THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (L1) IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: PERSPECTIVES OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND
STUDENTS
A Research Paper
Submitted to the English Education Department of Faculty of Language and Arts Education of Indonesia University of Education as a Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
By Nizar Ibnus
1002702
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
The Use of Mother Tongue (L1) in English as a
Foreign Language Classroom: Perspectives of
Junior High School Teachers and Students
Oleh Nizar Ibnus
Sebuah skripsi yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Sarjana pada Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni
© Nizar Ibnus 2014 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Juni 2014
Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang
Skripsi ini tidak boleh diperbanyak seluruhnya atau sebagian
PAGE OF APPROVAL
The Use of L1 in EFL Classroom: Perspectives of Junior High School Teachers and Students
A Research Paper By
Nizar Ibnus 1002702
Approved by
Supervisor I
Prof. Dr. H. Didi Suherdi, M.Ed. NIP. 196211011987121001
Supervisor II
Dra. Hj. Sri Setyarini, M.A.,Ling. NIP. 19631229199002201
Head of English Education Department Faculty of Language and Arts Education
Indonesia University of Education
Nizar Ibnus,2014
THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (L1) IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: PERSPECTIVES OF
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
1
ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the use of bahasa Indonesia as mother tongue (L1) in the classroom and to examine teachers and students’ perspectives on it. Forty six students of grade seven from two different classes and two English teachers in a junior high school in Bandung were involved as the participants. This study employed qualitative method, and the data were gained through classroom observation, interview to the teachers, and questionnaire done by the students. The findings reveal that the use of bahasa Indonesia may facilitate learning especially in elaborating grammar rules, giving instructions, checking understanding, explaining new vocabulary, and making jokes. The teachers and the students’ perspectives on the use of bahasa Indonesia in the classroom are generally positive since the teachers in the interview claimed that bahasa Indonesia may enhance students’ understanding, and the central tendencies of students’ answers on the questionnaire are mostly above 61%.
Keywords: L1 (Indonesian language), L2 (English), teacher and students’ perspectives
ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui penggunaan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa Ibu (L1) di dalam kelas dan mengetahui perspektif guru dan siswa mengenainya. Empat puluh enam siswa kelas tujuh dari dua kelas yang berbeda dan dua guru bahasa Inggris di Sekolah Menengah Pertama di Bandung terlibat sebagai partisipan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif, dan data diperoleh melalui observasi kelas, wawancara guru, dan kuesioner yang dikerjakan oleh siswa. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan bahasa Indonesia dapat memfasilitasi pembelajaran khususnya dalam menjelaskan grammar, memberi instruksi, mengecek pemahaman, menjelaskan kosakata baru, dan bercanda. Persfektif guru dan siswa terhadap penggunaan bahasa Indonesia di dalam kelas umumnya positif karena guru pada saat wawancara menyatakan bahwa bahasa Indonesia dapat meningkatkan pemahaman siswa, dan central tendency dari jawaban kuesioner siswa umumnya diatas 61%.
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PERSPECTIVES OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE OF APPROVAL
STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION ... i
PREFACE ... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... iii
ABSTRACT ... v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...vi
LIST OF TABLES ... x
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of ghe Sgudy ... 1
1.2 Research Quesgions ... 3
1.3 Purposes of ghe Sgudy... 3
1.4 Scope of ghe Sgudy ... 4
1.5 Significance of ghe Sgudy ... 4
1.6 Organizagion of ghe Sgudy ... 4
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2.2 Argumengs for ghe Use of L1 ... 8
2.3 Argumengs Againsg ghe Use of L1 ... 17
2.4 The Sgudies of L1 ... 19
2.4.1 The Sgudies aboug ghe Use of L1 in Teaching ... 19
2.4.2 The Sgudies Focusing on Teachers and Sgudengs’ Perspecgives on ghe use of L1in L2 Teaching ... 22
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Meghodology ... 24
3.1.1 Research Design ... 24
3.1.2 Research Sige ... 25
3.1.3 Research Pargicipangs ... 25
3.1.3.1 School Profiles ... 25
3.1.3.2 Teacher profiles ... 26
3.2 Daga Collecgion ... 26
3.2.1 Preliminary Sgudy ... 26
3.2.2 Observagion ... 27
3.2.3 Ingerview ... 27
3.2.4 Quesgionnaire... 28
3.3 Daga Analysis ... 28
3.3.1 Analyzing Observagion and Ingerview Daga ... 28
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3.3.1.2 Pre-coding and coding ... 29
3.3.1.3 Growing ideas ... 29
3.3.1.4 Ingerpreging ghe daga and drawing conclusion ... 29
3.3.2 Analysis of Quesgionnaire Daga ... 30
3.3.2.1 Calculaging ghe Likerg Scale ... 30
3.4 Clarificagion of Terms ... 32
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 The Use of Bahasa Indonesia by ghe Teachers in ghe Classroom ... 34
4.1.1 The Amoung of L1 Used in EFL Classroom ... 34
4.1.2 The Congexg of L1 Use in ghe EFL Classroom ... 37
4.1.2.1 Explaining New Vocabulary ... 38
4.1.2.2 Giving Insgrucgions go ghe Sgudengs ... 40
4.1.2.3 Explaining Grammar Rules ... 41
4.1.2.4 Checking Sgudengs’ Undersganding ... 43
4.1.2.5 Making Jokes ... 44
4.2 Discussion of ghe Ingerview Analysis Resulg... 45
4.2.1 The Teachers’ Reasons for Using L1 in ghe Classroom ... 45
4.2.2 The Frequency of L1 Used by ghe Teachers ... 47
4.2.3 The Funcgions of L1 Use in ghe Classroom ... 48
4.3 Findings from ghe Sgudengs Quesgionnaire ... 50
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in ghe Classroom ... 51
4.3.2 Sgudengs’ Preference aboug ghe Use of L1 by ghemselves
in ghe Classroom ... 62
4.3.3 The Sgudengs’ Aggigude goward ghe Use of L1 as
Medium of Teaching and Learning Process... 66
4.4 Summary ... 70
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusions ... 71
5.2 Recommendagions... 72
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 74
Nizar Ibnus,2014
THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (L1) IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM:
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Nizar Ibnus,2014
THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (L1) IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM:
PERSPECTIVES OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu CHAPTER I
INTRODECTION
This chapter provides information about the background of the study
which describes a brief overview of the issue of the L1 use in EFL classroom, the
research questions, the purposes of the study, the scope of the study, the
significance of the study, and the organization of the study.
1.1 Background of the Study
The issue of the use of mother tongue (L1) in English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) classrooms has been debated for years (Erton, 2009). L1 is one
of several sources of error in second language acquisition (Krashen, 1981), and
using L1 too much could deprive the learners of the target language or second
language (L2) valuable input (Ellis, 1984 as cited in Primary, 2012). Thus,
Turnbull and Dailey-O’Cain (2009) argue that the use of L1 should be avoided in
teaching target language to make effective instruction and not to interfere
learners’ target language development (as cited in Primary, 2012). Moreover,
Auerbach (1993) states that a number of teachers hold the belief that utilizing L1
in the class will impede progress in the acquisition of English, devising games,
signal, and penalty system to prevent the students from utilizing their L1. It is
supported by Weinberg’s (1990) article in which it is written that one teacher in
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or Spanish or Mandarin or Vietnamese or Russian or Farsi, you pay me 25 cents. I
can be rich.” (as cited in Bouangeune, 2009, p.1).
In contrast to the arguments above, a research conducted by Schweers
(1999) reported that most of the EFL students want to utilize L1 in the classroom
because they believe L1 could facilitate learning. Moreover, Atkinson (1987)
suggests that there are also several uses of L1 in the classroom: elicit language,
checking comprehension, giving instructions, enhancing co-operation among
learners, promoting discussions of classroom methodology, improving
presentation and reinforcement of language, checking for sense, testing, and
development of useful learning strategies (as cited in Nitiswari, 2012).
According to Atkinson (1987), Schweers (1999), and Nation (2003) there
are seven reasons why L1 should be employed as a tool in the language
classroom. First, communicating in L1 in a classroom is more natural especially
for those who have the same L1. Second, utilizing L1 is easier and more
communicatively effective to use. Third, L1 can help to move the task along by
establishing joint understanding of the text and to manage the task. Fourth, L1
may assist teacher to facilitate classroom activities, particularly for low
proficiency students and complex tasks. Fifth, L1 allows students to focus their
attention on vocabulary and grammatical items. Sixth, L1 can provide a
foundation for learners on which to build L2 structures, especially during
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validates the student’s live experiences, allowing them to express themselves (as
cited in Bouangeune, 2009).
In Indonesian context, where English is used as a foreign language,
students have less opportunity to practice English outside the class, so the main
exposure they get is only in the English classroom. In one hand, students should
maximize to practice English in the classroom, but in the other hand bahasa
Indonesia is still excessively used in the classroom.
Considering the above–mentioned situation and also the fact that the use
of L1 in EFL classroom has not been excessively observed, therefore, this study
tries to investigate the realization of the use of bahasa Indonesia in EFL classroom
and teachers and students’ perspectives on the use of bahasa Indonesia in EFL
classroom. The findings hopefully will give benefits to the enlightenment of the
use of bahasa Indonesia in teaching English and help English teachers with useful
information about a proper way in utilizing L1 in teaching process.
1.2 Research Questions
This study attempts to answer the following questions:
1. What is the realization of the use of L1 in EFL classroom?
2. What are the perspectives of teachers and students on the use of L1 in
EFL classroom?
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In relation to the background above, this study is intended to meet the
following purposes:
1. To explore the realization of the use of L1 in EFL classroom
2. To investigate teachers and students’ perspectives on the use of L1 in
EFL classroom
1.4Scope of the Study
This is a case study which concerns about the realization of L1 use in
EFL classroom as well as the teachers and students’ perspectives.
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study is intended to fill the gap of related studies which are
dominated by studies about L1 to EFL learners who are adult and higher level
students. This study attempts to be more specifically investigates the use of L1 in
teaching English to junior high school students. The recent research about L1 in
teaching English to junior high school students was conducted by Tsukimi (2012)
in Japanese context. Inspired by that study, the researcher attempts to investigate
the same topic, but in different context which is Indonesia. This study is also
expected to enrich the literature of the use of L1 in teaching English. Furthermore,
practically the finding will be beneficial for teachers to utilize L1 properly to
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This paper is organized into five chapters. Chapter one provides
background of the research, research questions, purposes of the study, scope of
the study, significance of the study and organization of the study. Chapter two
presents literature review of the research. Chapter three discusses the research
methodology of the study which involves methodology, data collection, data
analysis and clarification of terms. Meanwhile, findings and discussions are
presented in chapter four. At the last, this paper is concluded in chapter five which
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH TETHODOLOGY
This chapter provides the procedure of doing the study. There are four
sections that will be discussed in this chapter. The first section is the research
questions. The second section is the research methodology which involves the
method used and how the study is carried out. The research site, participant and
data collection will be discussed in the third section. Meanwhile, the last section is
about analysis of the data and the interpretation.
3.1 Tethodology
3.1.1 Research Design
Qualitative study is employed in this research to gather a clearer picture
and deeper understanding of the use of L1 in EFL classroom as well as teachers
and students’ perspective on it. Qualitative study, as stated by Fraenkel and
Wallen (2006), refers to research study where the researcher intends to examine
the quality of relationships, situation, activities, or materials, and then gives
holistic description in detail of everything that goes on in that particular situation.
In addition, the type of qualitative methodology used is descriptive case study.
According to Yin (2003), descriptive case study is usually used to describe an
intervention or phenomenon and the real life context in which it occurred (as cited
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3.1.2 Research Site
This research was undertaken in a public junior high school in Bandung,
West Java. The school was chosen because of the practicality and familiarity. The
researcher was teaching in the school as PPL (Field Experience Program) teacher,
thus the researcher had been familiar with the English teachers and the students.
Therefore, it was expected that there will be natural performance in the
instructional process during this study (Emilia, 2005).
3.1.3 Research Partici3ants
The sample selection of this research was held by means of purposive
sampling, where the site or individual was intentionally chosen from which the
researcher can learn the most, understand and gain insight about the phenomena
(Creswell, 1994). The participants involved were two English teachers and two
classes of seventh graders consisting of 29 students and 27 students. There were
12 male students and 17 female students in class A, while in class B there were 14
male students and 13 female students. The classes selected were the classes where
the teachers utilize L1 during the class, and were accessible. There was not any
difference between classroom one and the other. Moreover, the seventh graders
were chosen because they were not focusing on National Examination (UN), so
hopefully the research will not disturb the preparation of the examination.
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The school where the research was carried out is a former RSBI (Pilot
International Standard School) and one of the oldest schools in Bandung. English
in seventh grade is taught twice a week, in which a meeting consists of two
learning hours or 80 minutes.
3.1.3.2Teacher 3rofiles
Two English teachers who were involved as the participants in this study
have different level of educational background and years of teaching experience.
Teacher A was graduated from English Education Department in a state university
in Bandung for diploma degree. She continued her study in the same department
and university to get bachelor degree. She has been teaching in the school since
2005 up to present. Meanwhile, Teacher B was also graduated from English
Education Department of a state university in Bandung for bachelor degree. To
get master degree she continued studying in Management Department in a private
university. She has been teaching in the school for eleven years.
3.2 Data Collection
The data gained in this research were collected through classroom
observation, interview to the teachers, and questionnaire done by the students. The
procedure of the data collection is elaborated below.
3.2.1 Preliminary Study
A pilot study was carried out in advance before the real study began. This
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subject about the use of L1 in EFL classroom. The data needed were significantly
found.
3.2.2 Observation
In order to answer the first question; what is the realization of the use of
L1 in EFL classroom? Observation was carried out in the classrooms selected
during the English lessons. Silverman (2006) states that observation gathers
first-hand information about social processes in a naturally occurring situation.
Merriam (1998) also points out that one of the reasons why an investigator gathers
data through observation is to observe things which may lead to understanding the
context.
Due to different activities and information gained, total of observation for
each class is different. Class A was observed three times, while class B was only
observed two times. The lessons were video recorded to help the researcher in
examining the data. Note taking was also employed during the observation to help
the researcher to highlight important things. Then, the data gained were
transcribed to be analyzed in the next step.
3.2.3 Interview
The interview data aimed to investigate the teachers’ perspectives on the
use of L1 in the classroom. The form of interview was open-ended question and
less structured. Less structured interview is suitable for case study research, where
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investigate deep information (Hancock & Algozzine, 2006). Besides, to validate
the accuracy of the research’ finding, researcher tested the finding by employing
member checking. According to Creswell (1994) and Merriam (1988), member
checking is the process where the researcher takes the research findings back to
the participant and asks the participant to check the accuracy of the account, in
writing or in an interview.
3.2.4 Questionnaire
Questionnaire was employed in this research to find out the students’
perspective on the use of L1 in the classroom. Questionnaire is the most common
instrument used in descriptive method. It is extensively employed to collect the
data about phenomena that are not directly observable, such as inner experience,
opinion, perception, values, interest (Alwasilah, 2009). To ease the respondents,
the questionnaire was in bahasa Indonesia. In addition, the questionnaire was in
the form of Likert scale and there were 20 statements about the use of L1 in it.
Likert scale is very easy constructed and scored for measuring perception or
attitudes (Linn and Gronlund, 1995). The Likert Scale consisted of value from 1
to 5 which 5 was the most positive one.
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Since the study was conducted through qualitative method, the data
collection and analysis were simultaneously employed. The data were transcribed,
classified and interpreted.
3.3.1 Analyzing Observation and Interview Data
The data gained from observation and interview were analyzed using the
following steps from Dornyei (2007).
3.3.1.1Transcribing the data
The recordings gained from observation and interview were transcribed to
know thoroughly about the amount and functions of L1 in the classroom. All the
data gained were retold, including nonverbal aspect in video tapes into a textual
form. Then, the transcripts were condensed into briefer statements to enrich the
main sense of what was said (Kvale, 1996) and were categorized by using
thematic data analysis.
3.3.1.2Pre-coding and coding
After all of the data were transcribed, the researcher did the pre-coding
step in which the researcher read all the text to get the general sense, and reflected
on them. Then, the researcher highlighted the texts and labeled it or it is said as
coding. The process of coding helped the researcher to easily identify, retrieves
and groups the data.
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To develop main theme of the research, the researcher tried to grow ideas
by preparing notes, transcript, and data display. This process helped the researcher
to find the answer of research questions.
3.3.1.4Inter3reting the data and drawing conclusion
The final step was that the data were interpreted based on the research
The data gained from the questionnaire were calculated using Likert scale,
in which the steps were: scoring, finding out the score of the answer, calculating
the central tendency of the answer, and classifying the average percentage. Those
steps were done in order to make the statistical number (Ockert, 2005). The
following is the elaboration of the calculation:
a. Scoring
To score the Likert scale, each answer was labeled with value from 1 to 5.
Below is the example of the scoring.
Table 3.1 The Scoring System of the Questionnaire
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Table 3.2 Exam3le of Statements in this Research
b. Finding out the score of the answer
To find out the score, the frequencies of the answer multiply by the value
of each answer.
Setuju Kurang setuju Setuju Sangat Setuju
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c. Calculating the central tendency of the answer
Calculating the central tendency of the answer employs the formula below:
P = ₒx 100%
Notes:
P : Percentage
fₒ : The total value of answer
n : The ideal score of the highest value
(Sudjana, 1984 as cited in Nitiswary, 2012)
The calculation of the central tendency of the answer is below.
P = 245300 x 100% = 81.67%
d. Classifying the average percentage
The last step was to classify the average percentage based on the criteria
below.
Table 3.3
Percentage of Central Tendency and its Inter3retation
Percentage of Central Tendency Inter3retation
0% - 20% Very weak
21% - 40% Weak
41% - 60% Enough
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81% - 100% Very strong
(Akdon, 2008 as cited in Nitiswary, 20012)
The interpretation of score percentage was made to make description of
the data more systematical (Ockert, 2005) and to classify the tendency of the
answer.
3.4 Clarification of Terms
In order to avoid misinterpretation, some terms are clarified as follows:
a. English as a Foreign Language or EFL: The study of English by people
who live in place in which English is not used as a means of first language
communication. In such a setting, the students have few chances to be
exposed to English for communication outside classroom. (Gebhard, 2006
as cited in Santoso, 2010).
b. First language or L1: A person’s mother tongue or the language acquired
first. In multilingual communities, however, where a child may gradually
shift from the main use of one language to the main use of another, first
language may refer to the language the child feel most comfortable using.
(Richards et al., 1985 as cited in Primary, 2012).
c. Perspective: A way of thinking about something, especially one which is
influenced by the type of person you are or by your experiences. (Harper
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter discusses conclusions and recommendations of the study
based on the research questions proposed in chapter one.
5.1 Conclusions
Based on the data analysis results and discussions of the findings, some
conclusions can be drawn as follows:
Regarding the first research question; what is the realization of the use of
L1 in EFL classroom?, this study reveals that the use of bahasa Indonesia in the
classroom does not hinder learning. Both teachers utilized bahasa Indonesia
almost half of the whole teaching (in average, teacher A utilized 55.20% of
English and 44.80% of bahasa Indonesia, while teacher B used 51.96% of English
and 48.05% of bahasa Indonesia). This finding is supported by the data from
interview saying that bahasa Indonesia is needed in the learning because the
students are still seventh graders or in the lower level, in which they hardly
understand what the teacher says in English. However, the amount of the use of
bahasa Indonesia is contradictory to what Atkinson (1987) has suggested that a
ratio of 5% native language and 95 % of the target language may be more
profitable (as cited in Nitiswary, 2012). Meanwhile, another result from the
Nizar Ibnus,2014
THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (L1) IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM:
PERSPECTIVES OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
several functions, those are: to explain vocabulary, to give instruction, to elaborate
difficult concept or grammar, to check for understanding, and to make jokes.
These functions confirm the studies by Auerbach (1993), Cook (2001) and
Nitiswary (2012).
As regards the second research question; what are the perspectives of
teachers and students on the use of L1 in EFL classroom?, the study proves that
the teachers and the students have the same positive attitude toward the use of
bahasa Indonesia in the classroom. This finding is supported by the interview
result referring that the reason both teachers utilized bahasa Indonesia in the
classroom is to make students more understand the learning material or the
instructions given. While the questionnaire data reveals that most of central
tendencies of the student’s answers are above 61% which means that the students
have strong positive attitude toward the use of L1 in the classroom.
5.2 Recommendations
Considering the conclusion of the study, some recommendations for
English teacher and further research are proposed below.
First, for English teacher, regardless the benefits of using L1 as stated
above, teacher should maximize the use of the target language (English) and
minimize the use of the mother tongue or L1 (bahasa Indonesia) in the classroom
because too much using L1 may cause over reliance on it (Polio, 1994), and
Nizar Ibnus,2014
THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (L1) IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM:
PERSPECTIVES OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
should encourage students to talk in English during the class, even though they
still have many mistakes. This is important for them in order to build their self
esteem in practicing English.
Second, for further research, since the use of L1 by the students in the
classroom has not been much observed, it would be better to conduct more
investigation on the students’ use of L1 in the classroom. The finding will be
Nizar Ibnus,2014
THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (L1) IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: PERSPECTIVES OF
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu BIBLIOGRAPHY
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