Job Discussion Forums

[hmmmmm...]

This is something I've been wondering about since starting to look into a TESOL career. How effective is teaching someone a foreign language if you lack the ability to explain something in that speaker's native language? Although I've had language classes conducted only in that language, it sometimes becomes necessary to clarify a difficult concept via a language understood by both teacher and student. Is it just an inbalance of supply/demand? It seems like the philosophy is that since there aren't enough bilingual people, this will have to do.

Sorry if this is an ignorant or repetitive question... if so, some links to past threads or academic articles would be nice. I haven't had enough time to do anything but google some phrases and can't seem to find anything. Maybe I'm just not phrasing my search correctly. Of course, I'd love to hear some personal opinions, especially from people who've been at this for a while.

[younggeorge]

Hace you done a TESOL course of any kind? Far from being second best, it's been a dogma for years that you never use the student's own language. To a large extent, I think this was originally a philosophical justification for expat English teachers' inability to learn the language of their host country, but the reasoning is that students have a genuine need to learn English if they need it to communicate with their teacher.

There have been a number of threads on the topic, the most recent - from a slightly different point of view - being

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=38335

[Justin Trullinger]

While I wouldn't say that lack of bilingual people has nothing to do with it, bear in mind that most ESL teaching in English speaking countries is done in settings with multiple first language groups. I'll admit that there may be times when it would be nice to explain things in a common language, but if you teach in London, and don't speak French, Arabic, Korean, Urdu, and Vietnamese, this may not be possible.

Still, I see an odd backlash of things going the other way. Many institutes here in Ecuador have an English only in the classroom rule. Most research I've seen indicates that this isn't really a good idea, and that some limited use of a students L1 may actually improve the learning curve of the second language. (By limited, I mean a word here or there, certainly nothing passing 5% of classroom time.)

The idea that grammar must be explained in a common language, not the target language, is one commonly held...by non-teachers. Most of us who teach are quite comfortable with demonstrative grammar explanations that focus on use.

Speaking your students first language is an advantage, but not a necessity.

Best,
Justin

[tedkarma]

I think there is a distinct advantage to knowing some basic grammar of the L1. Knowing the structure of the student's L1 can often help you explain to them the basis for many common speaking and writing mistakes in the L2 - and sometimes even pronunciation issues.

I have found students in several countries to be quite relieved to have a better understanding of their mistakes - you can often see the "light bulb" turn on!

As to refusing to ever use an L1 to help students understand new vocabulary - how can you explain such basic concepts in English such as the verb "be" - with the less complex language that is needed for their understanding? Sometimes just a one or two word translation is fine.

Just my opinion.

[luckyloser700]

It's really just a matter of your target audience. If they're kids, it could be hard to explain something to them even if you're a native-level speaker of their L1.
Adults who have little or no background in English grammar will take a longer time to teach if they are learning solely in English. The ideal situation for adults is for them to have someone who speaks their language teach them the basic grammar and then have a native English speaker facilitate conversation practice as well as expand on the basic grammar (with examples and practice). Sometimes these teachers are one and the same person

[thrifty]

I thought the old English only rule was out of vogue these days.

[luckyloser700]

[Frizzie Lizzie]

In Turkey, I realised (too late!) it's not a good idea to let students know you speak Turkish. They will take full advantage of it in lessons, and although useful at times, it might turn against you if you're being observed for the DELTA...

[thrifty]

The DELTA tutor told me that he had observed lessons where DELTA victims had used L1 and he had not maked them down for it.

I understood if you had valid reasons for using L1 and could justify them, then it broke no TEFLer rules.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

In my classroom, I have students from Brazil, Saudi, China, Japan, and Korea. My Japanese/Chinese is ok, but I refuse to speak it because it would be unfair to the other students.

I think it's ok for students to occasionally speak to each other in their L1, especially when one of them is having a hard time understanding what to do. It gets easier to tell whether they are talking about their work or not.

I remember in China when I told a group of children not to speak Chinese in class. Then one day I accidentally let some Chinese slip out, and one of the kids said (in Chinese) "Teacher says don't speak Chinese then he speaks Chinese."

[Justin Trullinger]

We have a long term individual student in our institute who is eight years old. I was her teacher about 2-3 years ago. It isn't easy to make a five year old speak in a second language, so in that class, I made a point of the fact that I did not speak Spanish. (I do, but if she'd known that...)

Now, I'm the director of English, and 75% of my work is admin, dealing almost exclusively with Ecuadorians. After her classes, this particular little girl takes great joy in sneaking around the office, trying to "catch" me speaking Spanish. When she hears me on the phone, or speaking to an Ecuadorian colleague, she goes dancing around the office shouting with joy "Justin speaks Spanish! Justin is a big fat liar, because he told me he didn't speak Spanish!"

Deciding where the line is when teaching kids is rather difficult.

Best,
Justin

[ls650]

But does she do the shouting in English?

[hlamb]

Some school owners seem to have the idea that teaching only in English is too hard for the students. Therefore, they may not be willing to pay for their classes which results in less money for the school. This ignores the fact that languages take effort and study to learn. They are, by their very nature, not easy to learn.

I think occassionaly it is beneficial to translate a few words, especially for abstract concepts that are hard to show in pictures or act out. However, translating more than that encourages the students to simply use their first language. They know the teacher will understand and they take advantage.

[Justin Trullinger]

I agree, hlamb, that's a pretty good description of how I see L1's being of use in the second language classroom

Ls650,
Oddly enough, yes. She does shout, and generally carry on, in English. This is an extremely odd 8 year old we're dealing with.


Justin

[hmmmmm...]

Interesting responses.... And thanks for the link to the other topic, younggeorge.

The more I think about it, I agree that as long as a student has a basic understanding of the grammar of a second language, not using his/her native language would make sense, up to a point. However, are there cases where students without that basic grammar are taught in English only? Is this prevelant in certain countries? I think I might want to avoid those, at least initially....