The
role of the first language in foreign language
learning
Paul Nation
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Second
language use in the foreign language classroom
needs to be maximised wherever possible, by
encouraging its use and by using it for classroom
management. However, research shows that the
first language has a small but important role
to play in communicating meaning and content.
This role is important across all four strands
of a course.
In
a well balanced foreign or second language course,
there are roughly equal opportunities for learning
through the four strands of
1 meaning focused input - learning through listening
and reading
2 meaning focused output - learning through
speaking and writing
3 language focused learning - learning through
deliberate attention to language features
4 fluency development - learning through working
with known material across the four skills at
a higher than usual level of performance.
These strands require certain conditions to
apply and these are outlined from a vocabulary
perspective in Table 1 (Nation 2001).
L2
use
Research
has shown that the first language of learners
can play a useful role in some of these strands
and the aim of this article is to look at some
of this research and to clearly identify those
parts of a language course where there is value
in using the L1. Before doing this, let us look
briefly at ways of increasing the use of the
L2.
Where
learners have little opportunity to meet and
use the L2 outside the classroom, it is very
important that L2 use is maximised in the classroom.
One obvious way to do this is carry out classroom
management in the L2, English. Classroom management
involves things like telling the class what
to do (take out your books, turn to page 7),
controlling behaviour (be quiet), explaining
activities (get into pairs). This requires a
little bit of careful thought by the teacher
so that the vocabulary and structures used in
the language of classroom management are also
generally useful. If the use of English in classroom
management is done in a planned, consistent
way, then classroom management can be a very
effective opportunity for learning through meaning
focused input. A very useful piece of classroom-based
research would be to identify through observation
the functions and forms of the language of classroom
management, and then devise a classified list
of useful sentences that make use of generally
high frequency words and grammatical structures.
In this way the role of the L1 in classroom
management can be minimized and the role of
the L2 increased.
In
classrooms where the learners all share the
same L1 or national language, there is a tendency
for tasks which should be done in the L2 such
as conversation activities, discussion of intensive
reading, preparation for writing etc to be done
in the L1. There are many reasons for this L1
use. Firstly it is more natural to use the L1
with others who have the same L1. Secondly,
it is easier and more communicatively effective
to use the L1, and thirdly, using the L2 can
be a source of embarrassment particularly for
shy learners and those who feel they are not
very proficient in the L2. Towards the end of
this article we will look at a range of options
for overcoming this reluctance to use the L2,
because as a general policy it is important
to have strong strands of L2 meaning focused
use and fluency development in a course.
There
are however some times when use of the L1 can
have very positive effects on learning and we
will now look at these in relation to the four
strands.
First
language use and meaning focused input and output
Meaning
focused tasks can carry a heavy cognitive load.
Not only do learners have to focus on what to
say or what is being said, they also have to
focus on how to say it or how it is being said.
Lameta-Tufuga (1994) examined the effects of
having learners discuss a task in their first
language before they had to carry it out in
writing in the second language. That is, they
had the opportunity to fully understand the
content of the task through the medium of their
first language, before they performed the written
task in English. The first language discussion
of the task had some interesting features. Firstly,
the learners were all very actively involved
in coming to grips with the ideas. Secondly,
the first language discussion included quite
a lot of the second language vocabulary which
would be used in the later task. Thus the discussion
not only helped learners to get on top of the
content, but it also helped them gain control
of relevant L2 vocabulary in a very supportive
L1 context. Knight (1996) also made a similar
finding. As a result, the learners who did the
preparatory L1 discussion in groups did much
better on the L2 written task than other learners
who did preparatory L2 discussion even though
that discussion was in the same language as
the subsequent written task. There is thus a
useful role for the L1 in helping learners gain
the knowledge needed to reach a higher level
of L2 performance. Whenever a teacher feels
that a meaning based L2 task might be beyond
the capabilities of the learners, a small amount
of L1 discussion can help overcome some of the
obstacles.
First
language use and language focused learning
There
are numerous ways of conveying the meaning of
an unknown word. These include a definition
in the second language, a demonstration, a picture
or a diagram, a real object, L2 context clues,
or an L1 translation. In terms of the accuracy
of conveying meaning, none of these ways is
intrinsically better than any of the others.
It all depends on the particular word concerned.
However, studies comparing the effectiveness
of various methods for learning always come
up with the result that an L1 translation is
the most effective (Lado, Baldwin and Lobo 1967;
Mishima 1967; Laufer and Shmueli 1997). This
is probably because L1 translations are usually
clear, short and familiar, qualities which are
very important in effective definitions (McKeown
1993). When the use of an L1 translation is
combined with the use of word cards for the
initial learning of vocabulary, then learners
have a very effective strategy for speeding
up vocabulary growth (Nation 2001: 296-316).
Although there are frequent criticisms raised
of learning L1-L2 word pairs, these criticisms
are not supported by research. The research
shows the opposite, the direct learning of L2
vocabulary using word cards with their L1 translations
is a very effective method of learning.
This
finding also receives some support from studies
of dictionary use. Learners' dictionaries can
be classified into two major types - those that
only use the L2 (monolingual dictionaries like
the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary,
the COBUILD Dictionary, the Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English and the
Cambridge Learners Dictionary), and those
that make use of the L1 (bilingual or bilingualised
dictionaries). A bilingualised dictionary is
a monolingual dictionary with L1 translations
included. Monolingual dictionaries usually contain
a wealth of useful information and in an attempt
to make them accessible for lower proficiency
learners, the definitions are often within a
controlled vocabulary. The definition vocabulary
usually consists of around 2000 words. Thus
to use a monolingual dictionary effectively
learners need to have a effective receptive
vocabulary of 2000 words. Most learners of English
as a foreign language do not achieve this until
they have been studying English for five to
six years. It is not surprising then that surveys
of dictionary preference (Laufer and Kimmel
1997; Atkins and Varantola 1997) and learner
use (Baxter 1980) show that learners strongly
favour bilingual or bilingualised dictionaries.
To effectively use a monolingual dictionary,
learners need to have a large enough vocabulary
(at least 2000 words) and need to be able to
interpret definitions, which are much more difficult
than L1 synonyms.
Increasingly,
languages borrow a lot of words from English.
Daulton (1998) for example estimates that about
half of the most common 3000 words of English
have some borrowed form in Japanese. Sometimes
the borrowing has resulted in so many formal
and semantic changes that the relationship to
English is hard to see (wan-piisu - a one piece
dress), but most often the relationship is clear
(waasuto - worst). Encouraging learners to notice
this borrowing and to use the loan words to
help the learning of English is a very effective
vocabulary expansion strategy. This involves
deliberately exploring L1 and L2 relationships.
Even greater help is available where the L1
has a family relationship with English as is
the case with languages like Spanish and Swedish
(Ringbom 1987). The L1 clearly has a very important
role to play in the deliberate learning of vocabulary.
First
language use and fluency development
Fluency
development tasks need to involve language items
that are already familiar to the learners, need
to involve largely familiar content, and need
to include some kind of encouragement to perform
faster than usual. This encouragement can take
the form of time pressure as in speed reading
or the 4/3/2 activity. The L1 can have a small
role to play in preparing the learners for such
tasks to make sure that the material they are
working with is truly familiar. This preparation
can involve helping learners recall L1 stories
and information that they then work with in
the L2, or getting learners to use the L1 to
discuss and become very familiar with L2 input,
such as newspaper articles, TV news reports,
short factual texts, that is then used as the
basis for L2 fluency tasks.
L1
and L2
In
most of the roles of the L1 that we have looked
at, there is the common theme that the L1 provides
a familiar and effective way of quickly getting
to grips with the meaning and content of what
needs to be used in the L2. It is foolish to
arbitrarily exclude this proven and efficient
means of communicating meaning. To do so would
be directly parallel to saying that pictures
or real objects should not be used in the L2
class (Nation 1978). All the arguments against
L1 use similarly apply to the use of pictures,
real objects, and demonstration. The L1 needs
to be seen as a useful tool that like other
tools should be used where needed but should
not be over-used.
Let
us now conclude by looking at ways of avoiding
over-use of the L1 and encouraging L2 use.
Encouraging
L2 use
In
classes where learners all share the same first
language or national language, teachers need
to use a range of options to encourage learners
to use the L2 as much as possible (Nation 1997).
The following range of options is based on the
idea that there are several reasons why learners
use the L1 when they should be using the L2.
These reasons include low proficiency in the
L2, the naturalness of using the L2 to do certain
jobs, shyness in using the L2, or simply a lack
of interest in learning the L2. Here are some
of the ways of dealing with these obstacles
to L2 use.
1.
Choose manageable tasks that are within the
learners' proficiency.
2. Prepare learners for tasks by preteaching
the language items and skills needed.
3. Use staged and graded tasks that bring learners
up to the level required.
4. Get learners to pretend to be English speakers.
5. Make the L2 an unavoidable part of the task.
Retelling activities, strip stories, completion
activities, and role plays all require the use
of the L2.
6. Repeat tasks to make them easier.
7. Inform learners of the learning goals of
each task so that they can see how using the
L2 will help them achieve a clear short term
learning goal.
8. Discuss with the learners the value of using
the L2 in class.
9. Get learners to discuss the reasons why they
avoid using the L2 and get them to suggest solutions
to encourage L2 use.
10. Set up a monitoring system to remind learners
to use the L2. In group work speaking tasks
this can involve giving one learner in each
group the role of reminding others to use the
L2.
11. Use non-threatening tasks. Learners can
choose their own groups, the teacher can stay
out of the groups, allow learners to prepare
well for the tasks, don't use tasks that put
learners in embarrassing situations, and choose
interesting, non-threatening topics.
If
encouraging L2 use is a problem, several of
these different solutions may need to be used.
These solutions cover a range of affective,
cognitive, and resource approaches and thus
can be seen as complementary rather than as
alternatives.
In
some countries, English and the L1 are in competition
with each other and the use of English increases
at the expense of the L1. Teachers need to show
respect for the learners' L1 and need to avoid
doing things that make the L1 seem inferior
to English. At the same time, it is the English
teacher's job to help learners develop their
proficiency in English. Thus, a balanced approach
is needed which sees a role for the L1 but also
recognises the importance of maximising L2 use
in the classroom.
References
Atkins,
B.T.S. and Varantola, K. 1997. Monitoring dictionary
use. International Journal of Lexicography 10,
1: 1-45.
Baxter, J. 1980. The dictionary and vocabulary
behaviour: a single word or a handful? TESOL
Quarterly 14, 3: 325-336.
Daulton, F.E. 1998. Japanese loanword cognates
and the acquisition of English vocabulary. The
Language Teacher 22, 1: 17-25.
Knight, T. 1996. Learning vocabulary through
shared speaking tasks. The Language Teacher
20, 1: 24-29.
Lado, R., Baldwin, B. and Lobo, F. 1967. Massive
vocabulary expansion in a foreign language beyond
the basic course: the effects of stimuli, timing
and order of presentation. U.S. Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington,
D.C.: 5-1095.
Lameta-Tufuga, E. 1994. Using the Samoan Language
for Academic Learning Tasks. Unpublished MA
thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, New
Zealand.
Laufer, B. and Kimmel, M. 1997. Bilingualised
dictionaries: How learners really use them.
System 25, 3: 361-369.
Laufer, B. and Shmueli, K. 1997. Memorizing
new words: Does teaching have anything to do
with it? RELC Journal 28, 1: 89-108.
McKeown, M.G. 1993. Creating effective definitions
for young word learners. Reading Research Quarterly
28, 1: 17-31.
Mishima, T. 1967. An experiment comparing five
modalities of conveying meaning for the teaching
of foreign language vocabulary. Dissertation
Abstracts 27: 3030-3031A.
Nation, I.S.P. 2001. Learning Vocabulary in
Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Nation, I.S.P. 1997. L1 and L2 use in the classroom:
a systematic approach. TESL Reporter 30, 2:
19-27.
Nation, I.S.P. 1978. Translation and the teaching
of meaning: some techniques. ELT Journal 32,
3: 171-175.
Ringbom, H. 1987. The Role of the First Language
in Foreign Language Learning. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters.
Table
1: The four strands and their application with
a focus on vocabulary
Strand...........General
conditions...........Vocabulary
requirements.................Activities
and techniques |
