English Departments Students' Perspectives Toward the Role of First Language in Their Guided Writing

Abstract

Pro and cons of L1 use in L2 writing have been debated for many years. On the one hand, L1 was very advantageous to make L2 learning easier. On the other hand, L1 caused errors in L2 learning. However, L1 use was still questionable whether beginner learners needed their L1 to support L2 learning. Inspired by the pros and cons, this study was held to explore English Department students' perspectives toward the role of L1 in their guided writing. There were 15 English Department students of Satya Wacana University who have passed guided writing course. They were chosen randomly and they were interviewed using unstructured interview method. The finding showed students' positive responses toward L1 use. They used their L1 to generate idea, help vocabulary learning, develop content on a certain topic, and improve the quality of writing creatively. Despite the positive roles, the students often made grammatical errors due to L1 use