scholarly journals First Language Interference and Form Focused Instruction

Author(s):  
Shafaq Fayyaz ◽  
Suyansah Swanto ◽  
Wardatul Akmam Din

<em>This paper addresses EFL/ESL teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the use of the first language in a language classroom pertaining to the Form-Focused Instruction - a grammar instruction approach. In essence, this study looks into whether the judicious use of L1 in learning the foreign or second language is effective or not. A case study strategy was deemed appropriate for this study to explore and investigate the beliefs and practices of the non-native teachers on the use of L1 in learning English as a foreign language. To this end, six English language teachers were selected from a Chinese secondary school. The data were collected through classroom observations and stimulated recall interview questions. The audio-recorded data were fully transcribed in English, and subjected to a process of interpretative analysis. The findings revealed that teachers used L1 mainly to present the target grammar topics, to explain the grammatical rules and also to encourage students for the explanation of the grammatical rules in there L1. It is therefore imperative to consider the results of this study as it may highlight some notable pedagogical implications regarding the assisted effects of the use of first language on foreign/second language learning. </em>

Feedback has been an important topic of discussion in language learning. Although research on written corrective feedback is available, there is little research on the specific strategies employed by teachers in order to provide feedback on their students’ essay writing. This paper reports part of a larger research. One of the objectives of this study was to explore corrective feedback strategies employed by the English as a second language (ESL) teachers and English language expert raters when assessing their students’ written essays. This study used qualitative case study which involved 12 participants. Data were collected through interviewing nine English language teachers and three English language expert raters to obtain their pedagogic practices in providing written corrective feedback. The strategies identified are based on Ellis’s typology of strategies for providing written corrective feedback. The findings showed that the preferred written corrective feedback strategy used by the teachers and raters was Metalinguistic Corrective Feedback with Direct Corrective Feedback and Focused Corrective Feedback used by only a few of them. This study has pedagogical implications in that it explains the ESL teachers/expert raters’ pedagogical attitude and practices towards error correction and their preferred written corrective feedback strategies in dealing with error correction.


This particular study is conducted to find out the purposes of teachers' codeswitching in the primary schools, the perceptions of teachers toward using students’ first language in the classrooms, and the amount of the usage of codeswitching in primary schools. A total number of 82 primary school English language teachers from the Johor Bahru state of Malaysia took part in this study. In order to collect comprehensive data from the participants, the researcher applied a mixed-method design. Quantitative data was collected through the Google Form questionnaire, which was sent to the teachers via WhatsApp, and Qualitative data was collected through interviews with five English language teachers of primary schools. The analysis of both types of data showed that the teachers use students’ L1 for three purposes, pedagogical, administrative, and interactional, but mainly students’ L1 was utilized as a pedagogical tool to facilitate language learning and as an administrative strategy to create a less threatening and learner-friendly environment. The results of the study also indicated that the majority of the teachers in the primary schools of Johor switch to students’ L1 to accommodate low proficiency learners and explain difficult concepts such as grammar and vocabulary to the learners. Eighty percent of the participant agreed to minimize the use of L1 in second language learning classrooms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Quang Nguyen Nhat ◽  
Hung Bui Phi

This paper aims to make a critical discussion of Dogme ELT, an innovative pedagogy in English language teaching first developed by Thornbury (2000). This paper first provides a comprehensive review of second language acquisition and pedagogical theories as well as post-methods era perspectives in English language teaching. After that, the authors discuss different aspects of Dogme ELT and figure out the room for Dogme ELT in English language teaching in the post-methods era. Dogme ELT is rooted in a conglomerate of compatible theories in second language learning and teaching. The most noticeable perspective may be that the language teachers should not rely mainly on prescribed coursebooks, but teach design tasks based on learners’ problems and interests. There should be more studies on various aspects of Dogme ELT, although it satisfies most, if not all, basic principles in English language teaching theoretically. The authors also figure out gaps in research and recommendations for English language teachers and learners.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charanjit Kaur Swaran Singh ◽  
Amreet Kaur Jageer Singh ◽  
Nur Qistina Abd Razak ◽  
Thilaga Ravinthar

The educational context in Malaysia demands students to be equipped with sound grammar so that they can produce good essays in the examination. However, despite having learnt English in primary and secondary schools, students in the higher learning institutions tend to make some grammatical errors in their writing. This study presents the grammatical errors made by tertiary students in their writing. The participants were a group of Diploma students who sat for a university entrance exam. One hundred and forty-four written essays of the students were collected and analysed using content analysis. Findings revealed that subject-verb agreement and tenses were the most common type of errors. Students over-generalised and perceived that the tenses could be used interchangeably. Another common error found was in the students’ construction of complex sentence. In such constructions, they failed to include essential and nonessential clauses. If teachers do not teach strategies to assist students in comprehending the concept of Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA), tenses, essential and nonessential clauses, these students will continue to make such errors in their tertiary education. The findings may have useful implications for English language teachers as understanding students’ learning difficulties and providing appropriate grammar instruction is the key to effective teaching for ESL teachers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Asma A. Hussein ◽  
Hamza Zeebaree

This study examines the use of first language (L1) in secondary school EFL classes in Duhok city in the Kurdistan Region - Iraq. The use of L1 in EFL classes has been an ongoing debate among researchers and practitioners across the globe especially as regards its role as a facilitator of, or a hinderance/barrier to the teaching of English. Hence, the researcher aims to discover whether or not the use of Kurdish facilitates the teaching of English, in secondary schools in Duhok city. In addition, the researcher aims at finding out on what basis do teachers decide to use L1 and for what purposes do they use it. In this study, among the participants were 50 English language teachers from different secondary schools in Duhok city. The data were collected through interviews. The results indicated that the use of L1 (Kurdish) facilitates teaching of foreign language (FL) and that a balanced and judicious use of L1 in the EFL classroom by teachers can be useful in the language learning process especially with regard to grammar and vocabulary instruction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Lowe ◽  
Luke Lawrence

Issues surrounding native-speakerism in ELT have been investigated from a diverse range of research perspectives over the last decade. This study uses a duoethnographic approach in order to explore the concept of a 'hidden curriculum' that instils and perpetuates Western 'native speaker' norms and values in the formal and informal training of English language teachers. We found that, despite differences in our own individual training experiences, a form of 'hidden curriculum' was apparent that had a powerful effect on our initial beliefs and practices as teachers and continues to influence our day-to-day teaching.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2319-2324
Author(s):  
Rina Muka ◽  
Irida Hoti

The language acquired from the childhood is the language spoken in the family and in the place of living. This language is different from one pupil to another, because of their social, economical conditions. By starting the school the pupil faces first the ABC book and then in the second grade Albanian language learning through the Albanian language textbook. By learning Albanian language step by step focused on Reading, Writing, Speaking and Grammar the pupil is able to start learning the second language on the next years of schooling. So, the second language learning in Albanian schools is related to the first language learning (mother tongue), since the early years in primary school. In our schools, the second language (English, Italian) starts in the third grade of the elementary class. On the third grade isn’t taught grammar but the pupil is directed toward the correct usage of the language. The textbooks are structured in developing the pupil’s critical thinking. The textbooks are fully illustrated and with attractive and educative lessons adequate to the age of the pupils. This comparative study will reflect some important aspects of language learning in Albanian schools (focused on Albanian language - first language and English language - second language), grade 3-6. Our point of view in this paper will show not only the diversity of the themes, the lines and the sub-lines but also the level of language knowledge acquired at each level of education. First, the study will focus on some important issues in comparing Albanian and English language texts as well as those which make them different: chronology and topics retaken from one level of education to another, so by conception of linear and chronological order will be shown comparatively two learned languages (mother tongue and second language). By knowing and learning well mother tongue will be easier for the pupil the foreign language learning. The foreign language (as a learning curriculum) aims to provide students with the skills of using foreign language written and spoken to enable the literature to recognize the achievements of advanced world science and technology that are in the interest of developing our technique. Secondly, the study will be based on the extent of grammatical knowledge, their integration with 'Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing' as well as the inclusion of language games and their role in language learning. The first and second language learning in Albanian schools (grade III-VI) is based on similar principles for the linearity and chronology of grammatical knowledge integrated with listening, reading, writing and speaking. The different structure of both books help the pupils integrate and use correctly both languages. In the end of the sixth grade, the pupils have good knowledge of mother tongue and the second language and are able to write and speak well both languages.


RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822098527
Author(s):  
Benjamin Luke Moorhouse ◽  
Yanna Li ◽  
Steve Walsh

Interaction is seen by many English language teachers and scholars as an essential part of face-to-face English language classrooms. Teachers require specific competencies to effectively use interaction as a tool for mediating and assisting learning. These can be referred to as classroom interactional competence (CIC). However, the situation created by the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic which began in early 2020, and the recent advancement in technologies have led to teachers conducting synchronous online lessons through video-conferencing software. The online environment is distinctly different from the face-to-face classroom and teachers require new and additional skills to effectively utilise interaction online in real time. This exploratory study used an online mixed-method survey of 75 university level English language teachers who had engaged in synchronous online teaching due to COVID-19, to explore the competencies that teachers need to use interaction as a tool to mediate and assist language learning in synchronous online lessons. Teachers were found to require three competencies, in addition to their CIC – technological competencies, online environment management competencies, and online teacher interactional competencies – which together constitute e-CIC. The findings provide greater insights into the needs of teachers required to teach synchronously online and will be of interest to teachers and teacher educators.


1976 ◽  
Vol 158 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Macnamara

The thesis of the following paper is that the process of learning a second language, if it produces successful results, is the same as that of learning a first language. The paper reviews various objections that have been raised against this thesis, and it discusses the considerable body of research which explores it. It examines the appropriateness of the research data for throwing light on the validity of the thesis. It concludes with some practical guidelines for language teachers drawn from observations of babies learning their mother tongue.


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