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MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRNO

Faculty of Education

Department of English Language and Literature

Teacher´s Usage of The Mother Tongue Versus English at

the Level of Young Learners

Thesis

Supervisor: Written by:

Mgr. Naděžda Vojtková Radka Břenková

Brno 2007

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Declaration:

I proclaim that I worked on this thesis on my own and that I used only the sources

cited in the bibliography list.

I agree with this thesis being deposited in the Library of the Faculty of Education at

the Masaryk University and with its being made available for academic purposes.

In Brno 27 June 2007

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Acknowledgment:

I would like to express special thanks to my supervisor Mgr. Naděžda Vojtková for

revising my thesis, for her valuable advice, kind and helpful attitude and assistance

that she provided me throughout the thesis.

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

THEORETICAL PART 3

I . Young Learners 3

I.1. ´Young Learners´ Definition 3

I.1.1. What Age May Be Treated as ´Young Learners´ 3

I.1.2. Basic Characteristics of ´Young Learners´ 3

I.2. The Child´s Development 4

I.2.1 Cognitive, Emotional, Physical and Social Development 4

I.2.2 Language Development 5

II . Young Learners and Language Acquisition 7

II.1. Children´s Expectations 7

II.2. Acquisition versus Learning 7

III. Various Methods and Approaches of Using Mother Tongue in the Course of 9

English Language Teaching History

III.I. The Grammar-translation Method 9

III.2. Acquisition versus Learning 10

III.3 Audiolingual Method and Community Language Learning and Suggestopedia11

III.4. Total Physical Response, The Natural Approach and Communicative

Language Teaching 12

III. 5.Contemporary Trends 13

IV. Language in the Classroom 14

IV.1. Dispute about Language 14

IV.1.1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using English to Teach English 15

IV.2. Using the Mother Tongue in the Classroom 17

IV.2.1 The Appropriate Age 18

IV.2.2 The Pupils´Previous Experience 19

IV.2.3. Particular Lesson Stages and Specific Situations 20

IV.2.4 Teacher versus Language 21

IV.3. Translation 22

IV.4 Who is a Better Teacher? 23

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PRACTICAL PART 26

V. Questionnaire 28

V.1. The Czech Experience 28

V.2. The Greek Experience 29

V.3. The Teachers´ Views 30

VI. Observations 31

VI.1 Background Description 31

VI.2.Results of the Observation 31

VI.2.1. Graphic Presentation of the Results 33

VII. An ´Ideal´ Lesson Attempt 38

VII.1.1. The Background Description 38

VII.2 The Lesson 39

VII.2.1 General Characteristics and Recommendation 39

VII.2.2. Particular Lesson Stages 40

VII.3. The Summary of Techniques for Achieving our Aims that I Use or Would Like to

Adopt 55

VIII. Final Conclusion 67

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

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Introduction

In the 21st century, modern English is considered as a world “Lingua franca“ or

as a “global language“. According to Wikipedia, over 370 million people speak

English as their first language: 200 million to 1.3 billion people use it as a second

language or learn it as a foreign-language. English is also the universal language of

science, economy, and other branches.

Owing to afforesaid facts, English language learning and teaching is highly

relevant to the current situation. Teaching English has rather long tradition in the

western world. In the Czech Republic English has been in the centre of attention

since the early 1990´s. The experts deal with all aspects influencing effective

language teaching and learning.

One of these aspects is using the appropriate language during lessons. This

question was firstly discussed in the 19th century when many language teachers

started a call for crucial changes. Since the 19th century the approaches to using

the mother tongue (MT, L1) or the target language (TL, L2) have changed

dramatically as well as the methods used for teaching languages. The topic of the

proper language choice is still often discussed. It seems that nowadays we have

already overcome the period of various radical approaches, methods and opinions

of using the mother tongue which used to be either highly promoted or cursed.

The question of using the mother tongue in foreign language lessons remains

controversial especially when dealing with young learners and beginners.

Although most of the experts acknowledge the fact that a certain amount of the L1

may be beneficial for the learners , the proper situations of its usage are still

discussed.

The following thesis deals with using both the MT and the target language

when teaching young learners. It depicts particular aspects of the afforementioned

age and focuses on various ways of learning languages. Later, individual

standpoints of the language choice are described. The practical part is based on

exploration of acquired knowledge. This part contains a chapter that tries to find

out the real amount of the MT used by the Czech teachers in their lessons.

Following chapter is grounded on one specific lesson where I tried to utilize

gained knowledge and depict particular lesson stages in light of the proper

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language use. The final sequence conveys the results of the questionnaire focusing

also on the mother tongue in the foreign language lessons.

The aim of the thesis is to concentrate mainly on the practical utilization of the

results rather than presenting bare facts.

My personal aim was to explore the subject matter from the standpoint of both

- theory and practice. Above all, I focused on practice in order to explore gained

knowledge and the results of the observations in my lessons.

When working on this thesis a number of methods was used. The theoretical

part is based on study of various books addressing the topic of teaching young

learners, teaching languages generally and using the mother tongue in lessons. The

practical part is based on observations i.e. peer observation, recording and

questionnaires.

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Theoretical Part

I . Young Learners

I.1. ´Young Learners´ Definition

I.1.1. What Age May Be Treated as ´Young Learners´

Systems of primary education vary in different countries. In theUnited

Kingdom children attend primary schools from five to eleven years, while in the

Czech Republic Primary education lasts from the age of six to fifteen and is

divided into lower and upper section. According to Framework Educational

Programme, English is compulsory from the third grade. Therefore, children from

the age of eight to eleven would be considered as ´Young Learners´. English is

often taught even in kindergarents, but those children would be designated as

´Very Young Learners´.

I.1.2. Basic Characteristics of ´Young Learners´

At first we should emphasize that development does not proceed at the same

time for all children. As Sarah Phillips claims in her book “Young Learners“, not

all children in a particular group evolve in the same way, the important factors

which influence children ´s maturity are their gender, home, culture, parents and

their peers. Some of them develop early and some later. Nevertheless everybody

who deals with eight to ten year olds must bear in mind their personality which

consists of both adult and childish side. To be more specific we may pause on the

following specification of children at the afforementioned age. According to

Slattery and Willis, children start to develop writing and reading in their mother

tongue, develop their thinking, know what is real and what is not, are able to plan

the procedure of how to do a particular activity, cooperate with others and learn

from them, are reliable and liable for all activities which proceed during lessons.

Or we may also claim that:

1. “Their basic concepts are formed.

2. They can tell the difference between fact and fiction.

3. They ask questions all the time.

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4. They rely on the spoken word as well as the physical world to convey and

understand meaning.

5. They are able to make some decisions about their own learning.

6. They have definite views about what they like and do not like doing.

7. They have a developed sense of fairness about what happens in the classroom and

begin to question the teacher´s decisions.

8. They are able to work with others and learn from others.“ (Scott,Ytreberg 1990: 3)

I.2. The Child´s Development

I.2.1 Cognitive, Emotional, Physical and Social Development

Although a lot of theories dealing with learning exist, in general we should

mention at least two of the following as they bring crucial findings about

cognitive development.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980), who is considered to be one of the most famous child

psychologists, developed a theory of active learning often termed as

´constructivism´. "Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to

resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me and no one else, education

means making creators. . . . You have to make inventors, innovators—not

conformists" 1 He claimed that ´children are active constructors of their knowledge

of the world´ (Pinter, 2006:6) and also called them ´little philosophers´, or ´tiny

thought-sacks´. Piaget emphasized the biological basis of the development and in

accordance with his theory, children of seven to eleven pass through concrete

operational stage, whereas year seven is regarded as the ´turning point´ in their

cognitive growth and though they cannot yet generalize their understanding, their

thinking reminds us of thinking as adults based on logical reasoning. Although

Piaget´s stages were criticised, ( It was suggested that according to

afforementioned theory young children are underestimated and that experiments

supporting his theory were not presented in an appropriate child-friendly way) His

works inspired American and European education in the1970s which thereby was

more ´child-centred´and focused on both theory and practice.

An other important observation was made by Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) who

was a Russian psychologist cooperating with Piaget. As he was closely

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget

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investigating the importace of culture, communication and problem solving in

human development influencing the learning process: his theory is called ´Social

constructivism´. Vygotsky highlighted the role of significant people in a child´s

life such as parents and other adults.

Through these interactions, a child came to learn the habits of mind on her/his

culture, namely speech patterns, written language, and other symbolic knowledge

that affected a child's construction of her/his knowledge. The specific knowledge

gained by a child through these interactions also represented the shared

knowledge of a culture. This process is known as internalization.2

Emotional development also affects children´s language-learning activities.

Different kinds of temperament influence a learner´s participation in class. Some

of them are shy while others talkative, aggressive, self-confident or frightened of

making mistakes.

Not only cognitive and emotional development play a crucial role in

determining learning process. Young boys and girls behave differently as for

biological differences between them.

The function of muscles and all bodily movements. For example, focusing eyes on

a text and problems sitting still without moving and shuffling.

Young children are entirely dependent on their parents. A child is happy when

parents are involved in what she/he is doing, therefore, those with eager and

supportive parents have an advantage.

Teachers on the other hand should create a supportive and secure atmosphere at

school. ´Young children are eager to build up a relationship with their

teacher.´(Dunn 1983: 16) Since children have a decent sense of fairness, teachers

have to treat them as equal. Children should be respected, but they have to feel

respect from their teachers as well.

I.2.2 Language Development

To deal with development we must take into account similarities between

learning the mother tongue and a foreing language.´Eight to ten years old children

have already managed to use the first language and its basic rules. By the age of

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky

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ten they ´understand abstracts, symbols (beginning with words), generalise and

systematise´.(Scott,Ytreberg

1990: 4)

Teachers should know how long it takes for children to learn their mother

tongue to know what is accesible for that age group in second language

acquisition. Another important parallel that young children need is to receive input

and participate in interactions as well as learners of a foreign language. According

to Pinter ´It is important to know what children can do and like doing in their

mother tongue because teachers can usefully build on this knowledge in their

second or foreign language classes.´(Pinter 2006: 24)

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II . Young Learners and Language Acquisition

II.1. Children´s Expectations

´Young children, if they are normal, want to learn. At no other time in life does

the human being display such enthusiasm for learning, for living, for finding out:

said Pluckrose´ (in Dunn 1983: 1)

Children, as well as adults, come to English lessons with some expectations. As

Dunn said: ´They want immediate results. They expect to go home after the first

lesson able to speak some English, so that they can be praised by their parents and

show off to their friends.´(Dunn 1983: 2) We may say in general that children at

this age are curious, cooperative and they learn new languages very easily, just like

picking it up. What is more, they do not consider learning as work but as play as

they do not focus their attention upon language itself, it is not of first importance,

they value English if it helps them enjoy their interests. They want to use English

in real situations to talk about things they like.

II.2. Acquisition versus Learning

“Younger learners respond to language according to what it does or what they

can do with it, rather than treating it as an intellectual game or abstract system.

This has both advantages and disadvantages: on the one hand they respond to the

meaning underlying the language used and do not worry about individual words

or sentences: on the other, they do not make the analytical links that older learners

do. Younger learners have the advantage of being great mimics, are often

unselfconscious, and are usually prepared to enjoy the activities the teacher has

prepared for them.“ (Phillips 1993:7)

We may distinguish two systems of gaining foreign language – ´acquisition´

and ´learning´. In those two terms we may see the differences in child and adult

language learning. Children usually acquire the language. They learn from input

and interaction and ´they have a good instinct for interpreting the sense or meaning

of a situation.´ (Moon 2005: 5) This process is similar to so called ´simultaneous

acquisition´ which is connected with learning two or more languages almost at

birth.( For example in a mixed nationality marriage.) Children are willing to

experiment, imitate even long sentences and use the language in real situations.

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They do not analyse the language, they just use it. Children should be exposed to

language by their teachers who should create opportunities to act in real-life

situations and interact in order to develop more fluency according to the

motto,´English needs to be experienced, not explained.´3 Dunn said that: ´Language 2

cannot be taught as an isolated subject, it has to be thought of in terms of the

whole child and his individual educational needs and interests.´( Dunn 1983: 8)

We may consider the turning point at one´s puberty. It is linked with Piaget´s

stages of cognitive development because at this age adolescents are able to think

abstractly but their ability of acquisition is weaker. Thus we may see a system of

´learning´prevailing for adults, as they give attention to detail and are more

analytical.

3 http://iteslj.org/Articles/McGlothlin-ChildLearn.html

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III. Various Methods and Approaches of Using Mother Tongue in the

course of English Language Teaching History

To explore the issue of using the mother tongue and the target language in

lessons properly, we should know and result from experience that have been done

since Elizabethan times when English was first taught to the Hugenot refugees in

London till nowadays. During that long time period views on language teaching

have changed dramatically and a number of various methods and approaches have

appeared.

To speak about languages generally, we might bear in mind that since the

middle ages Latin and Greek prevailed in school it was done because of different

reasons e.g. commercial, military or social as a sign curriculum. Till 1800 only a

few schools taught foreign languages and till 1900 secondary schools included

usually only one language into their core curriculum. In various European

countries of good manners.

As history of English language teaching is not a dominant theme of this thesis,

the consequent abstract is short, focusing mainly on attitudes to mother tongue

usage.

III.I. The Grammar-translation Method

The grammar-translation method was first introduced in Prussia in the

eighteenth century and was developed for secondary schools. According to

Howatt, the original motivation was reformist and the main aim was to make

language learning easier rather than to stress teaching languages by grammar and

translation as it was claimed later. At that time: “Spoken language was, at best,

irrelevant and accuracy was elevated to the status of a moral imperative.“

(Howatt,1984:135) Nowadays we consider this method as one of the most

traditional, which undoubtedly has many drawbacks. Firstly it has a focus on

learning the grammar rules, memorizing and translation, even very difficult text,

from one language into another, where as there is no place for group-learning and

other activities demanding active participation in a classroom. It also did not bear

in mind the content, thus it has no benefit for learners living in the contemporary

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world. What is more, this method is not well-suited for young learners and

practically the only language used is the mother tongue. To summarize the facts,

we may hear the notions that afforementioned method simply cannot be the

prevailing one, used for teaching English and other modern languages, because it

used to be aimed at teaching Latin which is regarded as a dead language.

III.2. The Direct Method

As most teachers asked for a crucial change of methods, the direct method

appeared and became popular in the 1920´s in European education. This method

was a step forward as it enabled learners to think and communicate spontaneously

in their target language. This approach was based on similarity between the L1 and

L2 acquisition.

To address the direct method critically, it must be said that it was undoubtedly a

progressive approach but we may also take into account its drawbacks. As well as

the grammar-translation method, this is also an extreme one, especially due to its

radical followers who totally banned the L1 in classrooms, which is

unquestionably highly difficult especially for young beginners. But the key

weakness is, that learners acquire the foreign language in the utterly same way as

their mother tongue. In the following list we can notice the major differences

between the L1 and L2 learners:

“First-language learner

1. He has no command of another language before learning the target language.

2. He is neurologically immature, thus his mother tongue is not fixed.

3. He learns to recognise and cope with reality through the target language.

4. He requires a high contact-frequency with the target language to learn that all

things have names.

5. He requires a high contact-frequency with the target language to recognise the

meaning of sounds representing the names of things, because his range of

experience with the outside world is limited and as he has no knowledge of the

equivalent meaning of sounds from another language for the same things.

6. He requires a high contact-frequency to establish integration of mother-tongue

sounds with things.

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Second-language learner

1) He has command of another language before learning the target language.

2) He is neurologically mature,thus his mother tongue is fixed.

3) He learns to recognise and cope with reality through the mother tongue, not the

target language.

4) He already knows that all things have names.

5) He has already experienced the process, involving high contact-frequency and

maturation, of recognising the meaning of sounds representing the names of things

in his mother tongue. As he is now neurologically mature, he need not be subjected

a second time to the same process in the new target language merely to recognise

the equivalent meaning of target-language sounds for the same

things. (Recognition of the sound representing the thing should not be confused

with the integration of the sound with the thing, set.

6) He has already established integration of mother-tongue sounds with things,

but requires high contact-frequency to establish new integration of target-

language sounds with the same things“4

III.3 Audiolingual Method and Community Language Learning and Suggestopedia

The origin of the following revolutionary approach is connected with American

presence in the World War II, when many people who were involved in the war

needed to learn foreign languages. This method is closely linked with behavioral

psychology when due to memorization and drill, responses are produced

automatically in order to form a habit. The method became popular with the

promise of fast acquisition of communicative competence by means of highly

intensive courses and almost no mother tongue used by teachers. Sometimes we

can encounter a term the “Army Method“ and already the title suggests that the

method is not appropriate for young learners. It is especially due to using many

highly controlled practices and drilling in an effort to overlearn the subject matter.

In 1970s´ we may hear about the ´Community language learning´ which is based

4 http://www.aber.ac.uk/~mflwww/seclangacq/langteach5.html

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on interpersonal relationship, feel of safety and learners´ intellect. This method is

unusual just in term of usage of the L1 vs L2 in particular. Learners start speaking

in their native language, then the teacher translates their ideas and the learner

repeats the teacher´s words subsequently. This procedure lasts until learners are

able to speak in the target language without any translation.

Late 1970´s are connected with a new movement called ´Suggestopedia´

which was introduced by Bulgarian psychologist Georgi Lozanov and this method

is based on suggestion removing barriers to learning. Mainly suitable conditions

for maximal usage of brain capacity are stressed. In lessons where ´Suggestopedia´

is applied learners use handouts which contain billingual dialogues.

III.4. Total Physical Response, The Natural Approach and Communicative

Language Teaching

TPR was already introduced in the nineteenth century and is based on the idea

of similarity between L1 and L2 acquisition. It uses “language - body

conversation“ between children and parents when the child is instructed and

though does not speak himself, just physically responds till he is able to produce

his own language. This process in the L1 is simulated in mastering the L2. The

afforementioned method is suitable just for elementary levels where the role of the

parent is displaced by a teacher. The natural way of learning without a stressful

situation is emphasized and apart from the fact that it is highly memorable and a

fun approach. It is good for kinesthetic learners and for mixed-ability classes.

In the1980s´ a new method was developed that shared some points with

afforementioned TPR and Direct method. This method was called ´Natural

approach´. The method is based on principles of using the L2 communicatively

from the very beginning. The crucial difference is in allowing students to use their

mother tongue as well. This approach requires teachers to be very communicative

in order to give their learners sufficient amount of input.

If any approach which is acknowledged by most of language teachers exists, it is

undoubtedly the ´Communicative Language Teaching Approach´. It does not

contain any strict enumeration of actions but just a wide range of ideas which lead

to successful learning rated mainly on needs of different pupils who need to use

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the target language not for academic purposes but just for practical ones. This

approach concentrates on language as a means of communication which is

developed already from the early age. The emphasis is placed on the target

language – its usage in meaningful activities and as a natural device in classroom

management in order to approach the natural L1 acquisition.

III. 5.Contemporary Trends

1990s´are linked with the ´ Lexical Approach´ which lays stress on lexis rather

than grammar. This method is used also at young learners where the role of

teachers is to be communicative in order to offer maximal language input. Pupils

are encouraged to speak or just listen or reflex in some way.

The last century may be characterized as a time when the main aim was to find the

most appropriate method. To confirm this claim we may cite C.H. Prator who

said:“ One method has succeded another: grammar-translation gave way to the

direct method, which was in turn followed by the reading approach. The audio-

lingual approach enjoyed almost uncontested supremacy in many parts of the

world, through the 1950s and 1960s.“ The contemporary development is

sometimes called as the “post methods era“ or ´eclectic approach´ which “was

proposed as a reaction to the profusion of teaching methods in the 1970s and

1980s and the dogmatism often found in the application of these methods.“ 5 This

approach enables teachers to select the most acceptable part of each method and

apply it in their lessons in order to make the lessons as effective as possible.

5 http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/file.php?file=/135/hrehov_k.pdf

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IV. Language in the Classroom

To address the problem of using the mother tongue in the classroom we should

specify the type of class we are dealing with. In the following chapters we will

mention monolingual English classes where all the pupils have their common

mother tongue other than English which is typical for the Czech Republic. These

classes are usually taught by a non-native English teacher, but more and more

schools employ native speakers. An average amount of English lessons is about

three lessons a week for young learners and slightly more for more advanced and

older students. At the beginning we will deal with students of English generally,

later we will focus more on young learners.

IV.1. Dispute about Language

“Every second spent using the L1 is a second not spent using English! – And

every second counts!“ (Atkinson,1993:12)

“The foreign language leads the students to explore their own culture, using the

mother-tongue as a bridge towards English.“6

We may infer from afforementioned quotations that nowadays we may hear

more or less controversial and extreme ideas which advocate either monolingual

principle or using the mother tongue and translation in classrooms.

“In Britain, the monolingual principle is still a controversial issue in foreign

language teaching, whereas in Germany, for instance, visitors to secondary

schools a century ago could witness monolingual foreign language lessons taking

place, not as ´Direct Method experiments´, but as a normal procedure in an

ordinary school.“ (Howatt, 1984:135)

As Podromou said in his paper ´From Mother Tongue to Other Tongue´: “Until

recently, the MT in the EFL classroom has been a ´skeleton in the cupboard“.7 He

responds to the fact that many teachers feel ashamed of using MT in their lessons

and they reagard it as their personal failure because using English only is often

6

http://web.archive.org/web/20021119093709/www.thracenet.gr/bridges/bridges5/From+Mother+T

ongue+to+Other+tonge.html

7

http://web.archive.org/web/20021119093709/www.thracenet.gr/bridges/bridges5/From+Mother+T

ongue+to+Other+tonge.html

20

considered efficient and proper. On the other hand Costas Gabrielatos in his

response to Podromou´s paper claims that: “L1 has never been “a skeleton in the

cupboard“ rather it has been a bone of contention for more than two centuries.“

Peter McKenzie-Brown states in his paper ´Using the Mother Tongue to Teach

another Tongue´: “This practice is essentially a product of the twentieth century. In

no other age have language teachers been forbidden as a matter of principle to

communicate with their students in their native language.“8

According to Atkinson , the essential question, which will be discussed in detail

later, is: “Should English be spoken all the time by all teachers of English in all

classes?“ (Atkinson,1993:2)

IV.1.1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using English to Teach English

All of the following arguments are quoted from ´Children Learning English´

(Moon, 2000:63) and deal with advantages and disadvantages of using English to

teach English.

Advantages Disadvantages

It increases the amount of

exposure pupils get to English.

It can take a long time to explain

things, even using gestures, etc.

Pupils who are anxious to do the

activity may lose interest or lose

concentration.

It develops pupils´ confidence

in the language

Weaker or slower pupils may lack

the confidence to believe they can

learn through English, they may

be frightened or put off to

English.

It provides real reasons for

using English to communicate,

eg in giving instructions,

getting information from

pupils.

Teachers may have limited

English or insufficient fluency in

the language. They may give

pupils incorrect models.

8 http://languageinstinct.blogspot.com/2006/11/using-mother-tongue-to-teach-another.html

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Much classroom language, eg

instructions, has a simple and

repetitive pattern which can be

picked up by pupils without

them being aware that they are

learning.

It may be very difficult to do any

reflection on learning or discuss

pupils´opinions about their

learning in English because pupils

have limited English.

It can motivate pupils to want

to learn.

For pupils who are not highly

motivated, it may involve too

much effort to try to understand.

It develops greater fluency, as

pupils are encouraged to think

in English from the early

stages.

It may take longer to cover the

syllabus.

We may agree or disagree with some of these claims. I would like to comment

on four of them.

The most frequent argument against using the target language is that particular

pupils are not able to understand English nor to speak English. This claim should

be taken into account when dealing with young learners as it is a complicated

question, but it mostly depends on the class and the skills of their teacher.

Nevertheless we may hear such ´reasoning ´ by teachers who teach even older

students which is undoubtedly wrong.

Some teachers also argue that their students feel silly and ashamed when using

English in communication. Yes, some of them definetely do feel silly but i tis

mainly those who have not been used to speaking English since the beginning of

their learning. Therefore the best way how to overcome such negative feelings for

suitable and adequate usage of English is to practice with their teacher and their

peers.

The third claim, but not so common as the previous ones , is that teachers feel

that the level of their English is not high enough. Sometimes it is unfortunately

truth but sometimes it is a pointless disregard of themselves. As Atkinson claims:

“No teacher´s English is perfect (non-native speaker or native speaker!) but less

than perfect English is better than no English.“ (Atkinson, 1993:17)

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Another reason why teachers do not use English is that they are stressed out by

the amount of knowledge listed in the syllabus and the lack of time to teach all the

grammar. Hence they use translation and Czech as a means to be faster and not so

demanding for them.

IV.2. Using the Mother Tongue in the Classroom

“The mother tongue in the classroom is

1. a drug (though with therapeutic potential, it can damage your health and may

become addictive)

2. a reservoir (a resource from which we draw)

3. a wall (an obstacle to teaching)

4. a window (which opens out into the world outside the classroom, if we look

through it we see the students´previous learning experience, their interests, their

knowledge of the world, their culture)

5. a cruch (it can help us get by in a lesson, but it is recognition of weakness)

6. a lubricant (it keeps the wheel of a lesson moving smoothy, it thus saves

time)“9

To what degree will these Podromou´s metaphors truths will be explored in the

practical part with reference to young learners.

The only thing we may undoubtedly claim is, that English should be the main

language in the classroom. But our aim is not to prepare lessons where our main

aim is to speak only English, but such lessons where an adequate, deliberate usage

of both languages leads to the greatest effect on children´s ability to use English.

“Using the mother tongue, we have learned to think, learned to communicate

and acquired an intuitive understanding of grammar. The mother tongue opens the

door not only to its own grammar, but to all grammars. For this reason, the mother

tongue is the master key to foreign languages, the tool which gives us the fastest,

surest, most precise, and most complete means of accessing a foreign language.“

claims Butzkamm in McKenzie-Brown paper.10

9

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ongue+to+Other+tonge.html

10 http://languageinstinct.blogspot.com/2006/11/using-mother-tongue-to-teach-another.html

23

The crucial question is what is the right balance between those two languages

and how the age of learners influences the amount of English used in the

classroom. Therefore we will not debate about the use of the mother tongue,

instead about its appropriate usage and possible overuse.

When dealing with the proper balance, the following factors which affect

language choice will be examined. Firstly, the important factor is the age and level

of English then character of their previous classes (whether they are used to

English in their lessons or not), particular stages of the lesson and the teacher´s

ability to communicate in English. Afforementioned factors influencing the

language choice will be examined in the following section.

IV.2.1 The Appropriate Age

The first important factor influencing the language choice is the age of learners.

But even this point is subject to debate and controversy. Some of the teachers

claim that young learners are neither able to communicate nor understand the

teacher. We may also notice such opinion that children feel stressed out and

confused when their teacher speaks mostly English or that children are not

motivated when they are forced to use the target language as they are not able to

express it sufficiently yet. On the other hand, for example Pinter claims that: “In

young learners´classsrooms, especially at the beginning stages of learning a

language, teachers often talk a lot in the target language because they provide the

language input.“ (Pinter, 2006: 46 ) She also claims that children can choose to be

silent and just absorb or contribute in the mother tongue or try doing that in the

target language. Pinter also emphasizes that when there is a serious breakdown in

communication between learners and their teacher, so called ´language

modification´ or other tools assisting exposure e.g. gestures, illustrations,

repetition, alternatives and synonyms etc. may be used.

Nevertheless it may be said that the mother tongue can occur more often in

young learners´ classes than in advanced groups. High levels have fewer reasons

why to use the mother tongue except translation of some vocabulary etc. The MT

can be used especially by children who are not yet able to communicate in all

situations but by their teacher as well, as sometimes excessive use of English may

be counter-productive. Young learners, especially total beginners may be confused

and stressed out when there is no place for mother tongue during the lesson and

24

particularly the weaker learners may find English too difficult and stop trying and

enjoying the subject. According to Gardners the worst thing to do is when one

moment, the teacher is talking normally and suddenly refuses to speak the child´s

mother tongue. They claim that the teacher has become a different person to the

child and such difficult experience may influence the child´s attitude to the foreign

language. At the same time we may emphasize that young learners are highly

sensitive to the sounds and rhythm of the target language and they do not feel

ashamed of reproducing new sounds and patterns of intonation. It means that

reasonable amount of input, suitable environment and English atmosphere has

undoubtedly the positive impact which enable children to acquire the language.

According to Willis, in a beginners´class they do not acquire only the language,

they are also practising a vast amount of skills including listening, picking out key

words and thinking in English which helps them to overcome the interference from

L1. Hereafter they will become familiar with intonation and word stress , specific

lexical patterns and lexis and language of communication which they will know

from the classroom situations.

To summarize afforementioned thoughts, Gardners say: “ It is important, from

the early stages of learning, to avoid translation as much as possible and make the

learners think in that language.“ (Gardners, 2000:6) More over, using English as

much as possible keep the learners thinking in English and evoke a good English

atmosphere. Gardners also highlight the fact that when children are able to

understand at least something, it gives them feeling of success and it helps the

teacher´s confidence as well.

IV.2.2 The Pupils´Previous Experience

The second notable factor influencing the particular proportion of English and

the L1 is the student´s previous experience. In this case it may happen that

teaching young learners can be less exacting than teaching the advanced students.

It is rather difficult for the teacher to use English as a main language straightway

when the learners were taught by a teacher who overused the mother tongue and

hardly ever spoke English. These students are not used to using English and it

takes them longer to accustom it. In addition, pupils may feel silly when using

English and also when listening to the teacher. On the other hand children with the

25

opposite experience may continue developing their L2 better and be more willing

to participate and expect their teacher to speak in the target language too.

IV.2.3. Particular Lesson Stages and Specific Situations

During the learning proces we may encounter stages when, independently of

the level of learners and their previous experience, the mother tongue usage is

undesirable and vice-versa. It means, that the mother tongue should be used in the

situation when either our lesson requires more complicated language than the

learners are able to understand or we have to solve a difficult discipline or another

problem. To be more specific we may divide lesson stages according to language

choice subsequently. Firstly we will deal with giving instruction, then beginning

and ending the lesson, games, correction of mistakes, presenting and practicing

new language. Some of the claims are based on the Atkinson´s paper ´Teaching

Monolingual Classes´.

Classroom English, e.i. giving instruction and getting organised is one of the

right opportunities on how to provide even very young pupils exposure into the

foreign language. More over, pupils can feel that English may not be used only in

exercises. In such situations English should be used as much as possible because

the communication can be accompanied by gestures and mime. Although some of

the teachers object that beginners or young learners are not able to understand,

even young learners are often more willing and sensitive to perceive the meaning.

Secondly, when beginning and ending the lesson it is not strictly recommended

to use entirely the L1 or L2. It depends on the level of the subject, sometimes it

may be useful to use the mother tongue when presenting a new topic as the lead-in

should be quick and all pupils must understand the situation in order not to be

confused or bored, or on the other hand summarize the lesson. It happens because

in such moments children can express their attitudes to the disccussed topic, their

views and experience which can be rather difficult or almost impossible when just

starting to learn English.

Games are undoubtedly one of the most popular learners´ activities. Although

according to Atkinson, during games speaking should not be used in the mother

tongue. The important part of the process of playing the game is the explanation of

the rules which may be above the learners´ current level of their knowledge.

26

During the learning process learners make a plenty of mistakes. It is entirely

natural and learners should not wait with producing the target language until they

are perfect. Correction of mistakes may be in both languages. When we just want

to correct, we may use the English but when explaining the grammar in more

detail also the mother tongue can be used.

Presenting and practising a new language is also disputative. When presenting

the new language, we may use a various list of techniques such as gesture, mime,

visual aids, giving definition, through a context or we can simply use translation.

Before we use translation we should be certain that the other techniques failed or

are inappropriate. For example abstract words are difficult to explain without using

the mother tongue or some facts from life in English speaking countries can be

said in the L1. Sometimes, as Podromou claims: “The foreign language leads the

student to explore their own culture, using the mother-tongue as a bridge towards

English.“11

One of interesting ideas which Atkinson offers is to offer the pupils few

minutes to discuss the given topic in their mother tongue as they need certain

amount of time to process the language and of course to have a rest in order them

to work better. This is quite important for young learners who are not able to

concentrate for long periods of time yet.

Nevertheless we will address the problem of proper language choice when

dealing with young learners at some length later in the following practical part.

IV.2.4 Teacher versus Language

The teachers´ability to communicate in English plays the crucial role. It

seems to be a rather serious point as we have been encountering the problem of

having the lack of qualified teachers in the Czech Republic since the 1990´s.

This problem is visible mainly in the lower sections of elementary schools,

because teachers who teach their, studied their English when they attended

grammar school. This seems to be a great issue because to teach young learners

who are entire beginners demands consequent preparation, quality work as the

very beginning influences their following studies and attitude towards English. Not

11

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ongue+to+Other+tonge.html

27

only the teacher´s knowledge of English influences the language choice, it also

depends on how comfortable they feel using English in particular classes. Some

classes, usually those which were taught by a teacher who did not use English at

all, may feel awkward and cause problems to their subsequent teacher.

IV.3. Translation

As we could notice in previous chapters, translation as a language teaching

technique has passed through a long development and over times moved between

two poles on the scale of popularity. A rather interesting fact is, that translation, as

a main tool of grammar-translation method, was either unambiguously

acknowledged or scarified formerly. It is still an open question whether to use the

mother tongue or not in the classroom.

To assess drawbacks versus merits of translation we may start with the

following statement. As Alan Maley in Alan Duff´s ´Translation´ describes last

decades of the past century: “Translation has been denigrated as

´uncommunicative´, ´boring´, ´pointless´, difficult´,´irrelevant´, and has suffered

from too close an association with its cousin, Grammar.“ (Duff,1989:3) The chief

reason why translation was considered not to be suitable for language practice was

the fact that this ´ancient craft´, was associated with obsolate methods and it

tended to be used only for testing. Other widespread arguments against translation

are according to Duff as follows. Firstly, as nowadays is given priority to group

work and pairwork, translation as an individual activity is not suitable for

classroom work. Secondly, pupils usually have to translate literary or scientific

texts which do not suit to the general needs of the foreign language learner.

Furthermore, we do not develop all skills, just reading and writing, which is not

communicative enough as it does not involve an oral interaction and also it

requires use of the MT which is not very desirable. To summarize above-

mentioned cases, most teachers judge translation as boring, time-consuming and

wasteful.

On the other hand, and it applies especially for young learners who start with

their first foreign language, translation is a natural and common part of their lives

not only at school but also outside the classroom. Pupils work with authentic

language which enlarge pupils´range of expression and what is more, it enables

them to communicate not only into a foreign language but both ways. As Duff

28

claims, all people have their mother tongue which shapes their way of thinking,

helps them to understand the influence of the one language on the other and

correct errors. Translation can be also a good opportunity for starting a discussion

or a pair work. To summarize afforementioned claims,we may say that:

“Translation develops three qualities essential to all language learning:

accuracy, clarity, and flexibility. It trains the learner to search (flexibility) for the

most appropriate words (accuracy) to convey what is meant (clarity). This

combination of freedom and constraint allows the students to contribute their own

thoughts to a discussion which has a clear focus – the text.“ (Duff,1989:7)

IV.4 Who is a Better Teacher?

McKenzie-Brown claims: “Dr. Wolfgang Butzkamm argues that having the

ability to speak the first language of your learners is a gift to be valued. All else

being equal, a teacher fluent in her students´mother tongue will be a better teacher

than one who blunders in that language or doesn´t know it at all.“12

It is a controversial issue to judge whether native speakers or teachers who use

children´s mother tongue are the better teachers. According to Atkinson,

previously native teachers were considered to be better teachers as they know the

target language and are confident when using it, there is no tendency to use the

mother tongue, they know the target language culture.

Nowadays many teachers have the opportunity to travel and explore various

countries and cultures, they are also enabled to participate in various educational

programmes abroad in order to experience the atmosphere, culture, improve their

language skills and establish co-operation. They also contextualize the English and

Czech meaning and as they are foreign language learners themselves, they have

their own learning strategies and are able to identify possible difficulties.

Sometimes, mainly at elementary schools when teaching teenagers with enigmatic

problems or even young learners who require special attention as their ability to

concentrate is not stable, it can be very difficult to control the lesson without any

discipline problems. The question is, whether an ideal target age group exists for

which a native teacher is the best and vice versa. Is a native speaker suitable more

for young learners, teenagers or advanced learners? The young learners can

12 http://languageinstinct.blogspot.com/2006/11/using-mother-tongue-to-teach-another.html

29

acquire the important insight, they are able to learn by hearing more than any other

age group and as they start to learn pronunciation and new vocabulary with the

minimal amount of grammar the native speaker is undoubtedly benefiting. On the

other hand the advanced learners and adults work on their fluency and as they are

advanced they should not have any essential misunderstanding or other problems.

To deal with the views of other contemporary teachers we may study the

British Council website http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/vote/native.shtml

concentrating on teaching English and sharing teachers´ ideas and opinions.

Recently we could participate in forum focussing on advantages and disadvantages

of native speakers and from the total number of 540 votes, 15% claim that native

speakers are the best teachers, 29% agree somewhat, 28% disagree somewhat,

24% totally disagree and 4% did not know. Firstly we should say that there are

good and bad teachers, both native and non-native, but we may also mention other

thoughts. To start with the advantages, most of the participants stress the native

speaker´s input that can provide, in terms of pronunciation and language usage,

then tendency of natives to concentrate on increasing fluency rather than grammar

and some of the respondents also stress the young learners´ability to learn

languages by hearing it. Most of the teachers also regard natives as the best

teachers of vocabulary and pronunciation. To mention some of the often cited

disadvantages we may make reference to the fact that natives often do not

understand why their students are having problems at understanding certain

grammar and that non-native teachers are more aware of the interconnection of the

pupils´ mother tongue and hence they can decide which particular problematic

areas should be their aim. To speak about the language itself, some respondents

claimed that even though some native speakers are excellent others have terrible

local accents. Another problem of native speakers is also a fact that not all the

native speakers are teachers.

Finally I would like to quote two entries. “Since the world is a global village we

cannot claim that these or these people speak better. English is the international

language, there is no native speaker, it's a a dynamic language.“ And another:

“I believe being a native has its advantages in terms of context of the

language. However, this alone is not sufficient enough to make a good teacher. On

the other hand, teaching non native speakers is definetely easier if the teacher is

30

able to converse in the non-native's language. It depends on individuality as a

good teacher is someone who can make the teaching lively and interesting.“ 13

Nowadays, the main emphasis is placed on the most effective way how to

teach the foreign language and methods which should be used and the obligation to

use only the L2 in order to be an ideal teacher is rather obsolate. On the other hand

native speakers are undoubtedly persons which can highly motivate children, they

offer different approach and general view on the target language, they usually use

slightly different methods and children like them and revere them. Native speakers

can help mainly to young learners to build their confidence as they feel really great

as they realize they are able to communicate with a ´real American´or ´British´.

Nevertheless in my opinion an ideal combination is to offer ´traditional´ lessons

with a non-native teacher and some lesson (they may be both optional or

compulsory) taught by a native speaker even from the very early stages.

Conclusion

To resume this chapter, eventhough there is often basic difference between

ideal lessons when teachers try to do their best in order to use the target language

and the reality when they often meet various obstacles it is vital to know the

advantages and disadvantages of using both languages so as to know whether to

use English or the mother tongue in order to teach as efficiently as possible.

13 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/vote/native.shtml

31

Practical part

Introduction

The previous theoretical part focused on general aspects of using the mother

tongue and the target language in the foreign language lessons. The following

practical part concentrates more on the group of young learners. It consists of three

main sequences.

The first sequence is based on the results of the questionnaire which focuses on

opinions of respondents´of various ages. It compares views of total beginners and

more advanced older students.

The second part appears from the results of the first one. It describes the real

situation – it means that several primary school teachers´ lessons were observed in

order to describe the real proportion of using the MT and the TL. Their lessons

were analysed and the total number of sentences in each language were expressed

in percentages.

The third sequence is based on a video recording a class of young learners.

Before filming the lesson, I studied several handbooks for teachers dealing with

using the foreign language when teaching languages and after that I used the

knowledge in my lessons and created a lesson based on afforementioned

knowledge. The particular stages of the lessons are comprehensively analysed. I

chose to record the lesson on a video tape as it capture the lesson more

comprehensively. The chapter dealing with this topic is called ´An Ideal Lesson

Attempt´. It should be regarded only as the attempt because we usually do not

teach under ideal conditions, an ideal class and even we are not ideal ourselves.

The main aims of the practical part are as following:

o Firstly I want to appraise the difference between the ideal, i.e. how an ideal lesson

should look like and the common practice. In the case of learners and students, it

may be connected with their motivation, experience, interest and refering to

teachers it may show their knowledge of the given topic.

o Secondly I intend to show to what extent the theoretical knowledge function is in

practice and what are the possible ways of improvement.

o Another aim is to compare the opinion of the particular age groups of using English

in various lesson stages by the Czech teachers and the native speakers as well.

32

o Finally, the main aim which interconnects all parts of this thesis is the focus on

practical respect rather than theoretical with concentration on the group of young

learner as it is still an unresolved issue.

33

V. Questionnaire

This first sequence of the practical part deals with the results of various

questionnaires. It is rather interesting and no less important to know the oppinions

of our learners. To make foreign language teaching as effective as possible our

learners do not have to be essentialy consistent with all our intentions, but they

should definetely know why English is the main language of the lesson.

I asked almost 140 respondents about their experience and opinions on using

the mother tongue in foreign language lessons in order to map the background.

Than I compared the results with the same questionnaire that had been done in

Greece and also searched the internet to find out teachers´opinions.

V.1. The Czech Experience

Following questionnaire was answered by 137 respondents. (The questions are

the same as Podromou´s – see later – but in Czech.) They were elementary level

(8th and 9th grade at an elementary school), and intermediate (the highest grades

at a grammar school and a secondary school)

In the following table we may see the results in full. The figures refer to

percentage (%) of possitive responses by students at beginner and intermediate

levels – at the secondary school and the grammar school.

1: Should the teacher know the students' mother-tongue? 85 86 86

2: Should the teacher use the students' mother-tongue? 85 75 54

3: Should the students use their mother-tongue? 69 31 30

It is useful if the teacher uses L1 when:

4: explaining new words 55 38 30

5: explaining grammar 67 60 55

6: explaining differences between L1 and L2 grammar 72 69 76

7: explaining differences in the use of L1 and L2 rules 74 68 75

8: giving instructions 6 8 0

Students should be allowed to use L1 when :

9: talking in pairs and groups 26 18 16

10: asking how do we say '..' in English ? 59 24 27

11: translating an L2 word into L1 to show they understand it 67 49 45

12: translating a text from L2 to L1 to show they understand it 67 41 46

The teacher and students can use L1 to:

13: check listening comprehension 49 55 39

34

14: check reading comprehension 63 52 35

15: discuss the methods used in class 67 47 44 14

To comment on the afforementioned results we may highlight the very first

response when most of the learners claim that their teacher should know their

mother tongue. Less than 10 % think that it is essential to use the target language

in procedural language. About three quarters of the respondents regard explaining

differences between the L1 and the L2 grammar and rules in Czech as important.

The responses depend on the level of the students. Elementary insist on use of the

MT more than intermediate. Rather interesting is also the fact that students

consider usage of English themselves more important than usage of the TL by their

teacher.

V.2. The Greek Experience

Podromou, one of the advocates of using the mother tongue in foreign language

teaching, asked three hundred Greek students at the levels of beginners,

intermediate and advanced (mostly teenagers and young adults) general questions

concerning the mother tongue usage. The survey showed rather interesting results.

In general, we may notice scepticism towards the MT. 65% beginners and half of

intermediate and advanced believed that the teacher should know his/her pupils´

mother tongue. To deal with students´ usage of their mother tongue, the figures for

advanced level are rather low (only 29 % accept the MT) but quite high (66% and

58% accept the MT) for beginners and intermediate. It can be said that the

responses depend on the age and mainly on the level. The higher the level of the

respondents, the less they consider use of ther MT to be right. For example about

31% of beginners agree with use of the MT to explain grammar but only 7% and

0% intermediate and advanced. To summarize the results (to acquaint with the

results in full see apendix) the Greek students agreed on the fact that they should

use and hear the L2 not only during various exercises and activities but when their

teacher gives instructions etc. It appears from this that they consider the procedural

14

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35

language in the classroom to be a good opportunity to expose themselves to

genuine English.

V.3. The Teachers´ Views

This short passage discusses the teachers´ attitude to use of the mother tongue

when teaching English.

The discussion took place on the British council web page designed for voting.

At total 641 teachers participated and answered the question: “Which option best

describes your attitude to the use of the students´mother tongue when teaching

English?“ The results were as follows: fifty-eight percent of respondents use the

mother tongue sometimes, twenty-one use it only, eight frequently, six about half

the time, seven most of the time.

Conclusion

As it was already said, it is important to know the opinions of our learners.

Pupils should know why the particular language is used and what are the

advantages and disadvantages of such choice.

The results of both questionnaires (Czech and Greek) have shown that the

students are aware of the importance of procedural language and are convinced

that English should be used in the foreign language learning. On the other hand

they are certain of the importance of their mother tongue as well as it helps them to

better understand the language.

From the results we may come to a conclusion that they are dependent on the

age and level of the students. It seems that Czech students are more tolerant to the

MT use than Greeks. It may be caused by the methods used by their teacher or by

the history of language teaching in each country. In my oppinion, the students´

approach towards particular language usage depends on the students experience

and on their teachers´ attitude as well.

In the following chapter the results of the observations of particular lessons will

be discussed. We may see whether the results of the observations will be relevant

to those from the questionnaire.

36

VI. Observations

VI.1 Background Description

Nine groups of young English learners and nine teachers were observed. The

observations took place in a small town with population about 10 000 people in

Bohemian - Moravian Highland, 60 kilometres far from Brno. (It seems to be

rather important information because the location and the population can influence

the results.The situation in larger towns and cities could be different.) The groups

were on different level of their knowledge, the youngest third graders were eight

years old and the oldest pupils were ten to eleven. The groups were mixed

abilities whereas some of them were specialized in foreign language learning.

Diversity of individual classes can be also seen in their discipline. It may be said

that almost all groups participated enthusiastically in their effort to learn

something new and exciting as English is one of their favourite subjects.

To concentrate on the role of educators, seven teachers are specialized in

teaching young learners and the others teach also older pupils. None of them is

fully educated for foreign language teaching and though most of them passed some

language exams and their level of English is quite high, some of them have not the

necessary qualification. To be objective, it must be said that all of them strive to

do their best to make their lessons as good as possible and attend various seminars

and courses concerning language itself and methodology. Such personal situation

seems to be rather common nowadays as for various reasons there is still a

shortage of fully qualified teachers of English who are willing to teach in the

Czech republic. An interesting element influencing the lesson process is also the

age of the teachers. (See results of the observation.)

It should be emphasized that afforementioned lessons were focused on different

skills and topics and they were the common ones, not a kind of demonstration

lessons.

VI.2.Results of the Observation

Results of all observed lessons are summarized in the following chapter and

the claims are based on the following diagrams which are added with a brief

description of the class and the particular teacher. To speak about the amount of

37

use of the MT, the teachers were rather sceptic about the level of their English and

their expectations were worse than reality. (As was already said before, teachers

usually feel ashamed when using Czech during teaching English nowadays. It can

be surely confirmed.) It means that, when talking about English lessons, their self-

confidence is not high and it also does not support more frequent English use. In

situations when they are either not sure about their English or do not know the

proper word due to insufficient vocabulary they feel stressed and immediately start

to use their MT. Usually they start speaking English at the beginning of the lesson

and then, after a few minutes, continue in Czech. There were many structures said

in English and next time in Czech though children have already known them.

Some tools which helped children to understand better were used in the

lessons. Firstly, all the teachers used body language i.e. they mimed, used gestures

and worked with their voice and noises and they used vast amount of teaching aids

and pictures which is usual at lower primary department. Nevertheless only some

of the tools were used and neither graphs showing degree, real things, nor

dictionaries, explanation, synonyms/antonyms, word formations or context were

used. As they claimed, they prefered translation because to translate the meaning

straightaway seems to be faster and easier and it does not have to be well planned.

If we target the methods used, most of the teachers used ecclectic approach in

their lessons. The lessons consisted of the TPR method, Communicative Language

Teaching Approach, Audiolingual Method, Direct and Grammar-Translation

method.

To assess usage of English according to different stages of the lesson all

teachers claimed that they use English when they get organized, play games or do

exercises they are familiar with. On the other hand the mother tangue is used for

explaining grammar or difficult exercises. In reality all the teachers used the target

language when beginning the lesson e.g. greetings were always in English, then

they announced the topic in Czech and motivation part was usually in English

again. In the process of time English was on the wane. Getting organized and

instructions were mostly in the foreign language, but the teachers usually used

only the simpliest structures. Discipline problems were always solved in Czech,

not only the difficult sentences but also the easy ones such as “Stop talking“, “Do

not disturb“ or “Pay attention“. Children were assessed in Czech, the only

38

75%

25%

L1 L2

assessment in English was “OK“or “Good“. Only few teachers used English untill

the end of the lesson. Usually the ending was in the mother tongue.

The afforementioned results were just the description of the results without any

commentary. We will expand on appropriate language choice in the particular

situations later in the fifth chapter where possible methods of improvement will be

mentioned and depicted.

VI.2.1. Graphic Presentation of the Results

The aim of following graphs was to analyse the relative proportion of the

mother tongue (L1) and foreign language (L2) used by a teacher during English

lessons. Those graphs are based on tasks from “Teaching English through English“

by Jane Willis and Classroom Interaction by Malamah-Thomas, but they are not

exactly the same. All graphs are numbered, and described in terms of class and

teacher characteristic.

The total amount of each language was counted as follows. I observed each

lesson and also taped some of them and counted all Czech and English sentences,

even the very short ones, that were said by the teacher , not students. Then I

expressed the amount of Czech and English in percentages. When assessing my

lesson I also divided the language according to particular lesson stages.

The following graph is one of my lessons taught in the fifth grade, the class is

specialized in learning foreign languages and they have been learning English for

three years. There are no discipline problems and children are eager and willing to

participate in lessons. The smaller graph expresses my prediction about the lesson

and the second show the actual proportion of using the mother tongue and the

target language.

30%

70%

L1 L2

39

This pie-chart shows the real proportion of target language used in particular

lesson stages.

4%11%

20%

49%

10%

3% 3%

Beginning

Getting organized

Instructions

Different lesson

stages

Assessment

Dividing the class up

Ending

Following graphs are those of my colleagues´ lessons.

1. This class of fourth graders has just started with

English, they have been learning for three months

and moreover they have poor results and discipline

problems. To describe the teacher, she has been

teaching four years, passed several methodological

courses and elementary state exam. She is popular

with children but strict, always innovating her teaching methods. The lesson

focused on a grammatical issue.

2. This pie-chart assesses the lesson of the

afforementioned teacher, but with another class. This

time, those pupils are fifth graders, swift and willing to

learn something new without discipline problems. The

aim of the lesson was to improve speaking and

listening skills.

65%

35%

L1 L2

31%

69%

L1 L2

40

3. Pupils in this class are third graders without any discipline problems. They have

just started to learn English. Their teacher has

passed a kind of ´Jame´courses and tends to use

more traditional methods. She has been

teaching since 1990

(seven years of teaching English). The aim of the

lesson was to teach children to speak about

possession. The topic was “Animals“.

4. This class of fourth graders have their second year of English.

They are specialized in language learning e.g. they

have one extra lesson with a native speaker, take an

active part in various language camps and participate

in various competitions.They enjoy English and we

notice a calm atmosphere in the class. Their

teacher has been teaching for two years and

eventhough she did not study English and has no certificate, she spent one year in

England and she uses innovative methods.The aim of the lesson was to improve

speaking skills.

5. This graph shows results of fourth graders, with good results without any

discipline problems after their first year of English.

Their teacher has been teaching twenty-two years

(seven years of English) and she attended JAME

courses. Eventhough she is not certificated

teacher (if we speak about teaching English), she is

very enthusiastic, using recent trends and

methods.The aim of the lesson was to practise verb “like“ and the topic was

“Food“.

60%

40%

L1 L2

35%

65%

L1 L2

38%

62%

L1 L2

41

6. The results of this chart belong to the third graders

who have just started to learn English, they are

specialized in English, without any serious

discipline problems and they are still keen. Their

teacher attended JAME courses. The aim of the

lesson was to practice verb “like“

7. Following graph belongs to the class of fourth graders

who have just started to learn English. They are

disciplined and their teacher is young, beginning

teacher, trying to use contemporary trends and

methods, but she is specialized in teaching Maths

and Civics on the upper section. The aim of the

lesson was to teach children to speak about

possession. The topic was “Animals“.

8. These are the results of fourth graders, the same group as in

the fifth graph. The lesson was taught by the teacher

who has been teaching for four years but now she is on

her maternity leave. She has been studying in the

pedagogical department and had to practice some

of her lessons now. She is eager and creative. The

topic of the lesson was “Fairy tales“.

9. This was the group of fifth graders figuring the

second year of their study. This group is very

undisciplined and shows low study results. Their

teacher has been teaching for twenty – two

years and focusses mainly on increasing her

students´ speaking skills. The topic of the lesson

was “Family and celebrations“.

65%

35%

L1 L2

43%

57%

L1 L2

45%

55%L1 L2

58%

42%

L1 L2

42

Conclusion

To summarize the afforementioned results, the proportion of using the mother

language moves from 35 to 75 percent which is quite a considerable distinction

and though the acceptable amount of Czech vs. English is still debatable, we may

average at 35 percent, although that is far from an ideal goal. One of the

teachers´reply to the question: “What is the cause of problems when you use

English in your lessons?“ was that they have deficient vocabulary, lack of

experinces, no chance to communicate with a native speaker and lack of time to

develop their speaking skills.

We may claim that the proportion of the mother and the target language

depends mainly on two aspects. The first one is teacher´s personality, his or her

approach, ideas, knowledge and skills and another is discipline and learners´

knowledge of language. Teachers teaching older classes used more the target

language as their pupils are more advanced but in the classes with discipline

problems English was not used so frequently.Teachers with some experience in

English and better knowledge of English used it much more often.

Some teachers pointed out that young learners accepted using foreign language

by their teacher without any problems, some of them claimed that they have to

translate most of their talk as their learners do not understand.

Most of the teachers used translation a lot. They translate from English to

Czech more often than vice versa. All of them considered this method to be

acceptable.

In conclusion it must be said that observation of my colleagues and even

observing or recording one´s own lesson is extremely worthwhile as we can better

detect weaknesses and strongpoints of our teaching because some problems we

may do are not realized at all until we watch or listen to ourselves, which

undoubtedly helps us to develop.

As it was said, to identify the right proportion of L1 and L2 use is a difficult

task and this topic will be disscussed later in this paper together with various ways

of how to increase the usage of L2 in lessons. We can surely say that the target

language may be undoubtedly the prevailing language in the lesson even when

dealing with young learners.

43

VII. An ´Ideal´ Lesson Attempt

Introduction

As it has been already said, this chapter focusses on the ideal proportion of

using the MT and the TL in the lessons when teaching young learners.

Firstly, I studied several didactic books, mainly English for Primary Teachers

by Mary Slattery and Jane Willis and Teaching English through English by Jane

Willis, to deal with this issue. Afterwards I started to apply the methods

mentioned in afforementioned books in my lessons as all of them require time to

be absorbed. Finally one of these lessons was filmed and its particular sequences

were analysed. Each sequence also contains several suggestions on how to either

attain the goal or deal with the problem in a better way, although I strived to do my

best, it is still only an attempt to create an ´ideal lesson´ and hence some mistakes

occured.

VII.1.1. The Background Description

I made the attempt with a group of twelve young learners. They are in their

fifth grade and they are all ten to eleven years old. They are at beginner level, they

have been learning English for three years. They have English four times a week, (

in the previous two years only three times a week ) three lessons with a Czech

teacher i. e. I and one with a native speaker. They spend four days at special

English camps every year. They are in their third year of English and hence they

are used to most instructions and explanations given in their mother tongue. There

are almost no discipline problems, most of the learners are willing to coopearate

and are eager. One boy suffers from specific learning disability and the group may

be regarded as a mixed-ability class in all respects. It is shown mainly in their

ability to concentrate or the learners´ own working pace.

The topic of the lesson was ´School subjects´. (The whole lesson plan and DVD

are included in the appendix.) The main aim was to improve learners´speaking and

listening skills, practise new vocabulary and compare some aspects of Czech and

British school system. My personal aim was to create a balanced lesson and try to

use Czech and English in appropriate situations in order to provide the learners

with sufficient input and to make the lesson as effective as possible.

44

The lesson lasts forty-five minutes. I used following teaching aids: a video

cassette, a ball, a pair of flappers, several paper cards and some realia (a British

school report). Children participated in the following patterns of interaction:

individual work and group work. The lesson did not take place in a room intended

to teaching English.

VII.2 The Lesson

Firstly, I will concentrate on the general description and suggestions. Later, the

particular lesson stages will be depicted..

VII.2.1 General Characteristics and Recommendation

As Slatery and Willis claim in their book, children between their seven and

twelve years develop their thinking, distinguish reality and fiction, cooperate with

the other children and are able to learn from each other. They are also responsible

and able to plan a way to solve problems. That is why, I always explain my

intentions, make the learners my helpers, encourage them to read (for example

short stories or comics), write, think critically, experiment with language and I also

try to use a broad scale of carefully selected expressions to provide the learners

with input. I usually explain grammar too, but only uncomplicated structures and

functions.

We should bear in mind that although the young learners are not able to

understand immediately, they learn subsequently. Therefore, it is essential to use

English as the main language during the lesson because the more English the

children hear, the more they acquire it. Moreover, the children do not have to

understand the individual words, they have to understand the context. On the other

hand, learners may use their mother tongue as it may be more benefiting for them

than to insist on using English only. To be engaged in teaching total beginners, the

habit of listening to English, picking out the key words and thinking in English is

very important for children as it reduces the amount of interference from the L1.

For that reason, usage of gesture and tone of the teacher´s voice is extremely

important.

Teaching languages at lower sections has one more specificity. The foreign

language may be taugth by a teacher who is specialized on teaching languages

only or by a class teacher. I must say that both has its advantages and

45

disadvantages. I, as the specialist, may compare and use experience from other

classes where I teach. On the other hand, my colleague, the class teacher, may use

English also in other subjects which is important as it shows learners that English

may be used in various everyday situations as a common part of their lives.

To summarize this sequence, I would mention some causes for learners´

failure…

o Children are bored.

o They are corrected too much by their teacher.

o Activities require a long attention span.

o Teacher uses too many abstract grammar rules that are taught without practical

usage.

o Children feel uncomfortable and depressed.

…and on the other hand, ideal conditions for learning language.

o Children are motivated.

o Children are provided opportunities for exposure to the L2.

o All words or sentence patterns are in a clear context.

o Children have opportunity to participate, they are active and fully involoved..

o They learn by listening, observing, copying, and doing things.

o Children learn through their mistakes and by checking their understanding.

o Children learn by reasonable repetition and routines. 15

VII.2.2. Particular Lesson Stages

In the following chapter I will depict the particular lesson stages which my

lesson consisted of, even the ones that were not covered in the filmed lesson for

the lack of time or other reasons.

The dialogues written in italics are authentic, they all happened in the filmed

lesson. I address my pupils in English.

� Genuine situations

In my oppinion, the beginning of the lesson is very important and only English

should be used in order to show the learners how the lesson will proceed. At the

15 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/young_learners.shtml

46

very beginning I use English only in order to help children to aquire the language

to a large extent. It may be also seen on DVD. Although there were no activities or

exercises with a specific aim, children came to be in various situations similar to

real life. They listened to or communicated in English in order not to participate in

an imaginary matters but because it was dictated by the situation and it was just

natural to speak English in such a situation. “Language is much better learnt

through real use rather than through pattern drills and exercises.“ (Willis, 1992:1)

� greetings

Teacher (Me): Good morning, children.

Learners: Good morning, Miss.

Teacher: Thank you and sit down.

The lesson started with greetings. That was the very first thing which I taught

my pupils. Even though it seems to be rather a short piece of communication I

replace it in various ways e.g. “children“ may be replaced by “boys and girls“,

“everybody“ etc.

� apologize, attendance

Teacher: David, what´s the problem?

David: I´m sorry Miss, I forgot my clock. (Children were asked to bring their paper

clock or watch, because the topic of the very next lesson was ´Telling the time´.

The boy confused the days.)

Teacher: Ok. Sit down, but don´t forget it next time.

At the beginning of the lesson children usually apologize. Even these phrases

are rather important and I use these short answers or longer, more complicated

dialogues depending on my learners´current level.

In the lesson children calmed down when I took the register too. They used just

short answers as “yes“, “here“ or “present“ but I also use more exploited dialogues

with the advanced learners e.g. “Jane is not here. Is she ill? What´s the matter with

her? Does anybody know?“ etc.

� relation teacher vs. child

Teacher: Today we will speak about school subjects. Tess, do you like school?

Tess: Yes, I do.

47

Teacher: (smiling) Oooh, you are a good student, a good pupil! What about you,

Mark?

Mark: (unhesitatingly) No, I don´t.

The important aspekt here is a pleasant and friendly atmosphere. I tried to

create this kind of atmosphere from the very beginning of the lesson. Informal,

short chitchat may help to achieve this aim and it also helps learners to feel and do

well in English. As Moon claims in her paper, teachers who tend to use some types

of talk more frequently than others, for example when they check answers, control

and give instructions rather than ask for real information about the children,

appraise them and get them to think may encounter problems as their relationship

with children will become more formal. On the other hand I must confirm that

learners who are asked for real life information, given encouragement and whose

teacher jokes with them are more willing to speak and more enthusiastic.

…during the ´ball game´

Teacher: Peter, what´s your favourite day?

Peter: My favourite day is Sunday.

…

Teacher: Tess, have you got a skateboard at home?

Tess: No, I have.

Teacher: No, I …..

Children: haven´t

Teacher: No, I haven´t.

…

Teacher: Camilla, who is your favourite singer?

Camilla: My favourite singer is Justin Timberlake.

Teacher: Justin Timberlake. Oooh (The teacher nods her head appreciatively and

smile.)

I must say that creating a friendly atmosphere is easier when dealing with

young learners. I have taught this class for three years, very often cooperate with

their class teacher on different kind of projects or competitions and every year

spend several days on trips and language stays. I think we know each other well

and that is why our relationship is not anonymous - teacher and her learners, but I

48

know them, their hobbies and families and they know the same about me. A

friendly atmosphere is not only better for learning, but it is much easier to teach

under such conditions.

� short talk

Teacher: Aneta, How are you today?

Aneta: I´m fine, thank you.

Teacher:OK. Mathew, how are you today?

Mathew: I´m fine, thank you. How are you today?

Teacher: Well, I´m fine, thank you.

This opening dialogue was useful for two main reasons. Firstly, at the

beginning of the lesson it takes some time, especially with the young learners

groups, to settle them down and to switch to English. By asking and addressing

some of the children I can attract their attention and give them a chance to get

ready for the lesson. In this way every child knows that I notice him/her.The

dialogue may be longer of course. It depends on the learners level again. I ask the

advanced learners about their experience, hobbies and interests and their free

time. It is possible to ask young learners the same questions. They are able to

understand but they give only short and simple answers. I usually let them to use

Czech and repeat their sentences in English as I believe it is better to develop at

least their listening skills than doing nothing.

Another reason for using such dialogues is that learners acquire particular

patterns of British manners and culture. It means that I try to teach them to express

their thanks for asking, ask me too and perceive the difference in purpose between

Czech and British habit, when somebody asks “How are you today?“. The same

case is when the learners apologize.

To enlarge the learners´ vocabulary I usually change particular phrases as for

example: “I´m OK.“ “I´m fairly well.“ “ I am having a great time.“ “Not bad.“ etc.

One of outstanding features of young learners in general, is their flexibility and

their ability to learn extremely fast. Consequently it is so important for the teacher

to use English often and vary the phrases so the learners can acquire them and use

them after a short time.

� organizational language/classroom management/instructions

49

The language of the classroom may be social, organizational or personal. For

example when I was speaking about conditions in the classroom I also used

English. I commented on temperature, lighting and collecting homework, but it

may be also used in other situations such as commenting on the furniture

arrangement etc.

Teacher: It´s quite hot here. Could you open the windows, please. Mark, open the

windows. Thank you. And it´s quite dark. Could you switch on the lights. Aneta,

switch on the lights, please. Thank you.

or

Teacher: Camilla, could you collect homework, please.

At the beginning I started to teach just short instructions accompanied by a

clear demonstration, e.g.: “Open the window, please.“ The Gardners claim that we

should not overload the children with too many phrases. At the beginning three to

five instructions are enough. They also claim that it is better to provide the

children with only one instruction about each particular situation. That is true for

beginners. Later I give more complex instructions. “It is rather hot here. Would

you open the window, please.“ As these situations have a rather clear meaning, I

usually vary the phrases in order to provide the pupils with new vocabulary and it

also develops the child´s ability to guess the meaning of new words or phrases. In

this way a variety of possibilities in the target language is also shown. “Systematic

variation is a valuable pedagogic tool.“ (Hughes 1993: 7)

Teacher: Choose the right expression and stick it on the board. (The teacher is

miming the movement of ´sticking´ the card on the board.)

Later…

Teacher: What about Geography? Have you got Geography today, Charlie? Have

you got Geography?...... Today.

Charlie: No, haven´t.

Teacher: Sorry? Speak up, please! (The teacher is miming that she does not

understand.)

Charlie: No, we haven´t. (more loudly)

50

According to Hughes, the teachers can offer to their pupils the opportunity to

meet ´genuine uncontrolled language´ that may be used for ´genuine

communicative purposes´ though we may still encounter a belief that the pupils are

able to understand only the words they are able to say. “The classroom activities

are so diverse it is tempting to suggest that an entire teaching syllabus, even

methodology, could be built around the use of classroom management phrases.“

(Hughes 1993:7)

Some of the mentioned instructions will be acquired earlier, some later.

Nevertheless when addressing a problem of evoking the ´English atmosphere´ we

should try to teach the words ´thank you´ and ´please´ in order to acquire the

typical British habit. I taught them such phrases at the very beginning and that is

why they accepted and now use it without any difficulties.

When preparing a lesson, I usually create a list of instructions and other

phrases that will be used. It helps to use a reasonable amount of English. To

facilitate conveying the meaning I created speacial board cards with instructions

which are highly useful, especially for the beginners (see the chapter V.4 ) As we

may see on the DVD children are used to the common requests such as: “Excuse

me, can I have a drink?“, “Excuse me, can I go to the toilet?“ etc.

� helper/interpreter

Teacher: Tell me, who would like to be my helper for today? (Several children are

rising their hands.) Peter. Anybody else? Mathew, Charlie. Ok,…. So Mathew. Yes,

Mathew will be the helper for today.

…later in the lesson

T: What does it mean “subjects“? Who knows? Mathew – my interpreter?

Mathew: Předmět.

T: Předmět. Ok. And “subjects“ means? Peter?

Peter: Předměty.

At the beginning of the lesson I also chose one “helper“ or “ interpreter“ who

helped the others to understand as he tried to convey the meaning in difficult

situations. Sometimes he/she is employed more, sometimes less. It is quite useful

as it is one possible way how to avoid the teacher´s translation. It is suitable both,

for gifted children and learners with certain learning difficulties. The former may

see the translation as a challenge and the latter may understand the other children´s

51

explanation better.Even Harmer claims: “Where students all share the same mother

tongue (which the teacher also understands), a member of the class can be asked to

translate the instructions as a check that they have understood them.“16

In the lesson, one of my aims was to exploit all classroom situations, as many

classroom management sentences can be used in situations outside the classroom

e.g. opening the window, radio operation, cleaning the board, classroom

arrangement, collecting or distributing exercisebooks and other handouts. It is not

recomended to involve all age groups in helping the teachers. From my experience

young learners are always willing to cooperate somehow with me.

Teacher: Well, I need somebody to help me with the radio, please. Charlie, could

you help me with the radio?

(The boy is operating the radio.)

Teacher: Plug in the radio, please. Thank you.

� motivation and approval

A game called ´Hangman´ was used as a motivational part of the lesson. The

game itself and the language used was rather easy and that is why the mother

tongue did not have to be used at all.

On the other hand, Atkinson says that in this particular sequence the L1 can be

used as the main aim of this part which is motivational. I usually don´t concentrate

on the motivational part for a long time as it should be fast and exciting and for

that reason I sometimes use Czech when it is necessary.

Everybody needs motivation and encouragement when learning English.

Mainly beginners should be praised for every partial success. I usually use not

only words as“very good“,“yes“,“OK“, but try to enlarge my vocabulary. I must

say that time to time it is rather difficult as I am not accustomed to it yet. Gardners

mention the fact that time to time English teachers use only afforementioned kinds

of approval even when they are not satisfied with such comments. It seemed to be

my problem as well and it also seems to be the matter of habit which I should

overcome, because the frequent use of “OK“ may cause lazy use by learners.

Here are various options for assessment:

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52

Picture 1 - Assessment cards by Perclová, Wisniewska and Tyller

� Checking understanding

I use various techniques to check the learners´ understanding. Sometimes I

simply ask: “Do you understand?“ or ask a child to translate the sentence into the

mother tongue. In this way, the advanced children have an opportunity to

understand English and the students who do not understand wait for their

schoolmates´ translation. It is also a good way how to avoid the afforementioned

question (“Do you understand?“) and I do not need to use the mother tongue.

Teacher: (The teacher is reading a sentence)´What is your favourite subject?´

What does it mean? What does it mean in Czech? Charlie?

Charlie: Jaký je tvůj oblíbený předmět?

Teacher: Yes, Ok.

� behaviour

When focusing on behaviour, I used sentences like “Stop talking“ or “Pay

attention“ only in English as it may be seen at the DVD. Sometimes when I deal

with a more complicated situation I use Czech as such cases often require a fast

and clear solution to be efficient and English usage can make the situation even

worse. Such disciplinary problems demand the mother tongue, though in my

opinion it is more natural for both learners and their teacher and, more forceful.

53

� mother tongue

Some experts claim that a warning signal is when children speak their mother

tongue as it may mean that they are bored. I do not agree with such an argument.

Although I persuade the learners that English should be the language of

communication we may realize that especially for the young learners it is just

natural from time to time to use Czech. It depends on various circumstances. Very

often we may notice enthusiastic discussion in the mother tongue when the

children are concerned in an interesting activity. It means that the usage of Czech

does not have to mean that the pupils are bored, on the contrary they may be so

influenced by emotion that they tend to use Czech automatically. In the filmed

lesson it may be seen when we discuss the British school report. By all means I

always ensure that English is the main language in the lesson. First and foremost

the most effective method is to use English yourself as the natural language

starting from the very beginning.

Admittedly the teacher´s own confidence and willingness to use the TL is the

best model. Underwood suggests that the teachers can also address their students

in the TL in each possible situation. I try conveying the meaning by eye contact

or the sound of my voice. I would also recomend the following techniques

described by Slatery and Willis. Some of them were also used in the filmed lesson:

� TEACHER´S REACTION – it means that a teacher responds to all questions

asked by children in English. By using this we show our interest, the possibility of

using English in all situations, the English expression for the Czech phrase or word

and we also suggest that all members of the class should speak English as often as

possible.

(knocking on the door)

Teacher: Come in! (a few children from another group are coming for their pupil´s

books)

Learners: Dobrý den, paní učitelko my…

Teacher: Sorry? I don´t understand! (The teacher is miming, that she does not

understand Czech.) Could you speak English?

Learners: I´m sorry, miss, I forgot my…pupil´s book.

Teacher: Yes, you forgot your pupil´s book. OK. So take your pupil´s books.

Learners: Thank you.

54

Teacher: You´re welcome.Good bye, have a nice day!

Learners: Good bye.

Later in the lesson during the game ´flappers´…

Mark: Can I use Czech?

Teacher: Yes.

Mark: Paní učitelko, nevadí když jich je o jednoho víc?

Teacher: How many boys are there?( The teacher and children are counting.) Six

boys and six girls, so that´s OK.

� RECASTING – is a didactic technique when a teacher recasts ( translates ) the

children´s talk into English and answers in the L2 too. It may be also considered as

a very useful technique. This method shows the learners the fact that their teacher

understands them, supports the language acquisition as the children hear his/her

talk in English and finally it helps to intensify the feeling that we may

communicate in English as well as in Czech.

( I must say that the habit of using this technique requires a really long time to be

adopted. Teachers may start with recasting particular words and than continue with

the whole phrases. The most difficult task is to use this technique naturally in order

not to disturb the fluency of the lesson.)

� REPHRASING – it is a useful tool for correction but without the frustrating

effect in which we express a certain value of learners´ language and motivate

them. By using rephrasing we can avoid negative assessment. Rephrasing is very

similar to so-called ´caretaker talk´.

� ´caretaker talk´

Let´s suppose the L1 and L2 acquisition is similar in some respects. Small children

acquire the language by listening to their parents, using the words they hear and

imitating their parents pronunciation. This process is the same as starting to learn a

foreign language. Slattery and Willis make a reference to the term ´caretaker talk´

when parents and later teachers speak in a special way in order to achieve their

objectives, e. i. improve their children/learner language. We may achieve the aim

55

in various ways. Both parents and teachers speak more often than children thereby

create the appropriate atmosphere that enable children to experience their

language skills. Learners, as well as young children, use only words and phrases

that they hear around them. What is more, Kelly claims that children have to hear

each word more than 250 times and only after that he/she is able to use it

himself/herself. The parent/teacher uses various techniques:

� They repeat the particular phrases or words.

� Attract children´s attention by asking various questions.

� Correct the pronunciation in natural way.

� Exploit the dialogue.

Teacher: Have you got Art today?....Today, it is…(the teacher use her fingers to

mime the day of the week. What´s the day today?

Learners: Tuesday.

Teacher: Yes, Tuesday. Have you got Art today?

Learners: No

Teacher: No, you haven´t. You haven´t got Art today.

(The teacher is reacting on the pupil´s answer.)

� ´SANDWICH TECHNIQUE´- this technique is mentioned by Butzkamm in

McKenzie-Brown paper17

. He claims that by usage of this technique we may avoid

interference from the L1 by inserting a translation between repetitions of an

unknown word or phrase. We should remark that this technique should be used

carefully as the learners may get used to it and wait lazily for the Czech expression

without an active participation.

The learners should be used to speaking mostly English. When they have a real

problem to understand, I taught the children to also use English and ask: “Can I

use Czech, please?“ They use it rather often eventhough they tended to overuse it

at the beginning. When I told the children to use the afforementioned sentence,

they asked it very often as they were not used to asking things in English and they

regarded it more complicated than it really was. Actually it seems to be a problem

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of the current generation of learners (not only foreign language learners). Children

are not used to use think over the problem too much because they are provided

with all the necessary information they need.

To summarize this topic, English should be used as the language of

communication. The lesson that I filmed is proof that it is possible even when

teaching a group of young learners. Teachers should speak English as often as

possible by describing their surroundings and activities, and translating the

children´s talk into English. On the other hand, Slattery and Willis maintain that

children need to have many opportunities to speak in order to learn something and

therefore they should be allowed, especially young learners, to use their mother

tongue. In my lessons I try to use English as the main language but neither me nor

the children are forbidden to use Czech.

� teaching cultural facts

Teaching aspects of British life should be an inherent part of the school

curriculum. In such situations I use the TL but sometimes it is rather difficult for

the learners to understand. Children are usually interested in facts about English

speaking countries and that is why the difficulties of conveying the meaning may

cause serious obstacles in learning and discourage the learners, especially the

younger ones. I agree that when teaching this part of the curriculum, the meaning

is more important than the language itself. Its main function is motivation which

may be more beneficial than insisting on the exclusive TL usage.

In the theoretical part we discussed the importace of being a native speaker or a

Czech teacher. When teaching the facts about English speaking countries the

Czech teacher, having a reasonable knowledge of British culture, seems to be

better, because his/her lessons may be based on the konwledge of the resemblances

and distinctions. In the lesson we discussed the British school report – its

similarity and variance.

Teacher: I would like to show you something. Look at it. Well, tell me, what it is.

What is it? And you can use Czech. What is it? Camilla, what do you think?

Camilla? …(hesitates)

Teacher: Anybody else?David!

David: Přihláška?

Teacher: No, it isn´t.Tess?

57

Tess: Zkoušky?

Teacher: No, not exams, not.

David: Dokument

Teacher: Yes, it is a kind of document, but Mathew, do you now what it is?

Mathew: Vyšší škola v….přihláška?

Teacher: hmmm

Charlie: Potvrzení o studijních výsledcích…

Teacher: Yes, what is it?

Charlie: Vysvědčení.

Teacher: Yes, it is in Czech ´vysvědčení´, it is a school report. This is a school

report. And this is a British school report. Yes? And tell me, do you remember

Johny Koktavý?Honza, Honza Koktavý?

Children nod their heads.

Yes, he lived in England last year and this is his school report. A school report,

yes? Well. So we will look at the subjects. OK. What is it? The first subject is

…Music. Ok. Another subject is Religious Education. What does it mean

´Religious Education´?

Peter: Náboženství

Teacher: Náboženství, very good.

…After a while.

Teacher: And now, I will speak Czech. Když se na to podíváme…(The teacher is

continuing in Czech. The class is discussing differences between the British and

Czech school report. They are also describing its advantages and disadvantages.)

It seems to be better to speak either Czech or English in such activities in order

not to make our learners confused. I usually simply announce that I will continue

in L1/L2.

� games

Games are vital parts of the foreign language lessons, mainly at the first grade

as they may provide relaxation and fun. To speak about giving instructions, we

should bear in mind that these activities usually do not last long a time thus we

should not spend more time with giving complicated instructions than with the

activity itself. It means that if the rules of the game are easy or children already

know the game and I only remind the rules (see cassette – a game ´Flappers´ or a

58

´ball game´), the target language can be easily used. On the other hand, spending

several minutes explaining the rules of a relatively short game is not beneficial and

usage of Czech is more effective as the main purpose of games are as we have

already said.

� break (it was not covered in the lesson)

Sometimes, mainly in the young learners classes, children are not able to

concentrate the whole forty-five minutes. In such cases Atkinson offers few

minutes break when the children can use their mother tongue. Eventhough

somebody may object that it is a waste of time, in my opinion it is better to use this

technique, have a few minutek to rest and refresh than to work hard the whole

lesson with a pure concentration which is undoubtedly less efficient.The same

situation happens when the children want to discuss some important or exciting

news and the topic is beyond their ability. It is better to discuss the topic in the

mother tongue, as it may be a helpful motivation tool. It often happens that

children want to tell me about something interesting and if it consists with the

topic of the lesson we discuss it. It also helps to create better relationship between

children and their teacher.

Not all of the lessons contain such a break. It should be used either when we

would like to discuss something very exciting and important or when explaining

something demanding that needs some time to be processed by our learners.

� listening

Listening is undoubtedly a crucial skill that should be practised as often as

possible. “Listening is the first language mode that children acquire. It provides a

foundation for all aspects of language and cognitive development, and it plays a

life-long role in the processes of learning and communication and is essential to a

productive participation in life. A study by Wilt (1950), which found that people

listen 45 percent of the time they spend communicating, is still widely cited (e.g.,

Martin, 1987; Strother, 1987). Wilt found that 30 percent of communication time

was spent speaking, 16 percent reading, and 9 percent writing. That finding

confirmed what Rankin had found in 1928, that people spent 70 percent of their

waking time communicating and that three-fourths of this time was spent listening

59

and speaking.“ 18

The author of the afforementioned article emphasized that one of

our aims should be to develop listening skills, in fact students concentrate more on

writing, reading and speaking. One of the reasons is the fact that more activities in

the current textbooks mention the other skills. That is why the development of

listening skills should get more attention in the lessons. As Byrne claims, the

essential difference between listening and other skills i.e. speaking and writting is

that the former is not ´teachable´. It follows from this that it is rather difficult task

to develop student´s listening ability. We may use various recorded materials but it

is not sufficent because when listening to a record the children are in a situation

which is not spontaneous. They have not got an opportunity to use a variety of

clues as mimics or gesticulation which help to convey the meaning. Again we may

highlight the important role of the teacher and the necessity of using English in the

lessons as it is mostly the most natural way on how to create ´an English situation´.

There were not any exercises focusing on listening but I spoke English almost

the whole lesson thus children had apportunity to develop their listening skills and

what is more, the English was used spontaneously and not only as a part of an

exercise. As it has been already said the young learners have the unique ability to

absorb a great deal of speach they hear. Therefore we may confirm that the target

language should be used to a large extent when teaching beginners, even the young

learners. Eventhough Atkinson does not recommend usage of the mother tongue

during activities focusing on listening as he regards them to be disturbing, children

must be provided with clear instructions and also all the tasks and questions must

be comprehensive.

� ending of the lesson

Teacher: I think, that´s all for today. Thank you, thank you for your attention,

good bye and have a nice day.

Learners: Thank you, you too.

Teacher: You have a break.

18

http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/mod/resource/view.php?id=29086

60

Ending of the lesson is as important as the beginning. When I did the

observation of my colleagues, most of them used Enlish only in the first part of

their lesson and the end was in Czech. By doing this, they waste many occasions

where English would be easily used. For example announcing homework saying

goodbye and so on. As we can see from the filmed lesson, it is possible to use

English almost the whole lesson even with young learners and without any

difficulties with understanding. The lesson started and finished with greetings and

particular learners´responses. This created an entity which enable the learners to

perceive a certain system and they adopted certain habits that are important for

children in their age.

VII.3. The Summary of Techniques for Achieving our Aims that I Use or Would

Like to Adopt

1) Use classroom English

“The classroom situation is a genuine social environment which allows ´the

meaningful situational use of the language´, and its communicative potential is

closer to real interaction than is often assumed.“ (Hughes 1993:6)

“Language is a tool and not a museum exhibit.“ (Hughes 1993:6) Using English

as much as possible in the classes does not mean using English only when

practicing various exercises and activities. As one of the primary language

functions is to communicate the information, the L2 should be used in most of the

classroom situations. The category of such phrases and expressions is called

´classroom English´. During the lessons I often find myself in situations that do

not require repeating, translating etc. but provide opportunities for the L2 to be

used communicatively. As Hughes claimes, such situations are genuine moments

when an instruction is followed by the action. What is more:

“It is perhaps an interesting paradox that whereas teachers are quite willing to

spend time practising key structures in phrases like ´Cows eat grass´and ´Is John

your mother?´, they may well switch to the L1 in order to set the day´s homework.

The reason very often put forward for this is that the pupils may not understand!

Any naive pupil may come to the very understandable conclusion that English is

basically a very tedious subject since all the information it conveys is either known

or meaningless.“ (Hughes 1993: 6)

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I have noticed that when I use the target language children not only start to

think in English, they are also forced to pay attention more intensively because

they have to listen carefully and also respond creatively. The reply may be verbal

or nonverbal i.e. they react somehow. By doing this, they become and active

learners which is definetely more effective than inactive learning.

According to some experts, the classroom English is occasionally marked as

´artificial´. That is why the most of such situations are initiated by the teacher.

Nevertheless in my opinion it is just natural that the teacher has more or less the

prestige position in the classroom and his main duty is to manage the lesson and

help the learners. This applies to the young learners all the more. In foreign

language classes his functions extend and he is also “the only living interacting

source of the language and the classroom may well be the only social context for

practising it.“ (Hughes 1993:8) The young learners acquire the new phrases

holophrastically and they can be also given a list of useful phrases that can help

them. According to my experience, the children usually try to use the phrases of

the classroom English because it helps their confidence to use the same language

as their teacher does.

Sometimes they are not able to use the whole complicated structure and that is

why they just spontaneously combine English and Czech together and make funny

sentences, e.g.:“ Paní, učitelko, já nevidím, mohl bych switch on the light?“

Picture 2 – Visualisation of the classroom English is a useful tool.

62

2) Adopt verbal techniques e.g. recasting, rephrasing, etc. (see the previous

chapter)

To use English as the main language during the whole lesson is difficult not

only for the learners but for their teachers as well. This is also the case of teachers

whose level of English is rather high, because it is more the problem of

methodology than language. I must say that it is quite demanding to learn which

language to use, what particular sentence to say and when to use it. It requires a lot

of time to acquire suitable techniques, for example using the “caretaker talk“ or

“rephrasing“. Some of these techniques I started to use after reading materials

focusing on classroom English. Some of them were easy to use directly, some not.

I made a lot of plans to achieve my goals. Firstly, it was important to be well

prepared for each lesson, prepare all phrases that were said in English and all

situations when the MT was used.

3) Ask for feedack and reflection/ use video or audio technique

Each teacher should have a feedback or reflection of his/her teaching. A

good way to acquire such information is to record one´s own lesson. It is rather

common to observe one´s colleagues at our school. Peer observation is very

helpful as we can share experience, ideas or we may focus on a particular problem.

I also use audio or video recording which is both a great way that offer a view

of things that happen in the class and sometimes we do not notice them at all.

When concentrating on the usage of the mother tongue, we may observe how

much we talk, how much our learners talk, which language we use and how we

use explanations and instructions, pronunciation and explanation, the place where

we stand, how many learners we speak to, etc. Sometimes I encountered with

problems when using video for the first time. Children were shy or disturbed and

they did not participate as they usually did. To overcome this problem I installed a

camera a few lessons before recording. The camera did not work but the children

thought it did. After several lessons they got used to it. The video or audio records

are not a good help only for the teacher, but it seems to has its motivational benefit

for the learners as well. I played the filmed lesson to my students and it seemed to

be helpful as they realized some of their mistakes, noticed that they spoke in a very

low voice or they observed the behaviour of each other.

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4) Consider the translation carefully

When focusing on appropriate methods we should mention various techniques

which enable the teachers to avoid translation. As Nik Peachey claims in his paper

´Conveying meaning´, when teaching any foreign language sometimes we have to

check that our learners have understood the meaning. Admittedly, rather often,

understanding is checked by translation by both learners and teachers. Peachey

also highlights possible problems of translation. Eventhough it seems to be faster,

learners become more dependent on their teacher and some structures simply

cannot be translated as they do not exist in other languages. What is more, in my

opinion, learners should be taught how to use their brain, to be creative, to react

and be able to participate in a dialogue. I believe that by doing this I help them to

become independent. When they are used to translation they may use English only

in activities taking part in the classroom and not in a ´real world´ situations. When

avoiding translation we may use various options. We should bear in mind that the

advantage when teaching the foreign language to beginners is that we are dealing

with learners without any previous experience and hence they accept the teacher´s

methods without any problems.

5) Use various pedagogical tools to convey the meaning

I use gestures and noises i.e. mime to make lesson, more enjoyable and to help

better understanding. When I want to help the learners to understand what I am

saying I use miming very often. Before I use some gestures I prepare them in order

to be clear and comprehensible. Also pictures and mainly paper cards with

instructions on the board acquited well. Such techniques help especially the

weaker learners which gives them a feeling of success. The self-confidence is vital

not only for students but for their teachers as well. The more the learners

understand the more English the teacher uses and vice versa. I can confirm that

this moment is very motivational.

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Picture 3 – “Speak in a lower voice“

Widely known teaching aids are pictures, including photos or drawings and

realia which I display in the classroom as they help me to create more memorable

lessons. I also use real objects that can be particularly benefiting for learners who

learn better when they can touch the objects and for learners with learning

disabilities. Peachey also mentions graphs that show degree and help with

explaining more complicated words as ´always´, ´often´, ´hardly ever´ etc.

Afforementioned graphs are based on the learners´ knowledge of some of those

words. Similar method is using synonyms and antonyms. Explanation and using a

monolingal dictionary is more demanding for both children and their teachers but

very useful in helping them to understand, express their thoughts and become

independent. This method has a connection with the usage of context. It also

enables children to be creative and use their brain power. The author also mentions

a method that is based on breaking down the complex words to their root parts, it

seems to be useful but more proper for advanced students as it is rather difficult for

young learners. Eventhough all above-cited techniques are powerful ones, it may

happen and mainly when teaching beginners, that we will teach the words that are

easier to translate. Nevertheless we should try to use all possible ways in order to

help the children to become better learners.

Some experts claim that when explaining something difficult to understand, for

example the rules of a new game, we should use the L2 and than translate it into

65

the L1 or vice versa. They affirm, that the switching from one language into

another is not disturbing, moreover it is just natural as the children are used to

reading subtitles for example and so on. I would say that this process has its

difficulty. If the translation becomes a routine, the children stop listening to the

instructions in the L2 and wait for translation. It is obvious that phrases or words

that are difficult to understand should be translated to be clear and comprehensive,

but before doing this, I am always assured that I have already tried to use the

alternative techniques i.e. gesture, mime,… and that nobody understood. If there is

at least anybody who understands, the I cooperate with him/her and with his/her

help explain the meaning. I usually appoint an interpreter and he/she translates

from one language into another or work with a dictionary. On the other hand if it is

obvious that the explanation would take a long time, it is better to translate it

straightaway as our aim is not to use English at any cost but to use it in order to be

as benefiting as possible. Another notion by Gardners is that it is better to choose

between the L2 and L1 rather than translate English instructions into Czech and

vice versa. It means that instead of translating we should give some instructions in

the L2 and some in L1.

6) Exploit the language

As it has been already said, children do not get used to usage of English

strightaway. I have proceeded from simple structures to more complex ones,

starting with easy and short instructions and phrases e.g. “Stand, up.“ and later

exploited the sentences “Could you stand up, please?“ etc. When teaching a new

phrase or instruction, the teacher should think carefully over the proper situation in

where to use it and how to present it. I accompanied the instructions by gestures or

a picture and later when the children get used to it I use the phrase without any

aids. I never start the lesson with a list of useful words or sentences. The children

should perceive that the particular phrase is required by the situation and that it is

not just a part of a grammar exercise.

7) Choose a ´helper´

Young children, as probably the only age group, are dependent on their teacher.

The teacher is an important figure for them and his/her opinion is more

appreciated than the opinion of their classmates. They like situations when they

66

can be helpful or participate in the lesson somehow. They like activities as

collecting or distributing exercise books and other handouts, cleaning the board,

opening or closing the window, operating the radio, etc. I take advantage of these

situations because by using everyday phrases and words children feel important

and proud that they can be my helpers and that they are able to understand me.

8) Use games

Teaching through games is an integral part of the young learners´ lessons.

Games are an effective motivating element. It works especially well with young

learners who appreciate exciting activities as they are extremely curious and need

frequent changes of activities. Games are a unique opportunity in how to make

English lessons interesting, enable to ´find way´ to English and overcome the

initial troubles. Starting with a new language is tough for children at the age of

eight or nine, when they usually start learning, have problems to master even their

mother tongue. When using games, our aim is to teach the language in a fun way.

When starting with acquiring basic instructions I use games such as ´Simon Says´

etc.

9) Motivate your learners

“Probably the greatest number of language

students in the world do it (learn English) because it

is on the school curriculum whether they like it or

not!“ (Harmer 1991:1) When teaching young

learners we should give enhanced attention to

motivation as we deal with the total beginners and

probably our approach will more or less influence

their attitude towards English. On the other hand,

children are curious and may enjoy English as it is

something new and attractive. Although Harmer

claims that children will usually not have any

motivation outside the teacher´s attitude, behaviour

and methods he/she uses. We may notice a kind of

Picture 4 – Children like pictures from the foreign countries.

67

extrinsic motivation when children are attracted by British or American culture

and it helps them to be better motivated. Nevertheless, we may surely claim that

intrinsic motivation must prevail. Children perceive the place where their lessons

take place, all methods and activities, their success or failure and especially the

personality of the teacher who is undoubtedly an important figure for the children.

10) Create an ´English atmosphere´.

Ahother way that I use to motivate learners is creating an “English

atmosphere“. Children love realia. I arranged a “special corner“ and displayed all

those objects. The walls in my language classroom are covered by posters

picturing well-known British or American places, children´s projects, various

geographical or theme maps and I also established a book case consisting of

various dictionaries, books and

magazines. My classroom also

contains a computer with some

educational programmes and an

internet access. Lessons of foreign

languages are undoubtedly very

different from any other lessons.

Gardners claim that using

classroom English mainly and

creating ´English-speaking

atmosphere´ help the learners to

think in the target language.

Picture 5 – The English Corner.

11) Use visualisation.

When teaching beginners, I make small cards and label all the important objects in

the room. Children can create it themselves and use various shapes and colours.

This method is suitable mainly for learners with learning disabilities.

68

To help children with following the instructions, special paper cards may

decorate the room. They can be made by both teachers and children. Teaching

young learners offer many advantages and their willingness to participate and help

the teacher is one of them. Those cards help children to understand the meaning

better and to help their teacher save time as well as his/her voice and use the

language more effectively.

Picture 6 – Visualisation of the English sights

Picture 7 – Visualisation of the particular months the year

69

12) Overcoming of the old habits

The most difficult task when trying to acquire the suitable methods is

overcoming of our ´bad´ habits. I do

this subsequently: The very first step

is to identify them, which can be

done by a peer observation or by

recording one´s own lessons. Then,

as it is imposible to eliminate them

stright away, we should set our

targets. A good way is to determine

our personal objective for the next

couple of lessons. Important factors

are consistency and patience.

Picture 8 - Labeling of the classroom may help

Conclusion

To summarize the lesson, when teaching the target language, young learners as

well, we should bear in mind that English is a language to be used for

communication not only for dealing with exercises and drills. English should be

the main language of the lesson but the theories when the mother tongue was

strictly banned have been already disproved. The main aim is not to use the L2

solely but to encourage the learners, help them to acquire language and a possitive

attitude towards English. Limited amount of the mother tongue is not to the

detriment of the cause. We are not able to determine the exact amount of the L1 or

L2, but we may decide when to use them depending on the particular class.

Eventhough the usage of English is not always the fastest and the most easy way,

it is often more efficient. The teacher has a variety of methods and tools and even

other learners help him/her to convey the meaning.

70

In the theoretical part the paper written by Podromou was mentioned. Now we

can discuss it as the claims are based on the results of afforementioned

observations and experience.

“The mother tongue in the classroom is

1. a drug (though with therapeutic potential, it can damage your health

and may become additive)“ We may certainly confirm this quote. The more MT

we use, the more we get used to it, or we may say that we become lazy to use the

target language. This is true of teachers and children as well.

2. “a reservoir (a resource from which we draw)“ The MT can be a

resource, but we should pay attention to the limited use of it. The MT can be used

when all the aids which should convey the meaning failed . (the abstract words

etc.)

3. “a wall (an obstacle to teaching)“ We can regard it as an obstacle to

teaching and learning as well. When a teacher uses a lot of the L1, he/she misses

many genuine opportunities for greater impact.When a learner uses a lot of the L1

he/she cannot develop his/her speaking skills.

4. “a window (which opens out into the world outside the classroom, if

we look through it we see the students´previous learning experience, their

interests, their knowledge of the world, their culture)“ We can draw from the MT

when we teach sociocultural facts of English speaking countries because we may

use method of comparison.

5. “a cruch (it can help us get by in a lesson, but it is recognition of

weakness)“ All of the learners need a help of the MT to understand the meaning

time to time.

6. “a lubricant (it keeps the wheel of a lesson moving smoothy, it thus

saves time)“19

It definetely saves the time but as it has been already said the MT

should be considered carefully in order not to become a “drug“.

My personal aim of this thesis was to enhance my knowledge about the proper

language use with the emphasis on the practical utilization.

The most important thing is to teach English through English, thus we make the

learners to react in the foreign language and what is more, to think in English.

19

http://web.archive.org/web/20021119093709/www.thracenet.gr/bridges/bridges5/From+Mother+T

ongue+to+Other+tonge.html

71

The aim of this sequence was to create an ideal lesson from the standpoint of

using the right language in the young learners´ lesson. After a thorough study of

various handbooks I have increased my knowledge about this topic. Nevertheless

the knowledge still remained on the theoretical level. That is why I started to apply

them into my lessons. They did not work directly. They were used by easy stages

in order to be processed by my learners and me as well. It should be said that the

particular methods were more complicated for me as the children are really

flexible and are rather quick to react. It is a really long term process to adopt new

methods and change all the bad habits because not only children need repetition

and a kind of drill to remember all the words and phrases. It seems to be a difficult

task because eventhough we plan our lessons in detail we should bear in mind that

each lesson is different as we work with children and many unpredictable

situations may occure. As it was already said at the beginning of the practical part,

we never teach under ideal conditions and that is why not all of the ideas written

in the handbooks are true for real teaching. The lesson was recorded on a video

tape, thus we may watch both verbal and nonverbal communication and also the

childrens reactions which is undoubtedly better than just listening to an audio tape.

I was rather satisfied with the development of the lesson. I did all stages that I

had planned and the aims of the lesson were also realized. The children cooperated

well. The amount of the English was the same as in other lessons. It may be seen

that the children are used to being taught English in English. The proof of this is

their spontaneous behaviour. There were some points that I would like to improve.

Firstly, even though I have already adopted most of the afforementioned

techniques, I still have difficulties with rephrasing and the methods of correcting

the learners. Eventhough I usually use various phrases for evaluation, I used only a

minority of them. I would say it was caused by stress from the video recording.

72

VIII. Final Conclusion

Using the acceptable language at the right age is still an unsolved problem that

remains a subject of discussion. The attitude towards using the mother tongue has

gone through a long development. It may be said that most of the experts more or

less reached an agreement on the fact that English should be the main language in

the lesson which applies to all ages and levels.

The advocates of using the target language solely when teaching young learners

refer to the similarity of learning the mother tongue and the foreign language and

to the human ability to learn the language in a foreign country only by listening

and acquiring the target language.

On the other hand we should bear in mind that the sole usage of the target

language does not have to be the best method and the carefully considered amount

of the mother tongue used during the lesson can be even more beneficial and

effective.

To concern of age, the young learners have a kind of memory that they are able

to repeat accurately the words and phrases they hear. On the other hand the older

students have their left hemisphere more dominant and they use logical operations.

When teaching the young learners the teachers should exploit all the advantages

of the young age, e.g. the learners´natural curiosity, in order to create positive

attitude to English use. Our aim should be to use English not only during various

exercises and drill activities, but in other situations as well and point out that this

language surrounds us and that is the reason why to learn it. The children should

get used to the usage of the target language as something that is natural for foreign

language lessons.

Usage of the target language is essential as the children store the words and

phrases while working actively. Although listening is regarded as a receptive skill,

it definetely should not be considered as passive.

Teaching the young learners is a responsible task as the very first experience

with the foreign language influences their future attitude. We may solve various

doubts including the proper age of the students. It may be certainly said that each

person and a child in particular, is different. Hence the teacher has to engage

his/her ability to be a skilled observer and diagnose each learner. He/she has to be

73

able to identify when the usage of the target language is negative, maybe even

frustrating and vice versa. Nevertheless we should not underestimate our learners

beforehand, because a lot of them are able to understand a considerable amount of

words and phrases in English for a long time before they are able to use it.

74

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another.html

11. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/vote/vote15_mother_tongue.shtml

12. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/vote/native.shtml

13. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/mother_tongue.shtml

14. www.wikipedia.org

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Appendices

Appendix 1- The lesson plan

Topic: School subjects

Aims: to improve learners´speaking and listening skills, practise new vocabulary

and compare some aspects of Czech and British school system.

Personal aim: to create a balanced lesson and try to use Czech and English in

appropriate situations in order to provide the learners with sufficient input and to

make the lesson as effective as possible.

Language level: Beginners

Age group: 5th Grade

Time: 45 min

Class size: 12 pupils

Patterns of interaction: group work and individual work

Materials/Equipment: a school report, flappers

Procedure:

Warm – up:

� Introduction – greeting, short discussion (“How are you today?“ etc.), taking

the register, conditions (opening windows, lights, etc.) helper, homework

� Game ´Hangman´ ……………School subjects

� New words – particular school subjects – cards on the board - matching Czech

and English expressions + learning pronunciation and correct meaning

� Discussion - time-table: "Have you got Art today?“ etc. 10 min

Main theme:

� Game ´Flappers´ - this game is useful for learning or practising vocabulary.

About 10 English words are written on the board. Two teams of pupils stand in

front of the board and have a flapper in their hands. A teacher says one of those

words in Czech and the pupils try to hit the right word as fast as possible. The

faster is the winner.

Words: particular school subjects 5 min

� Ball game – Children sit in the circle and listen to the music. They pass the ball

as fast as possible. When the music stop, the person who has the ball answers my

question. For example: “Do you like Music?“ – revision of grammar structures –

Do you like? Have you got?... and practising new words 5 min

� Discussion - a British school report.(in the circle on the carpet) Comparing the

British and Czech school reports. Practising school subjects. Discussing

advantages and disadvantages of both reports.(Using mostly Czech) 10 min

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� Survey – Children ask each other:“What is your favourite subject?“

10 min

Conclusion:

� Discussion - the results of the survey 5 min

The end of the lesson:

� Ending of the lesson and saying goodbye

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Appendix 2 – Greek Survey Results in Full

Survey results in full

Survey : 300 students

The figures refer to percentage (%) responses by students at beginner, intermediate

and advanced levels.

1: Should the teacher

know the students' mother-

tongue?

65 53 53

2: Should the teacher use

the students' mother-

tongue?

66 58 29

3: Should the students use

their mother-tongue? 63 53 35

It is useful if the teacher

uses L1 when:

4: explaining new words 25 35 18

5: explaining grammar 31 7 0

6: explaining differences

between L1 and L2

grammar

27 4 6

7: explaining differences

in the use of L1 and L2

rules

33 22 20

8: giving instructions 3 9 0

Students should be

allowed to use L1 when :

9: talking in pairs and

groups 22 3 3

10: asking how do we say

'..' in English ? 13 38 6

11: translating an L2 word

into L1 to show they

understand it

18 13 6

12: translating a text from

L2 to L1 to show they

understand it

21 7 6

13: translating as a test 21 2 6

The teacher and students

can use L1 to:

14: check listening

comprehension 27 9 3

15: check reading

comprehension 14 7 6

79

16: discuss the methods

used in class 21 13 6

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/mother_tongue.shtml

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Appendix 3

DVD – An ´Ideal´ Lesson Attempt

81

Abstract

The topic of the following thesis is - using the proper language, i.e. the mother

tongue or the target language, when teaching foreign languages. To regard the

age, the age group of young learners who are beginners will be highlighted.

The paper is divided into two parts i.e. the theoretical and practical sequence.

The first one depicts the language choice out of various angles. The second

sequence is mainly based on a cassete recording a lesson that was created in order

to try to teach an ideal lesson where both languages were used. It also presents the

results of the observation of several lessons taught to groups of young learners in

order to describe a real proportion of using the MT and the TL and shows the

results of the questionnaire.

The main aim of this thesis was to attempt to find an ideal proportion of the

mother tongue and the target language usage when teaching foreign languages to

the age group of young learners.

Key words: mother tongue, target language, young learners, language acquisition,

native speaker, teaching foreign languages

Resumé

Téma této diplomové práce je vhodné užití mateřského a cílového jazyka při

výuce cizích jazyků. Co se týče věku, práce je zaměřená na skupinu dětí mladšího

školního věku.

Diplomová práce je rozdělena na teoretickou a praktickou část přičemž první

popisuje užití vhodného jazyka z různých pohledů. Druhá část je založena

především na video nahrávce zachycující hodinu, která měla za cíl pokusit se co

nejvhodněji využít mateřský i cizí jazyk. Praktická část též prezentuje výsledky

observací, které byly provedeny za účelem zjištění reálného poměru užití obou

výše uvedených jazyků učitelem a výsledky dotazníku.

Cílem této práce bylo pokusit se najít vhodnou míru pro užití mateřštiny

učitelem při výuce cizích jazyků a to u skupiny dětí do 11 let, kteří jsou zároveň

začátečníky.

Key words: mateřský jazyk, cílový jazyk, žáci mladšího školního věku, osvojování

jazyka, rodilý mluvčí, výuka cizích jazyků

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