The Role of L1 in L2 Acquisition: Attitudes of Iranian University Students

İkinci bir dil öğrenmek için öğrenciler ve öğretmenlerin etkili bir biçimde işbirliği içerisinde olmaları gerekmektedir. İkinci dil edinimi üzerine güncel çalışmalara bakıldığında, birinci dilin dil öğretiminde yardımcı bir rol üstlendiğini görürüz. Bu durum gösteriyor ki „İkidillilik Yaklaşımı‟ öğrencilerin anadilini öğrenme sürecinde bir yardımcı olarak kullanarak daha cok destek bulmaya başlamıştır. Aynı zamanda, „sadece İngilizce‟ politikasına destek azalmaktadır. Bu görüşlerden yola çıkarak bu çalışmada İran‟daki üniversite öğrencilerinin anadil kullanımına karşı tutumlarının araştırılması amaçlanmaktadır. Alanda tanınmış olan bir ölçek uygulanmıştır (Prodromou 2002) ve ilginç bir şekilde daha öncekiler ile zıt sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır. İranlı üniversite öğrencileri anadil kullanımında isteksizlik göstermişlerdir. Son olarak makul ölçüde anadil kullanımı için öneriler sunulacaktır.

Learning a second language in an EFL context requires both students and teachers to cooperate efficiently and resourcefully. By referring to the current theories of second language acquisition and reviewing the recent literature, it can be seen that the first language of learners (L1) has a necessary and facilitating role in all aspects of language instruction. This indicates that the „bilingual approach‟ is gaining more support by incorporating the students‟ L1 as a learning tool and also as a facilitator for an efficient communication. At the same time, advocacy for an English-only policy has been declining. Inspired by these views, this paper aims to explore the Iranian university students' attitudes and perceptions toward the use of L1. A well-known survey – Prodromou (2002) was employed and, surprisingly, the results were contradictory to the all previous similar studies. Iranian university students reported reluctance to use their L1. Finally, some pedagogical suggestions for a judicious use of L1 will be presented.

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