探究第二语言教学中的母语使用

王丹　王玉粉　邸雪颖

【摘 要】近年来，针对母语在第二语言教学中的作用的研究越来越多。有些研究者认为，教师应该完全使用目的语或尽量避免使用母语。然而，有些研究者发现，在某些程度上，母语对第二语言教学起着积极的作用。而且，很多实证研究也表明在第二语言教学中，教师都会使用母语，只不过使用母语的频率和程度不一样。基于前人的研究，本文以语言迁移为理论框架，旨在研究在第二语言教学中，教师应该如何使用母语。通过分析，笔者提出一些有益于第二语言教学的建议，期望为我国的实际教学给予一定得帮助。

【关键词】母语；语言迁移；第二语言教学

0 Introduction

In second language teaching， two languages are used by teachers， namely the target language（TL） and mother tongue. In second language learning， mother tongue has an influence on most aspects of second language acquisition. Therefore， second language teaching is faced with such a problem that how to handle the role of mother tongue in teaching. Ellis（1994） gives his points about the role of mother tongue as follows： “It is a popular belief that second language acquisition is strongly influenced by the learners first language. It is also a popular belief that the role of the first language in SLA is a negative and positive one.” It can be seen that mother tongue is a double-edged sword in second language teaching. If used properly， it can make a difference to second language teaching and learning， which is called positive transfer； if overused， it will interfere with the target language learning， which is called negative transfer. Thus， it is of necessity to explore how to use mother tongue in second language teaching so as to avoid the negative effect of mother tongue on second language teaching and learning.

1 Analysis of the Use of Mother Tongue in Second Language Teaching

1.1 The Occasions of the Use of Mother Tongue

Based on the previous studies and the authors own tutoring and learning experiences， the occasions of mother tongue use can be concluded as follows. Firstly， when explaining grammar， it is necessary for teachers to use mother tongue. As we know， some grammar is difficult to understand. If teachers explain it in TL， students will become more puzzled. But the use of mother tongue can help students understand better. Secondly， teachers tend to adopt mother tongue when distinguishing subtle words and expressions and explaining complex sentences. If it is easy for students to understand those with the use of mother tongue， is it of necessity to explain in TL？Lastly， many teachers use mother tongue when doing exercises， claiming that translating exercises with mother tongue makes students better understand， which also saves much time in class.

One coin has two sides. There are low-frequency-of-mother tongue contexts in second language teaching. As for the communicative situations， its strongly recommended to use TL as much as possible. For instance， when discussing questions， teachers should instruct students to employ TL so that students can put TL into practice. Otherwise， students will lose a precious opportunity to practice TL. In short， the teacher should employ mother tongue on the basis of teaching contents and purposes in order to facilitate students intake.

1.2 The Extents of the Use of Mother Tongue

It is recognized that appropriate use of mother tongue is beneficial for second language teaching and learning. However， whats the extent by which teachers employ mother tongue in class？ Some empirical studies present some answers for this question. The studies of Yuan Li（2005） and Zeng Wenyi（2008） indicate that mother tongue is widely used in class and the amount of mother tongue use is from“a lot” to“a little” with “some” on the top of the frequency rank. But “a lot ” isnt advisable and “some” should be handled cautiously. Yin Zhuolin（2006） and Yi Yuling（2013） demonstrate that most of the teachers and students believe that the proportion of mother tongue use should be no more than 30% in class. What their finding is approximately consistent with the results that Schweers（1999） worked out（10%-39%）， while a little higher than the average percent got in Critchleys（1999） survey（20%）. The differences among students can be explained by the teaching content and students proficiency.

According to the present studies， it can be seen that up to now， it is still an open issue and its also difficult to give a perfect ratio of TL and mother tongue use in the classroom.

1.3 Factors Influencing the Use of Mother Tongue

1.3.1 Subjective Factors

The next part is to explore the factors that affect mother tongue use from the subjective and objective perspectives. Subjective factors refer to teachers factors， because the subject who uses mother tongue is the teacher. The reason that teachers adopt mother tongue in teaching is their language proficiency. Although teachers would like to use TL in class as much as possible， the lack of language proficiency makes them speak less fluently and prevents them from giving a lecture just in TL. Furthermore， when explaining grammar or complicated sentences， in order to clearly explain and avoid students misunderstanding， the teachers would like to use mother tongue to help themselves reduce pressure and avoid giving incorrect explanations.

1.3.2 Objective Factors

Objective factors include students factors and others. As for students factors， students language proficiency influences teachers use of mother tongue to a large extent. As is known， when the teacher gives a lecture just in TL， its easier for the students with high-level proficiency. But for the students with low-level proficiency， its very hard to understand. Hence， its impossible for teachers to use TL exclusively and ignore the role of mother tongue.

Additionally， there are still other factors， including examinations， teaching contents and purposes， the efficiency of mother tongue use and so on. Take the examination as an example. Examinations have an impact on language teaching and learning. In the college， students scholarship is directly associated with the test score. If students get a low score or fail to pass the examination， he will have no chance to get it. Thus， students focus more on the test score rather than the practical use of TL. Accordingly， teachers are requested to use mother tongue in teaching.

2 Pedagogical Implications

2.1 Selective Use of Mother Tongue

According to the above analysis， the author proposes some implications to help teachers judiciously employ mother tongue in second language teaching. Based on teaching contents and purposes， teachers should select the use of mother tongue in second language teaching. In other words， teachers should know the purpose of mother tongue use in teaching. On communicative occasions， teachers should use TL exclusively and give a golden opportunity to students to practice TL. While explaining complicated grammar or others， teachers should appropriately use mother tongue to avoid students misunderstanding and save class time.

2.2 Appropriate Use of Mother Tongue

Sun Tianyi and Yao Fusheng（1980） argue that its impossible for teachers to create an English-only teaching environment and mother tongue should be properly used in second language teaching. Just like the empirical studies illustrate that most of the teachers and students believe that the proportion of mother tongue use should be no more than 30% in class. Therefore， the judicious use of mother tongue is of great significance and necessity in second language teaching.

2.3 Improvement of Teachers Language Proficiency

As stated above， the deficiency of the teachers language proficiency makes the English-only teaching become a dream. Thus， its of necessity for teachers to improve their language proficiency. The relevant department should offer a training program to help teachers deeply understand the teaching skills and improve their comprehensive abilities， especially the ability of speaking. Through the training， teachers can properly adjust the use of TL and mother tongue to make students receive more comprehensible input.

2.4 Consideration of Students Language Proficiency and Learning Motivation

Students language proficiency and learning motivation are the important factors influencing teachers use of mother tongue in second language teaching. Hence， in order to employ the target language as much as possible in class， teachers should organize helpful activities to promote students proficiency and meet their needs. For one thing， teachers can provide more opportunities for students to practice speaking and offer some English original video to facilitate language input. For another， teacher can make good use of mother tongue to arouse students interest and motivation in second language learning， like teaching games in class.

3 Conclusion

Different people have different viewpoints on the role of mother tongue in second language teaching. Some scholars are opposed to the use of mother tongue， while others are just the opposite. As for this problem， this thesis makes an analysis of the occasions， extents and influencing factors of the mother tongue use in second language teaching. Based on the analysis， the author expects that this thesis will be helpful for the practical teaching and learning.

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[责任编辑：王楠]