L1 English as a powerful tool in L2 Chinese classroom:
a sociocultural analysis
Ying Zhang
Student,
In foreign language
classroom, there is a tendency to prohibit the use of L1 and to completely avoid
L1 use in student interactions. Some arguments against using the first language
have been that it does not afford learners opportunity to use the target
language to produce comprehensible output and to negotiate meaning during
limited class time as well as that when the teacher uses the L1, it reduces the
amount of input and exposure in the L2 to the learners. There are also
arguments about language transfer and L1 interference. However, the L1 provide
essential cognitive support for attending and meaning-making. The use of L1 can
establish constructive interaction and encourage collaborative efforts among
learners to work together to achieve a common goal. Using the native language
in L2 context could reduce learner anxiety and create a more comfortable
learning environment and bring the learners’ cultural background knowledge into
the class. It can challenge students to perform higher level activities, hence
enhancing motivation, especially for low-proficiency learners.
The present study investigates
the elementary college-level L2 Chinese classroom interaction and explores the
role and functions of L1 English in L2 Chinese learning process within a
sociocultural perspective. Under a sociocultural analysis, the use of English
in collaborative interaction emerged as a means to create a social and
cognitive space in which learners were able to provide each other and
themselves with help through the Chinese learning process. The use of L1
English as a powerful critical mediation tool and a scaffolding device assisted
learners to gain control of the classroom talk and learners might have been
extending their zone of proximal development. Through the native language
English, the learners could think and self-regulate more quickly and were then
able to transfer their cognitive, metacognitive and social skills to Chinese as
a foreign language. Meanwhile, they could negotiate roles they are going to
take, or check their understanding or enact community members’ confirmation. In
this presentation I attempt to provide insight into how various features of the
L1 English used by learners play a strategic role as the learners jointly
attempt to make sense Chinese grammar and vocabulary. The present study argues
that judicious use of the L1 English in a Chinese classroom is in fact a useful
tool for novice Chinese learners and can indeed support Chinese learning and
use.