

Krashen, S. D. (2015). Remarks on language acquisition and literacy: language acquisition and teaching, free reading,” test-prep” and its consequences, the use of the first language, writing, and the great native speaker teacher debate. Indonesian JELT, 10(1), 1-17.

Krashen, S.D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford University Press.

Larsen-Freeman, D., & Long, M. H. (2014). An introduction to second language acquisition research. Routledge.

Liu, Y., & Zeng, A. P. (2015). Loss and gain: Revisiting the roles of the first language in novice adult second language learning classrooms. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(12), 2433.

Long, M. (2014). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. John Wiley & Sons.

Ma, B. (2013). What Is the Role of L1 in L2 Acquisition?. Studies in Literature and Language, 7(2), 31.

Mani, K. R. S. (2016). THE NATURAL APPROACH. Journal of English Language and Literature (JOELL), 3(1), 8-16.

Menyuk, P., Liebergott, J. W., & Schultz, M. C. (2014). Early language development in full-term and premature infants. Psychology Press.

Owens Jr, R. E. (2016). Language Development: An Introduction| Edition: 9. Instructor.

Rhodes, N.C & Pufahl, I. (2014). An Overview of Spanish teaching in US Schools: National Survey Results. USA: DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge university press.

Saqlain, N., Al-Qarni, F., & Ghadi, N. (2013). Are English language teachers in Saudi Arabia ready to integrate technology? Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 103, 146-153.

Saudi Arabia Official Language. (2018). The-saudi.net. Retrieved 9 January 2018, from https://www.the-saudi.net/saudi-arabia/language.htm

Taguchi, E., Gorsuch, G., Lems, K., & Rosszell, R. (2016). Scaffolding in L2 reading: How repetition and an auditory model help reader. Reading in a Foreign Language, 28(1), 101.

Van Lier, L. (2014). Interaction in the language curriculum: Awareness, autonomy and authenticity. Routledge.

Wang, Z. (2014). Review of the Influence of L1 in L2 Acquisition. Studies in Literature and Language, 9(2), 57.

Xhemaili, M. (2016). The advantages and disadvantages of mother tongue in teaching and learning English for specific purposes (ESP) classes. ANGLISTICUM. Journal of the Association for Anglo-American Studies, 2(3), 191-195.

Zarrinabadi, N. (2014). Communicating in a second language: Investigating the effect of teacher on learners’ willingness to communicate. System, 42, 288-295.