The Attitudes of English Teachers about the Use of L1 in the Teaching of L2

Abstract

The place of L1 has been an argument in ELT history for ages. While one side such as Situational language teaching and Audio Lingual method see L1 as a block before learning L2 and strictly avoid using the native tongue in language teaching, on the other side the humanistic and communicative methodologies consider using L1 as a reference and believe in the contribution of the native language in the acquisition of the target language. This paper reviews the literature on using L1 in the teaching of L2 and by analyzing the attitudes of English teachers in the use of L1, comments on the findings from the interviews. The research concludes that ELT teachers in this study emphasize the necessary use of L1 in structural teaching and prefer the “teach English in English” motto in communicative teaching in general. Also the research shows the specific ways ELT teachers prefer using L1, which breaks the psychological barriers before the teaching begins and that the use of L1 creates a low anxiety atmosphere for both the learners and the teachers.