The Role of First Language in Teaching English to Young Learners

Abstract

Using L1 in L2 teaching has been debated for years. Some said that using L1 would damage the L2 learning (Chambers, 1991; Jones, 1991; Macdonald, 2003), but some said that using L1 was essential (Butzkamm, 2003; Auerbach, 1993). L1 was used to manage the class, to define new vocabulary, to give instruction, to check the students‟ understanding, to motivate the students, to build interaction or solidarity, and to save the class time. This study was conducted to know when and why kindergarten teachers used L1 in their teachings. The participants of this study were two kindergarten teachers who taught in a bilingual kindergarten. The data was collected for this study by using stimulated recall interview. In addition, this study was analyzed qualitatively. The findings showed that both teachers used L1 to manage the class, motivate, give instruction, save the teaching time, define new words, check the students‟ understanding, and to build solidarity with the students. Apart from those findings, in this study the teachers also shared their reasons why they used L1.