Ｏｎ ｔｈｅ Ｐｏｓｉｔｉｖｅ Ｅｆｆｅｃｔｓ ｏｆ Ｎａｔｉｖｅ Ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ ｉｎ Ｆｏｒｅｉｇｎ Ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ Ｔｅａｃｈｉｎｇ

香港理工大學酒店與旅游業管理碩士 541001

摘要：本文首先對外語教學界就母語使用問題做了回顧。接著，本文闡述了在外語教學中使用母語的益處，然后，以理論為依據論證母語對外語習得的促進作用。基于在外語教學中使用母語的益處，文章在最后給外語教學提出了啟示。

關鍵詞:母語的使用 母語的積極作用 對外語教學的啟示

【Abstract】This paper attempts to review the issues of the use of native language (L1) in foreign language teaching (FLT). Further， this paper illustrates the advantages of using L1 in foreign language (L2) class. And then this paper also proves that L1 will promote the L2 acquisition theoretically. Finally， based on the advantages of using L1 in FLT， the implications on how to use L1 in current FLT are given at the end of this paper.

【Key words】 L1 use， positive effects of L1， implication for FLT

【中圖分類號】I239.9

【文獻標識碼】A【文章編號】1002-2139（2009）-05-0063-3

I. Introduction

With the development of FLT， many achievements in the study of theories and experiences about FLT have shown that L1 is a two-edge sword in FLT. A central issue that has been discussed about the effects of L1 in FLT is whether the negative effect outweighs the positive effect. The discussion involves two schools of FLT. One encourages the use of L1 while the other takes the opposite side. The current FLT system in China is on the basis of the latter， and the idea that agrees on the use of L1 in FLT is completely neglected. For this reason， many students encounter a lot of difficulties in L2 learning without the help of their native language.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the advantages of using L1 in FLT and prove theoretically that the use of L1 is beneficial to FLT. It goes in this way:

Firstly， illustrating practically the advantage of L1 in FLT.

Secondly， proving why L1 use can facilitate FLT theoretically.

Finally， listing implications for current FLT.

II. Literature review

2.1Views on the use of L1 in FLT

2.1.1 The negative views

People against the use of L1 in FLT consider that learners’ L1 will cause negative transfer because it may keep the learners from thinking in L2， lesson their development of language skills， engender language errors and decrease the time they are exposed to the foreign language.

According to George (1972)， students tend to have the habits of substitutability if they rely too much on their L1 and thus trigger the interference in L2 acquisition. Krashen(1981)states that L2 acquisition and L1 acquisition follow the same route， hence we should try our best to avoid using L1 lest it interferes L2 acquisition. Perdue (1993) said that using L1 would distract the students from L2 learning， hampering the restructuring of foreign language.

2.1.2 The affirmative views

People who agree on the use of L1 in FLT consider that using learners’ L1 in FLT can save time， make learners easier to follow， increase learners’ thinking flexibility and conceptual clarity.

“The absence of L1 in the class will burden the students mentally and leaves negative effects on L2 acquisition”(Nation，1990). “Using L1 in the class will provide learners of different levels with relatively equal opportunities” (Harbord，1992). Py(1996) said that using L1 in the class leads to the interaction of the two languages， helping cultivate the students’ linguistic awareness. Dornyei Kormos(1998) believed the learners’ use of L1 compensates for the poor ability to use foreign language. “If the teacher uses L1 to explain a certain concept of grammar or the meaning of a word， the students will understand it easily and this will facilitate the intake of language， transferring the input to the intake”(Turbull，2001).“The teacher who has made a comparison of L2 with L1 of the students will know better what the real problems are and can prepare for teaching them ”( Lado 1957)

2.2 The current situation of FLT

With the popularity of all-L2-FLT methods， L2 teachers have been anxious because they are unable to provide an all L2 environment. They also try to teach only by means of the foreign languages， but their poor ability to use L2 sometimes makes them difficult to express their ideas properly. Moreover some students cannot understand L2 by listening. In addition， the students may also feel excited at the beginning in the all-L2 class， but later they will find that their foreign teachers cannot explain the sentence structure of foreign languages， because the teachers cannot speak the students’ native languages.

III. Rationales of L1 use in FLT

3.1 Experiments on L1 use in FLT

Why should L2 teachers use L1 in the class? Simply because this idea brings us great convenience! On the one hand， L1 thinking has so firmly rooted in the students’ mind that even if we strictly prohibit it in the class-no one is allowed to speak the native language， we still cannot guarantee that the students will not turn to it for help snugly. L1 thinking does exist in L2 class objectively! On the other hand， L1 thinking helps students understand convoluted ideas， which might puzzle them if expressed in foreign languages. In this sense， teachers should use L1 when necessary in FLT.

However high a learner’s second language level might be， he will have to rely on L1 thinking in cognitive process. Second language learner would like to think by means of L1 either because L1 has firmly rooted in his or her mind or because he or she gets quite familiar with the language. Cohen (1995) did an experiment related to this respect. He used the think-aloud method to record the thinking process of the people who were experimented. During the 5-month consistent observation， Cohen found some interesting facts from the 32 American students who took a Spanish course. Those students are all English native speakers while their Spanish is not bad. When experimented， they were told to work out some math problems expressed in Spanish. They could use Spanish thinking while going through the Spanish words to express their problems. Yet， some students quickly switch into English thinking while working out the problems. The rest of them， though still using Spanish， also turned to English thinking when they encountered difficulties. This experiment implies that even if a second language learner might be good at the language， yet he or she still largely depends on L1 thinking in the cognitive process.

How the second language learner relies on L1 thinking in writing?

While writing in L2， many learners， whatever level they have achieved， have the habit of thinking in L1. Many students will frame their compositions by means of their mother tongue， and some students even frame and compose their writing in their mother language and then translate them into the target language. Many scholars (Bosher 1998， Zamel 1982) discovered this phenomenon in the experiments on second language acquisition. Zamel (1982) and Bosher (1998) did discover that some second language learners write their compositions in this way: first framing and writing in L1， and then translating into L2.

L1 thinking does exist in second language writing， then， what about reading in second language? Kern (1994) undertook a research which showed that second language leaner always comprehend the article， the words and concepts in the article by L1 thinking.

In terms of reading and writing， L1 thinking does exist in the process of second language acquisition， but is this existence a facilitator or a barrier?

L1 thinking will more or less affect L2 acquisition， hence L2 teachers always encourage the students not to use L1 in the class. However， L1 thinking has some positive influence on second language acquisition.

In terms of writing， L1 thinking can bring the second language learner a brainstorm， help him or her raise question to oneself， work through complicated ideas， recall past experience， evaluate the organization of the article， enhance his/her self-expression， increase lexical variety and display cultural sensitivity. (Lay 1988)

In a research by Friedlander (1991)， 28 Chinese students were asked to write an article on a Chinese traditional festival in English. Friedlander found that those students could recall more details about the topic when thinking in Chinese. This research shows that L1 thinking makes the writing more attractive.

Besides， L1 thinking also plays a positive role in second language reading. When the learner encounters complicated sentences， it’s difficult for him or her to understand the sentences through the unfamiliar second language. If he or she turns to L1 thinking， he or she will analyze the structure of a sentence and understand its meaning more easily

Furthermore， L1 thinking helps the leaner with memorizing. After finishing reading a long passage， learners are always expected to remember what it is about before they go to the next passage. If they list the key points of the passage with a few words in their native language， obviously they can remember the meanings more easily.

On the whole， L1 has firmly rooted in our minds even when we study a second language. When we study a second language， whether we are aware of it or not， L1 thinking dose exist， and in fact， it plays a positive role in our second language reading and writing. Many students might be asked to reject L1 thinking while learning the second language， but why would they have to abandon the advantages of L1 use and take the trouble to think in another unfamiliar language?

3.2 Theoretical Linguistic universals evidence on L1 use in FLT

In the book “Syntactic Structure”(Chomsky 1957)， Chomsky claims that human beings are biologically programmed for language and that the language develops the child just as other biological functions such as walking. He referred to this innate ability as Language Acquisition Device (also known as LAD). The LAD was described as an imaginary “black box” existing somewhere in the human brain. The “black box” is said to contain principles that are universal to all human languages. Children need access to the samples of a natural language to activate the LAD， which enables them to discover his language’s structure by matching the innate knowledge of basic grammatical system to that particular language. Later， Chomsky refers to this innate endowment as Universal Grammar (UG) and holds that if children are pre-equipped with UG， then what they have to learn is the ways in which their own language makes use of these principles and the variations on these principles that may exist in the particular language they are learning.

Therefore， we can analogize that genes decide the capability of human language study and every grammar is similar to the grammar of other forms and all languages of human beings have obvious similarities. Because the capability of human language study is innate and Universal Grammar exists， good cultivation of L1 is essential for L2 acquisition.

According to a recent research on linguistic Universals， several points upon linguistic Universals referred to language learning are as follows:

1. All languages include limited discrete phonemes， which can be integrated together to produce meaningful morphemes and words， thus making sentences broadly.

2. All grammar includes the rules of forming words and sentences.

3. All languages have similar classification of grammar (e.g. noun， verb)

4. Semantic Universals exist in any language (e.g. men and women， animal and human)

5. Every language has its own ways to express tense， negation， question and command.

6. Any normal child can master his mother language wherever he was born， whatever his nationality is and whatever the social and economic situation is.

For instance， many Europeans can master and skillfully use two or three European languages， because most European language has a lot of similarities. French， Italian， Spanish are of Latin origin; English and German have the same father. French and German have similar variation of verbs. All those similarities enable a European to learn a second European language more easily and more quickly.

The point mentioned above reflects the common features of all languages and L1 has inseparable relation to L2 acquisition. Consciously or unconsciously， anyone in our world has some knowledge about the linguistic universals. Everyone can get to know the common features of a language in the process of studying and mastering their native language. When he or she starts to learn a foreign language， he or she will consciously or unconsciously use the knowledge of Linguistic Universals that he or she has got through the study of his or her native language. In this sense， using L1 in FLT can promote L2 acquisition.

IV. Conclusion

From the above， it can be inferred that L1 plays an inseparable role in L2 learning and people cannot afford to ignore it. In author’s view， teachers should value the importance of L1 and utilize it flexibly in terms of the students’ knowledge of the target language， psychology， learning method. Fries (1945) stated that the most effective materials for language learning are based on the scientific comparison between L2 and L1. Generally speaking， if the knowledge of the target language is the same to or similar to that of the native language， then the knowledge will be mastered easily by the learners. But if the knowledge of L2 and L1 are different， learners will meet with difficulty. According to this， the teachers should better use contrastive analysis to compare the features of L1 and L2 to spot the differences so that they can predict the learners’ difficulties. Moreover， compared with L2 learning， students are generally more sensitive to their L1， since they could memorize something in L1 easily. When students memorize the knowledge and the vocabulary of a foreign language， they usually like to associate them with the native language. Therefore， teachers should use L1 properly to help students comprehend and memorize the materials of L2.

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作者簡介：郭雪，女1983年1月，香港理工大學酒店與旅游業管理碩士 541001。