Abstract:
he question whether or not the mother tongue (L1) should be used in the EFL classroom has
been an important issue
for a long time. However, there seems to be no consensus on the issue as
yet. Supporters
ofthe Monolingual Approach claim that L2 can be learnt only through L2, ltvhere
as the proponents of the Bilingual Approach believe that L1 has a facilitating role in many
aspects
oflanguage instruction. Thus, a revival ofinterest to use a mother tongue frequently in
EFL classroom is stipulated by the necessity to improve learners' understanding of certain
issues, teacher-students classroom interactions
and minimizing the communication barrier
occurred between teacher
and students. This study aims at examining frequency and purpose of
teachers' L1 use in EFL classrooms. The researcher employed both qualitative and quantitative
data in order
to enrich the objective ofthe study. 75 students and 12 teachers ofthe preparatory
school involved in the study to gather the appropriate data. Data were gathered through
classroom observations, questionnaires,
and interview. The data gathered through the
questionnaire
and the observations were analyzed using frequency and percentage, while those
collected through interview
and open-ended questions were analyzed in integration with others.
The study showed that majority of both the teachers and students reflected positively on the
judicious use
ofmother tongue in EFL classrooms. It also indicated that 6 teachers (50%) and
25 students
(33.3%) chose to use wolaitigna ("Sometimes). At the end, it was recommended
limited use
ofL1 to explain vocabularies, grammar items, and difficult concepts when necessary
in EFL classrooms.
