The Research On The Application Of First Language And Target Language In The English Class In Senior High School

It’s generally acknowledged that the second language acquisition is influenced by the learner’s first language (L1) to a large extend, and at the same time, many researchers in foreign language teaching regard the learner’mother tongue as a great interference factor in the process of the target language (TL) learning. Some teachers advised students to avoid using or thinking in L1while learning English, but the truth of the matter is quite different, for whatever kind of foreign language teaching task is completed under the condition that the learners has mastered the mother tongue. At the same time, formal instruction and teaching methods, which had better to be conducted in TL, are usually required to make up the absence of language environment during the study of TL. This situation sets an even higher demand on foreign language teaching. Therefore, the influences and functions of the L1, the importance of TL and how to apply TL into language teaching effectively become unavoidable topics in foreign language teaching theory and practice.Benefiting from the previous studies and practices, the author adopts the way of interviewing with two in-service female English teachers and classroom observation in their English classes in senior high school, to collect data and explore several issues related to teachers’use of the L1and the TL. This paper attempts to explore the three research questions:(1) what is the English teachers’beliefs and attitudes about using the TL and LI in their lessons?(2) What is the actual use of L1in different teaching procedures and the purposes and functions of using L1?(3) What are the principles and the actual portion of using TL in different lesson types? The results show that first, L1as the language of instruction is necessary and essential in foreign language teaching. Second, the amount of the TL and L1varies in different lesson content and teaching procedures according to teachers’desirability and teachers tend to use L1in some particular teaching procedures such as grammar explanation, content clarification and classroom management, to facilitate teaching. Different functions of the use of L1are also collected and concluded from the written transcription of two text analysis courses. Third, The situations of TL use are analyzed to find that there is almost no inconsistency between personal beliefs and actual teaching practices in text analysis courses, but the present situation regarding teachers’use of the TL as reflected in recommendations and policy on the one hand, and teachers’actual practice on the other are not well matched, so the factors affecting teachers’decisions about using the TL are listed and put forward some practical implications teaching advices at last.The final aim is to draw the teachers’attention to the role that the TL and L1can both play in their classes, and specifically the significance of the extending the proportion of TL in some specific teaching procedures. Consequently, teachers can not only make the classroom not only an easy place for students to learn, but also an input-rich environment that is conducive to the language learning.