use of the native language in the classroom

Written by: Johana Andrea Moreno

The section on "Translation has been an important part of the teaching of the English language for a long time, but has been abandoned since communicative methodologies became dominant" gives us an interesting appreciation for both learners and teachers since in spite of the fact that the translation was not adequate for English language professionals, it has not disappeared through the history of the teaching-learning process.

We see how it has been revitalized by the desire to use the mother tongue in the English classroom since we want to increase the fluency and precision of the language, according to this we can affirm that the use of the mother tongue and translation work in a joint manner to increase language skills. Although I have seen some cases of English teachers that prohibit the use of the mother tongue in the classroom, I believe that by operating a translation system in the classroom it allows vocabulary enrichment, thus increasing the level of interaction in the second.

(C. Schweers, 1999) implemented an investigation confirming my thesis, this author found that 88.7% of the research elements took into account the mother tongue should be used in their English classes, this research is not only based on opinions but also I made a real study of the use of grammatical translation to achieve a communicative goal and this study was vital to improve student performance

However, one of the main discrepancies in the use of translation in the teaching of languages will be that the translation does not help students to develop communication skills, also that they are encouraged to use their mother tongue in Instead of the second language, translation activities may be suitable for students who prefer analytical or verbal-linguistic learning strategies and finally, translation is a difficult skill that is not always rewarding.

References

Schweers, C.W., Jr.1999. Using L1 in the L2 Classroom. English Teaching Forum. pg 37 (2), 6-9