The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of teachers and learners about the use of L1 (Amharic) in L2/FL classes including how, when and why L1 is used. The participants of the study were grade 12 students and their teachers in Adiarkay Preparatory School, North Gondar Zone. To this end, a descriptive survey was employed. Randomly selected sixty grade 12 students and three grade 12 English teachers selected by availability sampling were participants of the study. Data were gathered through classroom observation/audio record, questionnaires and interview. The data gathered through the questionnaires and the audio-recorded observations were analyzed using frequency and percentage while those collected through interview and openended items of the questionnaires were qualitatively narrated. The study indicated that both teachers and students had positive attitudes towards the use of Amharic language during their English lessons at senior high school level. The study also seemed to show that the majority of the teachers (66.7%) and students (31.67%) appear to be in favor of using Amharic from 6-10%; yet, the actual classroom practices displayed excessive use of Amharic, about 11.25% of the total English classroom talk. The results further tended to disclose that both teachers and students claimed in the various facilitative role of Amharic such as explaining difficult concepts, explaining new words, maintaining classroom discipline and giving instructions. Finally, it was suggested that consecutive workshops and seminars for English teachers and students ought to be conducted on L1 judicious use. Furthermore, English language teachers should be given appropriate pre-service and in-service training programs with regard to the purposes, amount and the ways how L1 should be used in the L2/FL classroom. Keywords and Phrases Native language (L1), Target language (L2), English as Foreign Language (EFL), Translation, Limited L1 use, L1 interference, facilitative role of L1