Importance Of Mother Tongue In Classroom

ABSTRACT

This study is related to using mother tongue in language classrooms. The idea of using mother tongue in foreign language classrooms is still debated around the turn of the century. Nowadays the debate whether the mother tongue should be used in foreign language classrooms is still continued between the educators. In other words, a lot of educators have argued the impact of mother tongue. Some of them think that using mother tongue in language classrooms is crucial for students because of similarities between native and target language. On the other hand there are remarkably educators who think that mother tongue has negative influence upon language learning. However, researches indicate that teachers make extensive use of the mother

Many educators think that L1 is crucial in language classrooms. On the other hand, others support that a negative influence of L1 upon the learning process shouldn’t be ignored while learning a language. Even many educational institutions have endeavored to prohibit mother tongue in language classrooms. Nevertheless in our country a lot of teachers use mother tongue in language classrooms.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Al Hinai (2011:1) the teachers believe;

• It reduces learner anxiety and creates a more relaxing environment.

• It is a means of bringing the learners’ cultural background knowledge into the class.

• It facilitates checking understanding and giving instructions.

• It facilitates the task of explaining the meaning of abstract words introducing the main differences in grammar and pronunciation between L1 and L2.

Secondly, other advantages summarized by Butzkamm (2003) were mentioned in the article of Jadallah & Hasan (2011: 6) as shown below:

• 1. L1 use gives a sense of security and helps learners to be stress-free.

• A foreign language friendly asset people bring to the task of FL learning.

• The use of the L1 saves learners from a feeling of frustration they might have within their FL learning.

• L1 techniques allow teachers to use richer and more authentic texts, which means more comprehensible input and faster

On the other hand, at schools in Turkey the learners have at most six English language lessons in a week. The learners have limited time to learn English so it is recommended that they should be exposed to the target language as possible as they can. Rather than formulating the language by dividing it into parts, it should be given in a whole context by using L2. It means that language shouldn’t be taught by separating according to grammatical structures. Language should be given in a communicative way as it appears in the real life. The learners should be activated with pair works and group activities because the language bases on communication and interaction. The use of L2 is essential for interaction between students and teacher to develop the learner’s pronunciation skills because the use of mother tongue doesn’t play an active role in pronunciation. Rather than appealing the native language, the lesson should be made clear by using visuals, mimes, body language, demonstration, expressions and teacher