Job Discussion Forums

[Raymundo]

"English Only" is all the rage in ESL circles; most institutes insist on it. But is there any solid research from reputable universities proving its efficacy in enhancing English-language learning? I'm more interested in efficiency of learning than dogma, and if that means tossing a word in Spanish to my confused students, I do it. As the English-only acolytes would have it, I'm harming my students' learning.

A Google search finds only research relating to the English-only/bilingual ed controversy in the U.S., a different situation. So, again, is there any solid research backing up English-only for ESL students overseas?

[The_Hanged_Man]

Heh, 'shibboleth'. Sounds like something out of a H.P. Lovecraft novel...

[rusmeister]

That's because it is!
Shibboleth
Shibboleth
Shibboleth
Arkham f'lekh m'wik Dunwich arrrrgbrut C'thulu!!!


Here's some research for you - I did it myself. If I speak Russian to little kids they see no reason to even try to speak English to me. Even adults prefer, on the whole, to retreat to the comfort zone of Russian and have to be kicked to really try to speak English.

With adults it's unavoidable, but you have to be a real b****** to force them to use English later. With kids it is much much much better to play stupid and just pretend you don't speak their language for at least a couple of years.

[wildchild]

I work in a place where we do English only.

My co-worker was trying to ask the students if they travel.

She tried acting like an airplane, putting her arms out and flying, she even tried drawing a picture.

The students responded by saying, "Yes, fish, fish, I like to fish!"

Might have been easier just to tell them what it ment, the to practice using it in a meaningfull context.

[Stephen Jones]

There's been a lot of research over the matter, but it's inconclusive because every situation is different.

The general consensus is that using bilingual dictionaries should not be discouraged.

The problem with first language use is threefold; they will not get into the habit of thinking in English; they will spend all the class talking in their first language and expect the teacher to explain in their first language; they will suffer from the delusion that vocabulary can be translated.

When the first language is least useful is at the beginnners stage, because at that stage things are fairly concrete and can be explained by pictures or mime. If the teacher needs translation to explain 'travel' there is something wrong with his technique.

At an intermediate to advanced level translation is often a timesaver, particuarly with non-core vocabulary, or that which requires a high level of abstraction to explain (do you really want to spend five minutes of the lesson explaining 'nevertheless' or would you rather to mutter quickly 'no obstante').

To sum up, first language use in the classroom should be forbidden to all those teachers who feel a need for it.

[shuize]

"English only" may be appropriate some cases, such as noted above with respect to young learners. However, I still have a nagging suspicion it's used more as an excuse to cover the fact that so many EFL teachers spend so long overseas without ever acquiring much fluency in the local languages themselves.

[furiousmilksheikali]

[Sonnet]

While I agree that it's beneficial, and largely possible, to conduct classes entirely in English, there are instances of 'log jams' which occur in a classroom and need clearing up; whether it be misunderstood TL or complex instructions, such a jam can waste a lot of time & frustrate both students & teachers. That's where translation can be an invaluable timesaver, one which leaves us with more time for the productive stages of the lesson.

So, I don't think translation is "bad" teaching. It can be lazy teaching if somebody over-relies on it; but then again, what do we mean by a "good" teacher? Is it somebody who ticks all of the boxes on the methodology checklist their CELTA trainers have ingrained into their head, or is it somebody who, through whatever means, enhances their students' larning skills & level of English?

I think the end result is more important than the means through which we get there; looking back at my own language-learning experience, one of the worst teachers I ever had tried to work in German only.

[rusmeister]

Great post by Stephen.

FMSAli pinned a real problem in US public schools, like NY and CA - that Hispanics often get support, Asians and Europeans don't.

In my Master's program, they spoke of the concept of taking the learner's native language into account. There is nothing wrong, indeed, it is necessary to make occasional references to a student's native language (I hold the exception to be young children, and deal with the logjams Sonnet referred to for the sake of beating into their heads that there are some people who really really don't speak their language), particularly when getting across grammatical concepts that are extraordinarily difficult to explain in English or in mime, such as how the Present Perfect works. Also, you need to be working on basic translation from time-to-time as well.

PS: last night's post was me tired and UI. But I can still spell!

[Mike_2003]

It doesn't take much effort to use the students language only when needed.

Some of my students know I speak Romanian well because I have dealt with them in a non-teaching environment before they became students, so the 'I don't speak Romanian' card doesn't play well. However, as long as the teacher doesn't become lazy it's not so hard to adopt a 'I don't understand' expression when they get frustrated and switch to Romanian. They have come to recognise this expression of mine and know that I'm not going to let matters proceed until they have explained in English.

They know I understand, and my understanding what they've said in Romanian helps me feel sure that what they've said in English is actually what they intended to say (and there are a huge number of false friends in Romanian so sometimes it's essential to know) but they also quickly learn that I won't let them get away with it.

By the time they've progressed to intermediate level, I've generally completely eliminated any use of Romanian, even for adminstrative purposes.

Knowing the students language is useful in many ways. It can also provide a comfort zone for complete beginners and enhance your understand of the student's problems. However, we as teachers have to very carefully monitor our use of it and ensure it's used only as a tool and not as a crutch.

Mike

[yaramaz]

I teach very very very low level students these days- almost exclusively beginners. They are all Turkish. My students know I can speak Turkish well enough for them to ask me questions in it when they aren't sure how to do it in English. Because I know what they want to ask me, I can help guide them in forming the question they want in English and I can make sure that I am answering the question they are trying to assemble in their minds in English. I speak very little Turkish in class, except to clarify false friends or subtle differences in vocabulary or grammar. I don't do this at all beyond elementary level though.

[teacheringreece]

There are some who would argue for the deliberate and systematic use of L1 in the classroom by both students and teachers. This can be for a number of reasons, including to try and replicate the way that many students are likely to use the L2 in the real world - for example, very commonly in their own countries a speaker might have to use English as a mediation tool to someone who doesn't speak their L1 (they might, for example, be asked to summarise the contents of a sign, or explain what is being talked about on the TV, so will be dealing with both languages at the same time). Another reason for a teaching approach that incorporates both L1 and L2 is that languages are not stored separately in the brain (they are not compartmentalised) but form part of a merged system, and that this could be usefully exploited in the learning process. Googling "multi-competence theory" will point you towards plenty of material on this.