4A0C0044 李慈恩 Coco
research methods
participants
The role of the L1 as a scaffolding
tool in the EFL reading classroom
Teacher’s Code-Switching to the L1
in EFL Classroom
quantitative  questionnaires
qualitative  interviews
quantitative  questionnaires
qualitative  classroom recordings
45 EFL second year undergraduate
students from the Department of
EFL, University in Yemen. Of this
total, 10 were males and 35
The teachers (60) and the students
(261) were chosen from the three
Chinese universities: Three Gorges
University, Hubei University, and
Zhenjiang Normal University. The
females.
participants are native speakers of
Chinese.
research background
Code-switching,
one
of
the
unavoidable
consequences
of
communication between different
language varieties has long existed
as a result of language contact
widely observed especially in
The role of the students’ mother
multilingual
and
multicultural
tongue (L1) in the ESL/EFL
communities. Over the past decades,
classroom has been on-going
increasing interest in code-switching
debate recently. A monolingual
has triggered a variety of
approach suggests that the use of
investigations
and
theoretical
the target language solely in L2
discussions, which have shed light
classroom increases the learning of
on our understanding of bilingual
the target language. However, this
speech behavior. Code-switching as
research is motivated by studies
a specific phenomenon and strategy
that suggest the use of L1 in
of foreign language teachers
ESL/EFL classroom facilitates
received attention in the 1980s.
rather than impedes target
From then on, there has been the
language learning.
heated debate between different
views on whether it is helpful or
impeding to switch back and forth
between the target language and the
native language in the foreign
language learning classroom.
results or findings
The findings revealed that EFL First, most the teachers (80%) and
Yemeni students perceive the use students (66%) hold a positive view
4A0C0044 李慈恩 Coco
of
Arabic
(L1)
as
a
useful on teachers’ code-switching to the
facilitating tool in their learning of
English as a foreign language.
Besides, the findings also suggest
that the use of Arabic may usefully
serve
social
and
cognitive
functions, including scaffolding,
and promote collaborative work to
facilitate language learning.
L1. Second, the dominant pattern,
one of the three patterns of
code-switching, is inter-sentential
code-switching. Third, the factors
like teachers’ attitudes towards
code-switching, traditional methods,
and
situational
factors
also
contribute to the occurrence of the
switching to the L1. Fourth,
code-switching to Chinese has been
found to serve various functions.
Fifth, code-switching to Chinese is a
good strategy of efficiency and
benefits EFL classroom.
implications for teaching
and research
Code-switching to Chinese is a
prevalent phenomenon in EFL
L1 can be used by the teacher as a
classroom of Chinese universities
pedagogical strategy to facilitate
and that it plays a significant role in
students’ learning and to maximize
English learning and teaching
their engagement in the classroom.
process.
However,
there
are
However, teachers should make
admittedly still some limitations
sure that students are not
which may give some directions for
increasingly
or
extremely
further studies. First, the data
dependent on L1. This balance
source could not fully represent the
should be exponential in that as
whole population of EFL teachers
the student’s proficiency in the
and
students.
Second,
the
target language increases, the
respondents may have answered the
dependence of L1 decreases.
questions in the questionnaires with
Finally, the issue of the role of L1
subjective minds. Third, maybe
in the EFL classroom can be
there
are
other
kinds
of
further investigated, especially
code-switching
with
different
from the teacher’s perspective, to
patterns, factors, or functions in
draw a better pedagogical decision
EFL classrooms. Fourth, some
on the way that L1 could be
variables were not accounted for in
integrated
in
the
teaching
this study, such as students’
methodologies.
education level, gender, learning
motivation,etc.
4A0C0044 李慈恩 Coco
The role of the L1 as a scaffolding tool in the EFL reading classroom
1. (Adequately) synthesize prior literature?
Yes. The researchers synthesize the advocators of the monolingual approach and
the proponents of using the L1 in the L2 classroom.
The researchers synthesize the use of L1 in two different perspectives.
(1) Cognitive perspective (2) Sociocultural perspective
2. (Adequately) interpret prior literature?
Yes. The researchers interpret “L1 in the EFL classroom.”
3. (Adequately) critique prior literature?
Yes. “There is no empirical evidence that L1 has an impeding role in the
EFL/ESL classroom in non-native environments especially.”
4. Are the references included relevant?
Yes. The researchers provide a number of references which are relevant to the
topic.
5. Are the reviewed references current?
Not really. This journal is in 2014. However, there are some references before
2000.
6. Is the scope (breadth and depth) of LW adequate?
Yes.
7. Adequately introduce the research background/context?
Yes. “The role of the students’ mother tongue (L1) in the ESL/EFL classroom has
recently been the focus of an on-going debate and research.”
8. Adequately justify RQ’s/purposes or define research issues proposed?
Yes. “This paper reports on a research investigating the students’ perception of
using the (L1) in the EFL reading classroom at a tertiary context in Yemen.”
9. Review literature in terms of research findings?
4A0C0044 李慈恩 Coco
Yes. “Other researchers have in fact, shown that students’ mother tongue (L1)
foster a positive affective learning environment, especially in the beginning and
intermediate classes…”
10. Review literature in terms of research methods?
Yes. “The current study employed a mixed method design where both qualitative
and quantitative data collection are conducted concurrently in an embedded mixed
methods approach.”
11. Review literature in terms of significance of study?
Yes. “In the EFL context, there appears to be an increasing conviction that the use
of L1 in the EFL Classroom has a necessary and facilitating role.”
12. Review literature in terms of other aspects?
Yes. “L1 should not be used in the EFL classroom and that only target language
should be used to provide students with sufficient practice in the target language.
This argument completely denies the fact that students use and need to use the L1
for a variety of reasons.”
4A0C0044 李慈恩 Coco
Teacher’s Code-Switching to the L1 in EFL Classroom
1. (Adequately) synthesize prior literature?
Yes. In the studies of code-switching, there have been various definitions of the
term “code-switching.”
“Attempts have been made to describe and classify the various reasons and
functions of the uses of L1 in teacher speech.”
2. (Adequately) interpret prior literature?
Yes. “To be brief, code-switching is the shift from one language to another within
a conversation or utterance… ”
“In short, it is not only impractical to exclude the L1 from the classroom but it is
also likely to deprive students of an important tool for language learning.”
3. (Adequately) critique prior literature?
Yes. “However, much of the research is concerned about the situations in
English-speaking countries, where English is the L1 and French, in most cases,
the TL.”
4. Are the references included relevant?
Yes. “There have been many attempts to give a typological framework to the
phenomenon of code-switching”
5. Are the reviewed references current?
Not really. This journal is in 2010. However, there are some references before
2000.
6. Is the scope (breadth and depth) of LW adequate?
Yes.
7. Adequately introduce the research background/context?
Yes. “Over the past decades, increasing interest in code-switching has triggered a
variety of investigations and theoretical discussions, which have shed light on
our understanding of bilingual speech behavior. Code-switching as a specific
phenomenon and strategy of foreign language teachers received attention in the
1980s. From then on, there has been the heated debate between different views
4A0C0044 李慈恩 Coco
on whether it is helpful or impeding to switch back and forth between the target
language and the native language in the foreign language learning classroom.”
8. Adequately justify RQ’s/purposes or define research issues proposed?
Yes. “The present paper aims to prove that teachers’ code-switching to the L1
plays a positive role in the EFL classroom of Chinese universities by
investigating the terms of the attitudes of the teachers and students towards, the
patterns, the factors, the functions, and the influence of the code-switching to the
L1.”
9. Review literature in terms of research findings?
Yes. “The findings cannot be generalized before more experiments are repeated
in other environments in order to account for classroom code-switching, as the
discrepancy between these two language systems is much smaller than that
between other languages…”
10. Review literature in terms of research methods?
Yes. “In order to have a general and genuine reflection of teachers’
code-switching in classroom, both qualitative and quantitative research methods
were used, consisting of two questionnaires and classroom recordings.”
11. Review literature in terms of significance of study?
Yes. “The studies above have made great contributions to the studies of teachers’
code-switching in FL classroom.”
12. Review literature in terms of other aspects?
Yes. “There may be a different picture due to the greater language and cultural
differences.”