Page 266 - Beyond Methods

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Ensuring social relevance
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tapping the linguistic and cultural knowledge that the learners bring to class;
managing linguistic and cultural identity in informal and friendly ways;
giving clear directions in class thereby reducing the chances of mismatch between teacher intention and learner interpretation (cf. Chapter 4);
providing simple explanations so that learners can easily grasp certain concepts that are being addressed; and
personalizing routine classroom talk and topic management (cf. Chapter 5).
In short, the use of L1 helps learners make the connection be- tween the home language and the target language, thereby ensuring social relevance to classroom aims and activities.
It is therefore pedagogically unsound not to use a rich resource like the home language of the learners whenever possible and ap- propriate. Elsa Auerbach (1993) cites evidence from both research and practice to show that the use of the L1 in early L2 classes is crit- ical not only to later success but also to a smooth transition to the target language. What she points out about the American context is also true of other contexts, that is, the insistence of using English only in the classroom “rests on unexamined assumptions, originates in the political agenda of dominant groups, and serves to reinforce existing relations of power” (p.12).
In fact, sometimes learners themselves might resist any dog- matic insistence on the target language only policy in the classroom. Marilyn Martin-Jones and Monica Heller (1996, p. 7) report an in- cident from a French-language minority school in Canada. In one grade 8 classroom, a student approached the teacher and said, “Can I have the stapler, Monsieur?” In an attempt to uphold the official language policy of the school, the teacher replied, “Parlez Français” (Speak French). The student looked at the clock and said, “It’s not nine o’clock yet, Monsieur!”—indicating that the class had not started yet. It appears that by making a structural distinction be- tween class time and “other time,” this learner is actually register- ing her resentment over the French-only policy of the school.
Thus, the case for using L1 in the L2 classroom is quite strong. What would, indeed, complement the appropriate use of L1 in the L2 classroom is the design and use of socially relevant teaching materials.