What are the disadvantages of using L1 in English classrooms?

[42tanawat055]

There are some disadvantages of using L1 in English classrooms. One of them is related to language interference. Personally, I think English teachers should reject using L1 or the mother tongue in the classroom because using the mother tongue can cause interference to the English language acquisition process. This refers to the negative transfer of mother tongue into English which can result in errors in many aspects such as semantic and grammatical ones.

Tanawat 055 4EN

[42Surayuth069]

I have always thought that it is not a wise idea to use students' mother tongue in an EFL classroom. This is because students cannot learn better when they need to switch back and forth from their mother tongue to English. This really annoys them, and will actually demotivate them! They tend to be unmotivated to learn. Instead, it has been proved more effective to use body language and visuals when it comes to teaching English to students in an EFL context. It is normally known as the CLT approach or Communicative Language Teaching!

Surayuth 069 4EN

[42Audchariya041]

Students may feel that the only way they would understand anything the teacher says is when it has been translated, or they use their mother tongue even when they are perfectly capable of expressing the same idea in English. This can significantly reduce students’ opportunities to practice English, and students fail to realise that using English in classroom activities is essential to improve their language skills.

Audchariya 041 4EN

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