English Teachers' Use of Learners' L1 (Arabic) in College Classrooms in Kuwait

Abstract

This study investigated English teachers' use of learners' L1 (Arabic) in college classrooms in Kuwait. The purpose of the study was three-fold: (1) to describe the functions for which L1 was employed by the teachers, (2) to explore the affective, sociolinguistic, and psycholinguistic factors that may have led teachers to use L1 in L2 teaching, and (3) to measure the teachers' attitudes toward using L1 in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). 60 EFL teachers at the Language Center in a college in Kuwait agreed to participate in the study. Data collection methods included recorded interviews and a grounded survey that was derived from the data of the interviews. Data analysis methods utilized Ethnograph 6.0, a software program, in order to search for common patterns of L1 use in the teachers' interviews. Analysis of the survey utilized the Microsoft Excel Software Program to generate the means, percentages, and standard deviations for each of the survey items. The survey results indicated that the teachers used L1 in L2 classrooms as a teaching tool and for classroom management. The participating teachers also indicated that affective, sociolinguistic, and psycholinguistic factors have contributed to their L1 use in L2 teaching. However, the results also showed that the participating teachers exhibited mostly negative attitudes toward L1 use in L2 teaching. This contradiction between classroom practice and attitudes entailed implications for language teacher education programs to better equip EFL bound graduates with appropriate teaching strategies and classroom techniques to use L1 in appropriate ways in the EFL classroom.

Teacher’s Code Switching in EFL Undergraduate Classrooms in Libya: Functions and Perceptions

“…Al-Nofaie (2010), for instance, found that the teachers and students had positive attitudes toward the use of L1 for certain functions and reasons. Alrabah et al (2016) also revealed that teachers used L1 to manage classroom activities with positive frame of learning outcomes.…”

“…A lot of research has been conducted in different contexts to measure the classroom participants' perceptions on CS (Al-Nofaie, 2010;Alrabah et al, 2016;Bilgin, 2016;Ibrahim, Shah, & Armia, 2013;Leoanak & Amalo, 2018;Suteja & Purwanti, 2017). The overall findings revealed that both teachers and students hold positive attitudes toward using L1 to support L2 teaching and learning process, although Cheng (2013) observed that teachers go to classes with a negative attitude toward CS; despite this, its usage is still prevalent in the class.…”

“…Relatively few studies were published on classroom CS in Arabic contexts, where Arabic is the learners' L1 (Al-Nofaie, 2010;Alrabah, Wu, Alotaibi, & Aldaihani, 2016;Alshammari, 2011;Asker & Martin-Jones, 2013;Bahous, Nabhani, & Bacha, 2014). The findings of such studies showed inconsistency in the classroom participants' attitudes toward using learners' L1, Arabic, in EFL classrooms (e.g., Al-Nofaie, 2010;Mahmoud, 2012).…”

Unwelcome? English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in the Arabian Gulf

“…Kuwait is another Gulf country that has been providing EFL instruction since 1994, as the government believes that it leads to better learning outcomes and advancement (Alrabah, Wu, Alotaibi, & Aldaihani, 2016). Like Oman, English in Kuwait begins in the primary level and continues on to higher learning.…”

Foreign Language Learners’ Attitudes and Perceptions of L1 Use in L2 Classroom

“…The only-English approach is implemented strictly in some English programs regardless of learners' level in English. Based on previous studies like the ones mentioned above and other studies in the literature (Swain & Lapkin, 2000;Khresheh, 2012;Alrabah et al, 2016), and based on the fact that students and teachers, not administrators, are the best ones to decide on what language should be used in the classroom (McMillian & Rivers, 2011), this study aimed to examine university Preparatory Year learners' perception of L1 use in English classes and the relationship between their perspectives and proficiency level in L2. Thus, the research questions addressed in this study were as follows:…”