Strategic Use of L1 in L2 Class

Abstract

This theoretical paper was presented at the TESOL Arabia Conference 2014 in UAE. The paper theoretically discusses the issue of tertiary level ESL students using L1 and L2 with special reference to reading skills and the consequent ambivalence of the ESL instructors. The argument, whether to use only Target Language (TL) in skill based instruction or should there be a mixture of L1 in the L2 instruction, has been the subject of immense importance for the teachers and researchers of Second Language Teaching (SLT). The teachers in the English as Foreign/ Second Language (ES/FL) institutions are usually instructed not to use students' L1 (Arabic) inside the classrooms while students insist they do not understand the target concepts clearly without the help of a teacher who would speak their L1. The author has highlighted and exemplified the current theories concerning the use of L1 in L2 classes and proposes the Strategic Instruction in the light of those theories. The author also proposes that a systematic, strategic, conscious and judicious use of L1 in L2 Reading comprehension instruction enhances learners' understanding of the target skill.