L1 USE IN L2 TEACHING: THE AMOUNT, FUNCTIONS, AND PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE USE OF L1 IN TURKISH PRIMARY SCHOOL CONTEXT

Abstract

The employment of the mother tongue or first language (L1) in foreign (FL) or secondlanguage (L2) teaching is a controversial issue and still continues to take considerableattention from researchers. Hence, the current study attempted to shed light into the use of L1in Turkish EFL classes. In particular, it focused on the amount and the functions of L1 usedby primary school EFL teachers in Turkish context. Moreover, it also aimed to investigateEFL teachers’ perceptions towards the use of L1 and compare it with their actual classroompractices. Three EFL teachers participated in the study. The data of the study were collectedthrough observations and semi-structured interviews. The data of the study were analyzedboth qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings revealed that the three Turkish EFLteachers used comparable amount of L1 in their classes, ranging from 21% to 30% of allclassroom instruction. The current study seemed to indicate that Turkish EFL teachers wereinclined to use more L1 in lower grades. The findings also revealed that EFL teachers usedTurkish in 9 different functions such as giving instruction, translation of unknown words,classroom management, checking understanding, eliciting, drawing attention, givingfeedback, grammar instruction, and translation of sentences, respectively. The results alsodemonstrated that the perceptions of EFL teachers towards the use of L1 comply with theiractual practices with minor differences.