چکیده:
This study examines the controversial debate of the exclusion of adult learners’native language by reporting learners’ and instructors overwhelmingly positiveperceptions of its use in English for Specific Purpose (ESP) classes. In this study,multiple methods such as class observations, questionnaires and interviews wereused. The research was undertaken in 14 ESP classes for the students ofEngineering, Sciences and Humanities at Yazd University, Iran. Extensivequalitative and statistical analysis of the questionnaires revealed that a solidmajority of learners from different academic majors and instructors respondedpositively regarding the use of native language as a pedagogic device for teachingvarious aspects of the target language. Correspondingly, class observationsrevealed that all the instructors teaching different academic disciplines resorted tothe native language as an appropriate medium for cross-lingual, cross-culturalcomparisons. Nevertheless, the results from the interview phase of the studyrevealed that a large majority of learners and instructors were not in favor of usingthe first language as a facilitating technique and as a means to reduce students’anxiety.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Both, for the learners and instructors, a schedule-structured interview, comprising six items, was used in order to elicit information concerning the interviewees’ perspectives about the occasions when L1 is used in the ESP classes, as well as whether the use of L1 facilitates teaching and reduces learners’ anxiety (Appendices C & D).
For the first forty minutes, the researcher took down notes on the observation data sheet which comprised a series of questions related to issues such as: (1) whether the instructor used L1 for grammar instruction, (2) whether the instructor used L1 to explain the meaning of new words, to give instructions and check comprehension, (3) on what occasions code switching between L1 and L2 took place, (4) how frequently and for what purposes instructors and learners used L1 in the class, and (5) whether the instructor uses L1 to highlight similarities and differences between L1 and L2 language forms.
Almost all learners in the Humanities majors, a solid majority of the learners in the Sciences and Engineering majors as well as most of the instructors responded positively concerning the use of L1 in the ESP class (Item 1 of Appendices A & B).
Items 13, 14, 17 and 18 on the learners’ and instructors’ questionnaires (Appendices A & B) checked the beliefs and attitudes of learners and instructors pertaining to the use of L1 for giving instructions for tasks and exercises, for teaching reading strategies, for explaining the methodology, and for correcting errors, respectively.