Volume 5.

Issue 2
Article 1
2003. In ASIAN EFL Journal 5:2.
The role of the first language in foreign language learning
Author
Paul Nation
Bio:
Paul Nation teaches in the School of Linguistics and Alied Language Studies at
!ictoria "ni#ersit$ of %ellington& Ne' (ealand. )e has taught in Indonesia& *hailand&
the "nited States& Finland& and Jaan. )is secialist interests are language teaching
+ethodolog$ and #oca,ular$ learning. )is latest ,oo- is Learning !oca,ular$ in
Another Language u,lished ,$ .a+,ridge "ni#ersit$ Press /20001.
The role of the first language in foreign language learning
Paul Nation
!ictoria "ni#ersit$ of %ellington& Ne' (ealand
Second language use in the foreign language classroo+ needs to ,e +a2i+ised
'here#er ossi,le& ,$ encouraging its use and ,$ using it for classroo+
+anage+ent. )o'e#er& research sho's that the first language has a s+all ,ut
i+ortant role to la$ in co++unicating +eaning and content. *his role is i+ortant
across all four strands of a course.
In a 'ell ,alanced foreign or second language course& there are roughl$ e3ual
oortunities for learning through the four strands of
0 +eaning focused inut 4 learning through listening and reading
2 +eaning focused outut 4 learning through sea-ing and 'riting
3 language focused learning 4 learning through deli,erate attention to language
features
5 fluenc$ de#elo+ent 4 learning through 'or-ing 'ith -no'n +aterial across the
four s-ills at a higher than usual le#el of erfor+ance.
*hese strands re3uire certain conditions to al$ and these are outlined fro+ a
#oca,ular$ ersecti#e in *a,le 0 /Nation 20001.
L2 use
6esearch has sho'n that the first language of learners can la$ a useful role in so+e
of these strands and the ai+ of this article is to loo- at so+e of this research and to
clearl$ identif$ those arts of a language course 'here there is #alue in using the L0.
7efore doing this& let us loo- ,riefl$ at 'a$s of increasing the use of the L2.
%here learners ha#e little oortunit$ to +eet and use the L2 outside the classroo+&
it is #er$ i+ortant that L2 use is +a2i+ised in the classroo+. 8ne o,#ious 'a$ to
do this is carr$ out classroo+ +anage+ent in the L2& English. .lassroo+
+anage+ent in#ol#es things li-e telling the class 'hat to do /ta-e out $our ,oo-s&
turn to age 91& controlling ,eha#iour /,e 3uiet1& e2laining acti#ities /get into
airs1. *his re3uires a little ,it of careful thought ,$ the teacher so that the
#oca,ular$ and structures used in the language of classroo+ +anage+ent are also
generall$ useful. If the use of English in classroo+ +anage+ent is done in a
lanned& consistent 'a$& then classroo+ +anage+ent can ,e a #er$ effecti#e
oortunit$ for learning through +eaning focused inut. A #er$ useful iece of
classroo+4,ased research 'ould ,e to identif$ through o,ser#ation the functions and
for+s of the language of classroo+ +anage+ent& and then de#ise a classified list of
useful sentences that +a-e use of generall$ high fre3uenc$ 'ords and gra++atical
structures. In this 'a$ the role of the L0 in classroo+ +anage+ent can ,e +ini+i:ed
and the role of the L2 increased.
In classroo+s 'here the learners all share the sa+e L0 or national language& there is
a tendenc$ for tas-s 'hich should ,e done in the L2 such as con#ersation acti#ities&
discussion of intensi#e reading& rearation for 'riting etc to ,e done in the L0.
*here are +an$ reasons for this L0 use. Firstl$ it is +ore natural to use the L0 'ith
others 'ho ha#e the sa+e L0. Secondl$& it is easier and +ore co++unicati#el$
effecti#e to use the L0& and thirdl$& using the L2 can ,e a source of e+,arrass+ent
articularl$ for sh$ learners and those 'ho feel the$ are not #er$ roficient in the L2.
*o'ards the end of this article 'e 'ill loo- at a range of otions for o#erco+ing this
reluctance to use the L2& ,ecause as a general olic$ it is i+ortant to ha#e strong
strands of L2 +eaning focused use and fluenc$ de#elo+ent in a course.
*here are ho'e#er so+e ti+es 'hen use of the L0 can ha#e #er$ ositi#e effects on
learning and 'e 'ill no' loo- at these in relation to the four strands.
First language use and meaning focused inut and outut
;eaning focused tas-s can carr$ a hea#$ cogniti#e load. Not onl$ do learners ha#e to
focus on 'hat to sa$ or 'hat is ,eing said& the$ also ha#e to focus on ho' to sa$ it
or ho' it is ,eing said. La+eta4*ufuga /0<<51 e2a+ined the effects of ha#ing
learners discuss a tas- in their first language ,efore the$ had to carr$ it out in
'riting in the second language. *hat is& the$ had the oortunit$ to full$ understand
the content of the tas- through the +ediu+ of their first language& ,efore the$
erfor+ed the 'ritten tas- in English. *he first language discussion of the tas- had
so+e interesting features. Firstl$& the learners 'ere all #er$ acti#el$ in#ol#ed in
co+ing to gris 'ith the ideas. Secondl$& the first language discussion included 3uite
a lot of the second language #oca,ular$ 'hich 'ould ,e used in the later tas-. *hus
the discussion not onl$ heled learners to get on to of the content& ,ut it also
heled the+ gain control of rele#ant L2 #oca,ular$ in a #er$ suorti#e L0 conte2t.
=night /0<<>1 also +ade a si+ilar finding. As a result& the learners 'ho did the
rearator$ L0 discussion in grous did +uch ,etter on the L2 'ritten tas- than
other learners 'ho did rearator$ L2 discussion e#en though that discussion 'as in
the sa+e language as the su,se3uent 'ritten tas-. *here is thus a useful role for the
L0 in heling learners gain the -no'ledge needed to reach a higher le#el of L2
erfor+ance. %hene#er a teacher feels that a +eaning ,ased L2 tas- +ight ,e
,e$ond the caa,ilities of the learners& a s+all a+ount of L0 discussion can hel
o#erco+e so+e of the o,stacles.
First language use and language focused learning
*here are nu+erous 'a$s of con#e$ing the +eaning of an un-no'n 'ord. *hese
include a definition in the second language& a de+onstration& a icture or a diagra+&
a real o,?ect& L2 conte2t clues& or an L0 translation. In ter+s of the accurac$ of
con#e$ing +eaning& none of these 'a$s is intrinsicall$ ,etter than an$ of the others.
It all deends on the articular 'ord concerned. )o'e#er& studies co+aring the
effecti#eness of #arious +ethods for learning al'a$s co+e u 'ith the result that an
L0 translation is the +ost effecti#e /Lado& 7ald'in and Lo,o 0<>9@ ;ishi+a 0<>9@
Laufer and Sh+ueli 0<<91. *his is ro,a,l$ ,ecause L0 translations are usuall$ clear&
short and fa+iliar& 3ualities 'hich are #er$ i+ortant in effecti#e definitions
/;c=eo'n 0<<31. %hen the use of an L0 translation is co+,ined 'ith the use of
'ord cards for the initial learning of #oca,ular$& then learners ha#e a #er$ effecti#e
strateg$ for seeding u #oca,ular$ gro'th /Nation 2000: 2<>430>1. Although there
are fre3uent criticis+s raised of learning L04L2 'ord airs& these criticis+s are not
suorted ,$ research. *he research sho's the oosite& the direct learning of L2
#oca,ular$ using 'ord cards 'ith their L0 translations is a #er$ effecti#e +ethod of
learning.
*his finding also recei#es so+e suort fro+ studies of dictionar$ use. LearnersA
dictionaries can ,e classified into t'o +a?or t$es 4 those that onl$ use the L2
/+onolingual dictionaries li-e the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary& the
COBUILD Dictionary& the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and the
Cambridge Learners Dictionary1& and those that +a-e use of the L0 /,ilingual or
,ilingualised dictionaries1. A ,ilingualised dictionar$ is a +onolingual dictionar$ 'ith
L0 translations included. ;onolingual dictionaries usuall$ contain a 'ealth of useful
infor+ation and in an atte+t to +a-e the+ accessi,le for lo'er roficienc$
learners& the definitions are often 'ithin a controlled #oca,ular$. *he definition
#oca,ular$ usuall$ consists of around 2000 'ords. *hus to use a +onolingual
dictionar$ effecti#el$ learners need to ha#e a effecti#e receti#e #oca,ular$ of 2000
'ords. ;ost learners of English as a foreign language do not achie#e this until the$
ha#e ,een stud$ing English for fi#e to si2 $ears. It is not surrising then that sur#e$s
of dictionar$ reference /Laufer and =i++el 0<<9@ At-ins and !arantola 0<<91 and
learner use /7a2ter 0<B01 sho' that learners strongl$ fa#our ,ilingual or
,ilingualised dictionaries. *o effecti#el$ use a +onolingual dictionar$& learners need
to ha#e a large enough #oca,ular$ /at least 2000 'ords1 and need to ,e a,le to
interret definitions& 'hich are +uch +ore difficult than L0 s$non$+s.
Increasingl$& languages ,orro' a lot of 'ords fro+ English. Caulton /0<<B1 for
e2a+le esti+ates that a,out half of the +ost co++on 3000 'ords of English ha#e
so+e ,orro'ed for+ in Jaanese. So+eti+es the ,orro'ing has resulted in so +an$
for+al and se+antic changes that the relationshi to English is hard to see /'an4
iisu 4 a one iece dress1& ,ut +ost often the relationshi is clear /'aasuto 4 'orst1.
Encouraging learners to notice this ,orro'ing and to use the loan 'ords to hel the
learning of English is a #er$ effecti#e #oca,ular$ e2ansion strateg$. *his in#ol#es
deli,eratel$ e2loring L0 and L2 relationshis. E#en greater hel is a#aila,le 'here
the L0 has a fa+il$ relationshi 'ith English as is the case 'ith languages li-e
Sanish and S'edish /6ing,o+ 0<B91. *he L0 clearl$ has a #er$ i+ortant role to
la$ in the deli,erate learning of #oca,ular$.
First language use and fluenc! de"eloment
Fluenc$ de#elo+ent tas-s need to in#ol#e language ite+s that are alread$ fa+iliar
to the learners& need to in#ol#e largel$ fa+iliar content& and need to include so+e
-ind of encourage+ent to erfor+ faster than usual. *his encourage+ent can ta-e
the for+ of ti+e ressure as in seed reading or the 5D3D2 acti#it$. *he L0 can ha#e
a s+all role to la$ in rearing the learners for such tas-s to +a-e sure that the
+aterial the$ are 'or-ing 'ith is trul$ fa+iliar. *his rearation can in#ol#e heling
learners recall L0 stories and infor+ation that the$ then 'or- 'ith in the L2& or
getting learners to use the L0 to discuss and ,eco+e #er$ fa+iliar 'ith L2 inut&
such as ne'saer articles& *! ne's reorts& short factual te2ts& that is then used as
the ,asis for L2 fluenc$ tas-s.
L1 and L2
In +ost of the roles of the L0 that 'e ha#e loo-ed at& there is the co++on the+e
that the L0 ro#ides a fa+iliar and effecti#e 'a$ of 3uic-l$ getting to gris 'ith the
+eaning and content of 'hat needs to ,e used in the L2. It is foolish to ar,itraril$
e2clude this ro#en and efficient +eans of co++unicating +eaning. *o do so 'ould
,e directl$ arallel to sa$ing that ictures or real o,?ects should not ,e used in the L2
class /Nation 0<9B1. All the argu+ents against L0 use si+ilarl$ al$ to the use of
ictures& real o,?ects& and de+onstration. *he L0 needs to ,e seen as a useful tool
that li-e other tools should ,e used 'here needed ,ut should not ,e o#er4used.
Let us no' conclude ,$ loo-ing at 'a$s of a#oiding o#er4use of the L0 and
encouraging L2 use.
#ncouraging L2 use
In classes 'here learners all share the sa+e first language or national language&
teachers need to use a range of otions to encourage learners to use the L2 as +uch
as ossi,le /Nation 0<<91. *he follo'ing range of otions is ,ased on the idea that
there are se#eral reasons 'h$ learners use the L0 'hen the$ should ,e using the L2.
*hese reasons include lo' roficienc$ in the L2& the naturalness of using the L2 to do
certain ?o,s& sh$ness in using the L2& or si+l$ a lac- of interest in learning the L2.
)ere are so+e of the 'a$s of dealing 'ith these o,stacles to L2 use.
0. .hoose +anagea,le tas-s that are 'ithin the learnersA roficienc$.
2. Preare learners for tas-s ,$ reteaching the language ite+s and s-ills needed.
3. "se staged and graded tas-s that ,ring learners u to the le#el re3uired.
5. Eet learners to retend to ,e English sea-ers.
5. ;a-e the L2 an una#oida,le art of the tas-. 6etelling acti#ities& stri stories&
co+letion acti#ities& and role la$s all re3uire the use of the L2.
>. 6eeat tas-s to +a-e the+ easier.
9. Infor+ learners of the learning goals of each tas- so that the$ can see ho' using
the L2 'ill hel the+ achie#e a clear short ter+ learning goal.
B. Ciscuss 'ith the learners the #alue of using the L2 in class.
<. Eet learners to discuss the reasons 'h$ the$ a#oid using the L2 and get the+ to
suggest solutions to encourage L2 use.
00. Set u a +onitoring s$ste+ to re+ind learners to use the L2. In grou 'or-
sea-ing tas-s this can in#ol#e gi#ing one learner in each grou the role of
re+inding others to use the L2.
00. "se non4threatening tas-s. Learners can choose their o'n grous& the teacher
can sta$ out of the grous& allo' learners to reare 'ell for the tas-s& donAt use
tas-s that ut learners in e+,arrassing situations& and choose interesting& non4
threatening toics.
If encouraging L2 use is a ro,le+& se#eral of these different solutions +a$ need to
,e used. *hese solutions co#er a range of affecti#e& cogniti#e& and resource
aroaches and thus can ,e seen as co+le+entar$ rather than as alternati#es.
In so+e countries& English and the L0 are in co+etition 'ith each other and the use
of English increases at the e2ense of the L0. *eachers need to sho' resect for the
learnersA L0 and need to a#oid doing things that +a-e the L0 see+ inferior to
English. At the sa+e ti+e& it is the English teacherAs ?o, to hel learners de#elo
their roficienc$ in English. *hus& a ,alanced aroach is needed 'hich sees a role
for the L0 ,ut also recognises the i+ortance of +a2i+ising L2 use in the classroo+.
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