Using the L1 in an English Classroom

There are some teachers, whether because they learned the language of their students or the are a native speaker who mastered English, who can communicate with there students in the students’ language. This is becoming much more common as English proliferates all over the world.

However, knowing the students’ language is a doubled-edged sword. There are some obvious advantages but using the students’ L1 can lead to problems as well. This post will explore the pros and cons of using the L1 in the classroom.

The Pros

Using the L1 in the classroom can be useful when the students are evaluating their performance. In other words, the teacher and students talk about the students English performance in the L1. This does make sense from metalinguistic perspective as the students are addressing challenges and developing solutions. They are talking about their learning.

Translating activities is another instance in which L1 use…