[Leighanna]

What's your viewpoint and why?

I know this has probably been discussed over and again, but I didn't see a topic for it on the last two pages, so figured it might not be a problem to bring it up for debate/discussion.

At first I was completely for speaking only English in the classroom, no matter the level of the student. Now, I'm not so sure, though. I have an elementary class. When we get stuck on a word and they don't believe in just 'moving on', even after five minutes of getting nowhere, it just seems to detract from their interest if they cannot grasp the point in English. They are just beginning after all. I'm not saying that I feel it should be that if they don't understand then right away saying it in Spanish (my students' native language), but I feel that if they truly are unable to understand the meaning in a beginner or elementary class, that they should be given the meaning in their native tongue. I think it helps maintain their attention, especially when one has eight 12-year-olds. I've tried having them look it up in the English-only dictionary and a lot of the time they don't even understand the definition, so it just causes more confusion.

[Estuardo Solis]

Well, Leighganna.
Everybody`s got that problem, but the most important thing is to use L1 only when giving the first instructions.
There are authors that think this is necessary, What I always do is, I give them a list of classroom Language like, Is this write or wrong?, Can you say that again?, etc. making sure they learn to say it and their meaning.
It`s important to wite those sentences on pieces of papaer all over the classroom.
Make sure that you take about a week to learn that before any contents.
If it takes 10 days it`s ok.
I hope it works.
Bye!
Estuardo.

[clivehawkins]

Quote Estuardo Solis

What I always do is, I give them a list of classroom Language like, Is this write or wrong?, Can you say that again?, etc. making sure they learn to say it and their meaning.

I go along with that. If they get into the habit of asking you what things mean, how to spell things, how to say things, say they don't understand, ask you to repeat something, to speak more slowly etc etc in their own language, then it creates a bad habit which is hard to break. They think it's ok to use L1, using English solely to complete activities that you set them. Create an English environment straight away and you'll reap the benefits further down the line.

[susan53]

I think the guiding principle is always - does it help or hinder the students' learning. Often it helps, sometimes it hinders. You'll find an article discussing the pros and cons on the ELT Notebook, here.
Sue

[Bagga]

I have worked for many years in various schools that tried to insist on "english only" when studying. Yet whenever the teachers attended classes in the language of the country they wre resident in, they always started discussing grammar points in English. Even though they were studying Turkish, Polish, or Spanish.

"English Only" is unnatural, in my opinion. EFL classes are not inculcating a first language in the same way as a child's upbringing does, they are trying to impose a new language alongside an already existing language and vocabulary.

What I DO insist on, though, is student's using as much English as possible. "Que es esto?" is not good enough, when you were taught "What is it/this?" in your very first English lesson.

What bugs me is when a DOS or someone insists that it should be English only in all aspects of EFL teaching. So we can dance around a vocab item, using a students incomplete understanding of English, when a single word in the S's first language will suffice..

Example:

Me .................... (the student, thinking in first language)
"It's a fruit" (ok, tell me more)
"It's purple" (What does purple mean? Oh yes, violet. erm, avocado? plum? grape?)
"It has a stone in it" (see above)
"We make wine with it" (Mmm, I love plum wine.)
"There are lots of them joined together in a bunch. (What's a bunch? Oh. Ok, plums don't come in bunches. So it must be a grape. But grapes aren't purple, they are green. Maybe its a blackcurrant.)

And so on. And I admit this hasty example isn't very good. But why can't I just say "uva" in the first place? Until a student attains a fairly high level of English, "English only" isn't teaching them to think in English, it is making them get confused in their own language.

[clivehawkins]

Hi Bagga,
I agree with using 'classroom English' from day 1, and insisting it is used from then on.

I also agree that dancing around an item of vocab for 10 minutes is counter-productive and I too will either tell them in L1 (occasionally) or get them to use one of the numerous bilingual dictionaries we have in class. (asking me in the first place is just laziness - taking the time to use a dictionary is also good practice)

However, I don't quite agree with insisting on English only (or almost) as a bad thing. They come to me to learn the language. They are exposed to very little English as it is (3 hours a week in most cases) and those three hours should be in English. They don't pay good money to hear me speak bad Italian or to chat in Italian with their classmates. It goes back to the point of insisting on classroom English - it's easier for them to ask me in L1 what something means, and often easier for me to answer in their language. It's human nature to take the easy option, but at the end of the day have I done the most I could for these students? Personally I'd say no. From personal experience, the classes where I let them get away with the easy option have a noticeably inferior level to those where we suffer a bit at the start but then move on at a much greater pace further down the line.

Anyway, it's just opinion at the end of the day. It's nice to hear other points of view.

[clivehawkins]

Quote susan53

Hi Clive,
I think the guiding principle is always - does it help or hinder the students' learning. Often it helps, sometimes it hinders. You'll find an article discussing the pros and cons on the ELT Notebook, here.
Sue

Thanks Sue,
I'll read that over the weekend and get back to you with some thoughts.

[Bagga]

Oh yes, I always insist on maximum usage of English in class, it's just that 100% English only is counter-productive, as you say. And I would never risk speaking in their language, mangling the sense and totally destroying my credibility in the process - I have found that I have a tin ear for the pronunciation of other languages.

But my example of a grape is an actual memory of a time when I was being observed by my DOS. I was doing the dance of describing a grape, and the student said "Ah, uva?" and I said "Yes." Apparently I shouldn't have accepted that from the student...

Rules for teaching are like the "rules" for English - you can never be totally sure that they are 100% true all the time!

[clivehawkins]

Quote Bagga

But my example of a grape is an actual memory of a time when I was being observed by my DOS. I was doing the dance of describing a grape, and the student said "Ah, uva?" and I said "Yes." Apparently I shouldn't have accepted that from the student...

I'd have done exactly as you did. You 'demonstrated' the word without using L1 and they understood. You just confirmed it for them. I don't see anything wrong with that.

As for rules, you're so right. If the rules of English are so confusing, ambiguous at times and often contradictory then how can teaching it be standard. Each student is different too, so we can only do our best and try to follow guidelines rather than rules set in stone.

Have a good lesson!
Cheers Bagga

[Bilingualdiva]

I agree with all of you. My population is mostly hispanic with a few other nationalities. At times it is nerve breaking to them to stop insisting that I speak to them in Spanish and at times I agree. However I rarely break and give in and it takes me a long time to communicate and get points across by using English only. I have 42 minutes to get to 32 kids. they ahve a total of 80 minutes a day of english it is imperative taht they hear as much english from me as posible.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I say use what ever works for your studnets and their understanding. You be the judge.

[frizzi26]

I think it is ok to speak to them in their native language too. you "lose" them if they don't understand...
good luck anymay

[Ainka]

I use Polish (my and my students mother tongue) as I teach beginners... And I think to some point there is a need to use mother tongue to explain grammar. Of course all the instructions are in English and they have to learn them. IMHO the FCE level is agood point to use only English in class - that how I was taught. From the FCE level (B2 of Council of Europe level) I had classes with native speaker so there was no choice And at that level I was ready to be taught only in English.

[michèle 2]

I agree with susan if using L1 helps the students with learning a foreign langage then use L1, on the other hand if it hinders the students'learning, well not using L1 appears to be a better choice. Personally I use French to explain grammar points because we compare the English language to our own language and review the French grammar at the same time. For very young learners I give the instructions in French because it saves time and when my students have a good grasp of English we just use English and "ban" French!!
Personally i think that some kids can lose motivation if we use a language they don't understand a word especially when they're beginners.

[kisito]

There are definitely times when L1 can be used in the classroom. May be it is a good idea to ask your school for a T.A (Teaching Assistant) who is normally a native speaker of the students' language, but understands English. I teach in China and our school gives us T.As for lower levels. I speak Chinese and sometimes I get tempted to use Chinese to explain some complex game rules for example. At first when I spoke Chinese to my students, the result was always catastrophic. They always wanted to speak Chinese to me instead of English. So I asked for a T.A in my kids classes to explain rules of some activities then I will proceed in English. The thing is that when the students condition their minds to always think and speak English when approaching their English teacher, it is best for them. Remember L1 is strongly rooted in their brains and has the effect of always rerouting students' thoughts back to L1 instead of English. I can therefore understand why some schools strongly ban L1 in the classroom. But to me that is not realistic. As long as you set up proper messures to help your students see L1 in the classroom, as "just an aid" , then that sounds fine for me. It doesn't steal the focus or hamper their learning.
It is even harder in my case when students find out I can speak Chinese. I have to set up firm rules in my classroom. I even have a points system where whispering in Chinese or talking to the teacher or classmates in Chinese leads to a deduction of points. The group that uses a lot more English scores higher. This system has worked in my Kids and teenage classes ever since L1 became a problem in my lessons. Today, my Chinese students know that I speak Chinese, and they know that 1% of the time I will give instructions in Chinese, but they cannot ask questions to me in Chinese.To them, I am their foreign English teacher whom they must speak to in English.

[Denis DNT]

In the Korean school where I taught, I was known for my Green, Yellow and Red cards system. These students loved football so much so they easily understood the cards.
A green card meant the student was using English fully and led to special privileges for the student during English lessons.

A yellow card meant 'warning' - the student was using the mother tongue unnecessarily. Two 'yellow cards' during the same lesson led to a 'red'

A red card meant 'bad' and led to a special difficult English homework for the student and a loss of all classroom privileges.

It worked like magic. It killed unnecessary and distracting comments using the mother tongue during lessons. The smart ones soon started making noise and the same comments in English. The others realized that making noise in English was ok and did everything to enjoy the privilege. It was just fun.