Question 1: teachers’ beliefs about L1 use in English lessons
Using L1 in L2 lessons appeared in the data as a teaching strategy among all the participants. Teachers reported that they felt that their students could not understand when English was used as a medium of teaching. One teacher for example narrated the following:
“When my students do not understand English, I use their mother tongue” (T2).
Teachers shared their views about the students´ L1 use in English lessons. Both teachers agreed that Afaan Oromoo had a role to play in their classrooms’ daily teaching practices for different purposes. They provided insights into using L1 as a teaching tool in EFL classrooms. The teachers used L1 for an explanation of new vocabulary and grammar points. The following examples reveal the use of L1 in the interviewed teachers’ daily English teaching:
“For me, using Afaan Oromoo is necessary for teaching English in our context. When I use English only … the students’ reaction is very low…Then, Afaan Oromoo is the way to help students” (T1).
“I use Afaan Oromoo to keep students’ attention on a task. Without students’ mother tongue use, one cannot be successful in his/her English teaching” (T2).
The teachers listed reasons for using L1 to explain grammar rules and vocabulary, simplify instruction, and encourage and support the slow learners to participate in lessons or do activities.
Examples, from the transcribed data, are needed to illustrate the following.
-
explaining grammar rules and vocabulary
-
simplifying instruction
-
encouraging students to participate in lessons
-
supporting the slow learners to do activities
They use L1 when there is no other way to make the task understandable for the students. In addition, they use it to make tasks more interesting, communicative, and meaningful because all students can participate and be involved in the lesson activities. Both teachers believed that using L1 could encourage slow learners to do activities during lessons. The sampled teachers responded:
I use Afaan Oromoo especially for explaining grammatical rules. Since Students do not understand it, I use Afaan Oromoo to simplify it.... When I feel that students did not get what I mean usually I have to repeat it in Afaan Oromoo… (T1).
I think using Afaan Oromoo can make tasks more interesting, communicative, and meaningful because all students can participate and be involved in the lesson activities… (T2).
Moreover, the teachers indicated that students have very limited exposure to learning English outside the classroom. For that reason, they used L1 for the purposes of explaining and showing the differences between L1 and L2. T2 said the following:
“Students have very limited exposure to the English language, so we tend to use Afaan Oromoo for vocabulary in order to explain the meaning of new words”... (T2).
The sampled teachers narrated the fact that some words are not clear in English and require translation into L1. T2 has also illustrated the notions as follows:
“Frankly speaking, students are weak in English that makes me more difficult to deliver lessons in English, and so I think using Afaan Oromoo in teaching English is important”… (T2).
The sampled teachers replied concerning the amount of L1 use depends on the type of lesson and the student's proficiency level. Teachers stated that students completely fail to understand the vocabulary and grammatical rules unless L1 is used. They think that lessons, such as grammar, need more L1 support than others do. Both teachers said the following:
Different lessons need different amounts of Afaan Oromoo. Some lessons need less Afaan Oromoo. Grammar lessons need more Afaan Oromoo. For example, speaking (conversations) do not need Afaan Oromoo. I use Afaan Oromoo in EFL classes on average for up to 20% of the lesson time depending on the situation. If students easily understand the lesson, I use fewer amounts or if the situation is difficult, more Afaan Oromoo is necessary. So, there is no constant use of L1 since it depends on the situation… ( T1).
“I use Afaan Oromoo between 15–20% of the lesson period. Using more than this amount may limit the students' English learning opportunities. Students should practice English repeatedly”… (T2).
Students’ English level of proficiency seems to be a key point in imagining the use of L1 in classrooms. The teacher participants stated that using L1 could help slow students. Moreover, allowing the L1 in the English classrooms is a significant teaching tool to motivate slow learners to participate in classroom activities. The teachers noted:
I have long experience in teaching English starting from grade one to eight. I believe students should be helped and encouraged to learn English and, as English teachers, we have to follow any technique to help them including using Afaan Oromoo… (T1).
When Afaan Oromoo is used, it clarifies students’ confusion… Therefore, I believe using Afaan Oromoo, in this case, is effective because using two languages (Afaan Oromoo and English) is believed to support slow students in their language learning process… (T2).
Moreover, for teachers, allowing L1 in the English classrooms is a significant teaching tool to motivate learners to participate in classroom activities. They approved the facilitating role of L1 in terms of motivation and stated that L1 helps the learners feel comfortable and confident by overcoming their language anxiety and therefore play a mediating role. Furthermore, they claimed that L1 should be used as a last resort. Both teachers narrated the following ideas:
If the student is a latecomer and knocks on the door being outside the class, the teacher has to ask Afaan Oromoo, why late. As an English language teacher, one should ask him/her self that how the students feel and we need to realize what is going on in the students’ minds…(T1).
I consider my learners should be helped and encouraged to learn English. Students are not free when they learn English, especially when speaking English. Afaan Oromoo reduces such inconveniences and develops students’ confidence in learning English… (T2).
The teachers claimed that L1 should not be excluded from EFL classrooms. They claimed that they used L1 for two main reasons: first as a teaching tool and second, for motivating learners. T1 narrated the following:
Prohibiting Afaan Oromoo in English classrooms may create a serious problem because learners were grown through this method. If you disallow the use of Afaan Oromoo, it may clash with English learning… Students cannot understand unless you integrate Afaan Oromoo into English teaching. Therefore, all these problems collectively create difficulty on ELT… (T1).
Question 2: Students’ beliefs about using L1 in English lessons
The students stated that they felt L1 was necessary for some reasons, the highest of which was the aspect of lack of understanding, as based on their own limited knowledge of English. The students stressed the importance of L1 in learning grammatical aspects and new vocabularies. They also pointed out that the L1 was important in teaching English language structure and clarifying instructions. They further highlighted that L1 was helpful in doing group work activities, and sometimes to discuss personal issues with teachers and classmates. The following are instances in which students want L1 to be used:
For example, one student said, “I don’t have sufficient English words to understand English lessons,” another student said “Because I find it difficult (without Afaan Oromoo),” and yet another stated, “one of the main reasons I use Afaan Oromoo is it helps me understand better.”
The findings show that the majority of students agreed on the idea of L1 inclusion in EFL classrooms, as it assisted with some functions: learning grammar and vocabulary; clarifying instructions; discussing in-group work activities and speaking about personal issues. The interviewed learners indicated that they needed the L1 to learn English grammar. The students stated that a lack of proper English grammar knowledge push them to shift to the L1. For example, S1 said:
“Knowing the Afaan Oromoo equivalent of an English grammar point helps us gain a better understanding of it. Using Afaan Oromoo facilitates learning grammar”… (S1).
Regarding clarifying instructions, student participants described the L1 as a learning tool that could help them to understand different language components and specifically to comprehend aspects related to classroom instructions. For instance, S2 said:
“English teachers should use Afaan Oromoo because not all students could understand their instructions if only English is used” (S2).
Similarly, S6 affirmed:
“Sometimes I could not understand some instructions in English. If English is only used, I feel confused and frustrated because I do not know what I should do or what my teacher asks for”…(S6).
The student participants also described the L1 as a valuable tool that helps them to understand group work activities. All the interviewed students claimed that they used the L1 when they were doing group or pair-work tasks. For example, S5 said:
“For me, it is a habit to speak in Afaan Oromoo while doing any pair or group works; Afaan Oromoo is very useful to understand the tasks”… (S5).
In addition to student interview results, the student questionnaire data shows that all students agreed in general (mean score > 3) that L1 was needed to be used in EFL classrooms. To Table 1, almost all students responded positively regarding the use of L1 in English classes. This shows that EFL students perceive the use of L1 as a useful facilitating tool in their English learning. A high percentage of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the usefulness of L1 in the English class.
The Table tells that almost all the students agreed that L1 would facilitate the language learning process. Using a one-sample t-test, the mean score was found to be M = 4.08, (SD = 0.88) for all items and it is significantly different (p = .000) from the test value of 3. The results of one sample statistics revealed that there is a statistically significant difference between students’ perceptions and the use of L1 in English language learning classrooms. In general, the results indicated that students perceived the use of L1 in the English classroom as useful because they believed it helped them to learn English better. Hence, it can be concluded that students hold significant positive perceptions of using Afaan Oromoo in the EFL classroom.
Items | Strongly Disagree(1) % | Disagree (2) % | Neutral (3) % | Agree (4) % | Strongly Agree(5) % | Mean | SD |
Q1 | 9.8 | 17.1 | 12.2 | 9.8 | 51.2 | 3.76 | 1.48 |
Q2 | 0 | 12.2 | 14.6 | 34.1 | 39 | 4.17 | 0.63 |
Q3 | 0 | 2.4 | 26.8 | 22 | 48.8 | 4.17 | 0.92 |
Q4 | 0 | 19.5 | 0 | 26.8 | 53.7 | 4.15 | 1.15 |
Q5 | 0 | 7.3 | 0 | 56.1 | 36.6 | 4.22 | 0.79 |
Q6 | 0 | 2.4 | 0 | 19.5 | 78 | 4.73 | 0.59 |
Q7 | 4.9 | 22 | 0 | 26.8 | 46.3 | 3.88 | 1.35 |
Q8 | 7.3 | 9.8 | 14.6 | 29.3 | 39 | 3.83 | 1.26 |
Q9 | 9.8 | 0 | 0 | 24.4 | 65.9 | 4.37 | 1.20 |
Q10 | 0 | 7.3 | 0 | 36.6 | 56.1 | 4.41 | 0.84 |
Q11 | 0 | 4.9 | 46.3 | 39 | 9.8 | 3.54 | 0.74 |
Q12 | 26.8 | 31.7 | 19.5 | 22 | 0 | 4.15 | 0.53 |
Q13 | 0 | 7.3 | 12.2 | 41.5 | 39 | 4.12 | 0.90 |
Q14 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 | 53.7 | 41.5 | 4.37 | 0.58 |
Q15 | 0 | 0 | 14.6 | 51.2 | 34.1 | 4.20 | 0.68 |
Q16 | 0 | 0 | 9.8 | 48.8 | 41.5 | 4.32 | 0.65 |
Q17 | 0 | 2.4 | 12.2 | 53.7 | 31.7 | 4.15 | 0.73 |
Q18 | 0 | 9.8 | 14.6 | 43.9 | 31.7 | 3.02 | 1.27 |
Q19 | 0 | 2.4 | 14.6 | 46.3 | 36.6 | 4.17 | 0.77 |
Q20 | 17.1 | 65.9 | 17.1 | 0 | 0 | 4.00 | 0.63 |
Total | 3.78 | 11.22 | 11.71 | 34.27 | 39.02 | 4.08 | .88 |
Overall, the students’ perspectives on the use of L1 in EFL classrooms could be attributed to almost unanimous agreement on using L1 in English classrooms. As can be seen from the above table, an average of 78% of students wanted L1 used in the class because they believe it facilitates English learning. In addition, the majority of the student participants obviously think that using L1 helps vocabulary learning; 36.6% of students agree and 56.1% strongly agree with Q.10, "I remember a vocabulary item easily when the teacher provides an L1 equivalent." Moreover, nearly 93% (92.7%) of the total respondents believe that they need their teachers to use L1 to learn vocabulary in English classes.