Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the students and teachers of the Taiyuan Foreign Language School for their understanding and cooperation in carrying out this research. Special thanks are given to Miss Zhao Jing, my student who did an early research on the same topic under my guidance and collected the data for this study.

The Use of L1 and the Attitudes of Students and Teachers Towards It in Chinese Secondary School Context

Ji Lingzhu and Zhao Jing, P.R. China

Ji Lingzhu is an associate professor in Foreign Languages Department, Taiyuan Normal University, Shanxi Province, P.R. China.

Zhao Jing was a senior student of Foreign language Department, Taiyuan Normal University. E-mail: margie_ji@yahoo.com

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Abstract
Introduction
Background research on L1 use in the ELT classroom
Research aims
Methodology
Findings
Discussion
Conclusion and recommendations
References
Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III

Abstract

To use L1 in the EFL classroom or not has always been a question. Professionals in second language acquisition and foreign language teaching field have become increasingly aware of the role the mother tongue plays in the EFL classroom. Many Chinese secondary school English teachers feel confused. Within this context, this research will examine students’ and teachers’ attitudes to L1 use in the classroom, their opinions about the extent to which it could be used and how much L1 they actually use in their teaching and learning. Several research methods are used, including observations, interviews, and a questionnaire. In the end, I present the findings and results, then give the possible reasons and some recommendations for future.

Introduction

The question, to use L1 in the EFL classroom or not, has long been debated in the world. Many language teachers feel confused as to whether L1 should or should not be used, and to what extent L1 can be used in EFL classes. L1 use was seen to hinder language learning. Quite a lot of English training schools have introduced an English-only policy when teaching English while others have developed the immersion programs in public schools to promote L2 use in class . Some people think that the second language use in the EFL class needs to be maximized whenever possible by encouraging its use and by using it for classroom management.(Nation 2003).However, many researches have indicated that L1 use provides support and appropriate scaffolding in language learning.

Background research on L1 use in the ELT classroom

The famous linguist, Krashen, is a proponent of the monolingual approach. According to him, foreign language learners follow basically the same route as they acquired their mother tongue, so the use of the native language should be minimized (Krashen, 1981).

The authors (Haycraft 1978, Hubbard et al 1983, and Harmer 1997) of the early stage EFL teaching books have not discussed the role and function of the 1st language. According to Tang (Tang 2002), this suggests that the mother tongues do not play an important role in foreign language teaching, or the native languages do not exist in their teaching contexts.

The Korean Education ministries 7th curriculum stipulated the English-Only approach to improve the learners’ communicative ability in the L2(Ahn,2000). A prime minister’s commission on Japan’s future suggests that citizens there should have a workable knowledge of English by the time they become adults since Japan is an exporting superpower. Therefore the pressures on secondary school English teachers are rising.

During the same period, however, some people began to pay attention to the role of L1 in L2 teaching again . Medgyes (1994) considers it untenable either on psychological ground, or linguistic or pedagogical ones . Some people even argued that exclusion of the mother tongue is a criticism of the mother tongue and renders it a second-class language. This degradation of the mother tongue has harmful psychological effects on learners (Nation 1990). Nunan and Lamb (1996), claimed that EFL teachers working with monolingual students at lower levels of English proficiency find prohibition of the mother tongue practically impossible. L1 is used by L2 learners as a communication strategy to compensate for deficiencies in the target language . In his research, Auerbuch (1993) not only acknowledged the positive role of mother tongue in the classroom, but also identified the following uses: classroom management, language analysis, presenting grammar rules, discussing cross-cultural issues, giving instructions or prompts, explaining errors, and checking for comprehension etc. Some researchers (Atkinson,1987) put forward the near English –Only Approach. He thinks the ratio of 5% native language to 95% of the target language may be more profitable, and he agrees that in some cases translation is still useful when there is a need for a comprehension check (Atkinson p243). Minzuno(1998) studies the utility of doing contrastive analysis of sentences in Japanese and English which have the same or similar meaning to help the students internalize spoken English. Trimble (1993) highlights how translation at times can facilitate students to more readily think in English for communicative and other work.

In one study on ESP students in Lithuania, Janulevicienė and Kavaliauskienė (2002) found out that 86% of the teachers and 83% of the students surveyed agree that native language should be used in university EFL classes. Furthermore, 86% of the teachers thought that L1 does help learners learn a foreign language, while an even higher number of students hold the same idea (95%). Schweers (1999)also found that ―using L1 helps the learners to have positive attitudes towards learning English and encourages students to learn more English. .

Similarly, many classroom practitioners (Tang 2002, Peng 2000, Zhu 2004 etc, Guo 2002 ,Kong 1996， and Zhao 2000)in China have summarized the L1 use in EFL classroom. They believed that it is appropriate and efficient when L1 is used to:

1. explain abstract words and complex sentences
2. compare differences between L1 and target language.
3. do translation exercises.

Tang (2002) investigated the university EFL learners. Her study was done with 100 first year English majors and their reading teachers. She reported that 91% of the surveyed university students claim to have benefited from the proper amount use of L1 in class. Therefore, she argued that ―limited and judicious use of mother tongue in the English classroom does not reduce students’ exposure to English, but rather can assist in the teaching and learning processes (2002 p.41).

In sum, previous researches have not only discussed the effectiveness of judicious L1 use, but also warned about its excessive use. My personal experiences as an English learner , an English teacher and a teacher trainer have shown me that moderate use of the mother tongue can aid and facilitate the learning and teaching of the target language. “However, the widely advocated principle that the native language should not be used in the foreign language classrooms, makes most teachers, experienced or not, feel uneasy about using L1 or permitting its use in the class room, even when there is a need to do so” (Tang 2002). In the area where I work, Education administrators at different levels often observe and supervise the English teachers’ classes. They encouraged the English-only approach, and the model English teachers they have chosen speak no Chinese in their classes. Quite a number of secondary school English teachers reported that they are quite limited in their ability to deliver their ideas in acceptable English. And there is a need for more direct training for the secondary school English teachers in classroom English. Tang’s study (2002) gives us a picture of the situation with university level English majors in China. However, the majority of English learners and teachers are from junior and senior high schools, whose voices remain inadequately heard.

Inspired by the various researches and driven by the actual situation of English teaching and learning in high schools, I decided to carry out a similar study on the use of the native language in the Chinese high school English learning context with the help of my students. In this research, we will examine students’ and teachers’ attitudes to L1 use in the classroom and their opinions about the extent to which it could be used. What’s more, there are some matters need to be noticed. Firstly, English is a foreign language to the student participants. Secondly, the participants in our research are all students in their Senior 1. Thirdly, the teachers in the study are non-native speakers of English. Fourthly, several research methods are used, including observations, interviews, and a questionnaire. According to the research, the results can not only present the students’ and teachers’ attitudes to L1 use in the classroom and their opinions , but it also enlightens us the situation of EFL teaching in the secondary schools in general to some extent.

Research aims

This study aimed at investigating students’ and teachers’ opinions on how and to what extent they should be allowed to apply L1 in the classroom. The second aim was to examine to what extent L1 is beneficial in the classroom, broken down by four macro-skills: listening , reading, speaking and writing .

The central research questions in the study are:

• “Is Chinese as the L1 used in Senior 1 English classrooms ? If so, how frequently is it used and for what purposes?” ( Tang 2002)
• What are the attitudes of the students and teachers toward appropriate use of L1 in the classroom and its perceived contribution to their teaching / learning?
• Are there any similarities and differences between those opinions?
• What are the EFL teachers’ and students’ opinions about the use of L1 in the 4 macro-skills?

Methodology

1. Subjects

For the questionnaires, the participants were 12 English teachers who were all faculty members at Taiyuan Foreign Language School, with their teaching experience ranging from one year to 20 years, and the students were 100 Senior High students in Grade 1 in Taiyuan Foreign Language School. These 100 students come largely from other Junior Middle Schools in Taiyuan area, with relatively low English proficiency level. Only a small proportion of students spent their junior high school years in Taiyuan Foreign Language School. ( *Taiyuan Foreign Language school includes senior high and junior high departments. The senior high department also enrolls students who complete their junior high education from the other middle schools. Students directly graduated from its own junior high department usually have a comparatively higher English proficiency level.) The students have 6 normal classes every week from Monday to Friday, and an early morning class (30 minutes) and an evening class (60 minutes). On average, they spend less than an hour on English homework daily. For the interviews, 6 teachers and 10 students were chosen randomly.

2. Methods

Three methods of data collection were employed, questionnaires, interviews and classroom observation. It is suggested that the method of triangulation can improve the validity and reliability of the findings (McDonough and McDonough, 1997).

a. Questionnaires: Two different versions of questionnaires were developed: the teacher version (Appendix I) provided to 12 teachers, and the student version (Appendix II) responded by 100 students, a reasonable sample for research. The questionnaire includes a variety of questions that were open-ended, yes/no, ranked, multiple-choice, scaled and short answer questions. The questions were designed to encourage responses regarding the use of Chinese in the variety of contexts in which the participants are placed. They encourage responses that reflect on their colleagues’ L1 use (for teachers), and on their peers’ use of Chinese (for students). The student questionnaire was given in Chinese, the students’ mother tongue, to ensure efficiency in communication. The teacher version was given in English.

b. Interviews (Appendix III): After the questionnaires were collected and analyzed, semi-structured group interviews were held with six teachers and ten students. Group interviews were used with both teachers and learners because ―the data collected from a group is far richer than that collected from individuals as the various members of the group can trigger additional, and more productive, responses from each other.(Burns 1999, p.119). Moreover, we prefer to use the semi-structured interview because it gives the interviewer more flexibility, and the interviewees can have a certain degree of power in the interview.

The questions (Appendix III) were designed to encourage participants to think about their responses, so that a frank and profound discussion about L1 use could be achieved. The interviews were summarized in the finding sections.

c. Observations: to support the findings from the questionnaires and interviews, 6 classes ( 1 introduction, 2 reading, 1 grammar, 1 hour of language points and 1 hour of exercises)were observed in total to compare the classroom environment and interactions focusing on teachers, students and the context. Observation aims to record information about the degree of L1 used in different activities and the effectiveness of the lessons. This information was used to validate the participants’ views drawn from the questionnaires about the function of L1 use. It was also used to inform the researchers about how much L1 is actually used in the classroom and its possible contribution to a successful foreign language learning environment.
(* The students of one class is divided into two groups according to their English proficiency levels. Of the six classes observed, two are for the advanced group, four are for the general.)

Findings

1. Questionnaires and interviews (Appendices I, II & III)

The following is a summary of the data collected as a result of the research. The first three tables present the data regarding the two groups’ prescriptive viewpoints on the usefulness, ideal frequency, and maximum benefit of L1 use in Tables 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The remaining two tables demonstrate the opinions of disadvantages of L1 use, and benefits of L1 use broken down by four macro-skills.

Table 1: Teachers’ and students’ general attitude towards usefulness of L1 use

Table 1 tells us the general attitude of English teachers, and students, Group A, Group B respectively, towards the use of Chinese in helping students learn English. The two groups have relatively different opinions. 50% of the teachers, that is, 6 out of 12 teachers believe that Chinese is sometimes useful while 30% of the students think so, 34% students feel that Chinese is useful, but none of the teachers have the same idea. No teacher and only 3% students believe that Chinese is not useful at all, a very small proportion.

In sum, 83% of teachers and 85% of the students agree that using Chinese is helpful in English classroom.

Table 2

Table 2: Teachers’ and students’ opinions about how much teachers should use L1

Teachers and students were asked about their general opinions with regards to what extent teachers should use L1 (table 2). No teachers believed that they should use L1 all the time or frequently. Similarly, only 3% and 14% students believed so, a rather small proportion. What’s more, 83% teachers selected a frequency of sometimes and 17% chose a little, which are similar to the opinions of students, where 48% and 32% wanted a frequency of ―sometimes and a little. No teachers and only 3% (3 students) rejected L1 use completely. According to the table 2, both teachers and students support L1 use in EFL classroom.

Table 3

Table 3: Teachers’ and students’ opinions towards usefulness of L1

Participants were also asked to identify advantages of L1 use in various activities. Table 3 displays the relative frequency for each activity as chosen by teachers and students. Candidates were allowed to choose more than one answers. The relative frequency is calculated on the basis of the number of votes given. For both teachers and students, it is believed that Chinese is most useful when explaining grammar rules. Teachers thought that the second most important is clarifying the meaning of the words and expressions as this activity received 22% of the answers. From the teachers’ point of view, both giving suggestions on how to learn effectively and classroom management / giving discipline counted as the third most useful contribution of L1 use. From the students’ point of view, practicing the use of phrases and expressions, clarifying the meaning of the words and expressions, and giving suggestions on how to learn effectively can all be regarded as second most important activities.

Table 4

Table 4: Teachers’ and student’s opinions towards disadvantages of using L1

Participants reported on the activities where L1 was least useful in the classroom. The answers were calculated in the same way as the previous table. As seen in table 4, teachers believed that practicing the use of phrases and expressions and carrying out pair and group work are the activities where L1 use are the least useful while students tend to disagree. They selected classroom management/giving discipline, and they think the second least useful activity is carrying out pair and group work. Moreover, both teachers and students thought that L1 use is most useful when explaining grammar rules.

Table 5

Table 5: Teachers’ and students’ opinions on the benefit of L1 use in macro-skills

Table 5 demonstrates the extent to which participants think students can benefit by using Chinese in each macro-skill. 66%~67% teachers thought that using Chinese provided no more than a 40% benefit for speaking and listening whereas for reading, all teachers favored 10%-60%; for writing, 83% selected 10%-60%. Moreover, the students showed a similar opinion to that of the teachers in listening as 82% students chose 0-40%. For speaking, 90% students think L1 use does a great help. For reading and writing, students’ ideas varied greatly, though 32% students believed the L1 use may benefit 10%-40% in writing.

2. Classroom observations

Classroom observations had two basic aims. The primary aim was to examine the extent to which students and English teachers were actually using English to validate their responses in the questionnaires and interviews. Second, there was an attempt to find out whether the language used in the classroom had any effect positive or negative on the classroom interaction and on successful completion of tasks.

According to the observations, L1 is used mostly for:
clarifying the meaning of the words, expressions or sentences;
practicing the use of some phrases and expressions;
explaining grammar rules.

Chinese was used by the teachers in English classes to give instructions and to explain the meaning of words, complex ideas, and complex grammar points. The greatest use of Chinese, was to explain the meaning of words. One teacher used Chinese to explain the words importance, principle and justice after her English explanations, which proved to be quite effective judging from the students’ responses. When they teach how to use phrases and grammar rules, 3 out of 4 teachers used Chinese first and one teacher used Chinese directly. Usually in class，they first attempted to teach everything in English，then they use some Chinese to emphasize.

Usually, teachers spend at least 5 classes (Introduction; Reading; Language Points; Grammar; Exercise ) to finish one module. According to the observation, teachers use different percentages of L1 in different classes.

The teachers’ use of Chinese in the six classes observed ( by the class time spent on speaking Chinese)

While in class, the students’ reactions to English teaching are also worth noticing. When they are speaking, their output always unfold the traces of translation, the same with their sentences and expressions. For example, when it came to answering questions, due to limited time and the difficulty level of the topic, their accuracy fell tremendously, with increasing number of mistakes. What’s more, students who have inadequate control of vocabulary tend to depend more on Chinese in group discussions and in organizing their English. According to the interview, they think in Chinese first, and then translate it into English, only in this way dare they speak English in class. What they did in class validated what they said in the interview. Another thing worth noticing is that L1 use is decreasingly used by teachers when it is in an advanced class, where the students are more skilled and familiar with English teaching. Most of the participants in the advanced class say that their English teachers in Junior high schools spoke a lot of English in class. Therefore they are already used to listening in English. And some of them attended the extra curriculum English classes.

3. Interviews

After the classroom observation, the six teachers whose classes had been observed were interviewed. Ten students (from the 100 participants) were also interviewed separately. Their ideas are summarized as follows (translated from Chinese): ( T for teachers, S for students)

Teachers

T1. I guess I use Chinese the most. I use Chinese for grammar, new words and phrases ,classroom management as well as exercises. The students are here to prepare for colleges. If they cannot get high marks, they cannot go to colleges. If they do not go to universities, what is the use of learning English? When I speak Chinese, my students think they must remember. Otherwise they do not pay attention.

T2. I use Chinese a lot when I teach grammar and doing classroom management. Without grammar, they cannot make sentences, nor can they get a high mark in the examinations. Sometimes I give a context and examples, and ask them to observe and find out the grammar rule, some of the students can work out. But it is quite time-consuming.

T3. I use English a lot in warming-up class of each module. Students are so excited that they are willing to share what they know about the topic of the text. I also feel very comfortable at this time. Although sometimes the English we speak is broken, we can manage to make ourselves understood. I hate the grammar and exercises because you cannot make a single mistake. Even if you use Chinese to teach, it is not as easy as you think.

T4. Previously I liked to speak English in class, but now I have to cut down the amount of English spoken in class because the students from other junior high schools cannot follow us. They want especially more Chinese for grammar and exercises.

T5. Sometimes I do not know what to do. Whenever the administrative leaders come to observe our classes, our school leaders want us to speak English only, but the students are often examined on the grammar points. Good oral English does not guarantee high mark in English examinations.

T6. Upon graduation from university, I spoke good English in others’ eyes. Now whenever I speak English, I feel broken and hesitant as if I was also senior school student.

Students

Some: (4 out of ten) we spent our junior high years here in this school, most of us have attended the extra curricula English training school in our spare time, so English –only way of teaching works very well with us. Even if for grammar, English is OK for us. For culture-specific content, we need a little Chinese help. We really hope that the teachers can speak more English so that our speaking and listening ability can be improved. But for the language points often appearing in the written examinations, we still want some Chinese explanations

Some: (3 out of 10) we are from the common junior high schools, and also attended spare-time English classes. Our junior high school teachers sometimes used English and sometimes used Chinese. If the English teachers here speak English slowly and repeat important points once more, we will gradually get used to English teaching. The only thing is that we need more time. We want to be able to speak English fluently, and we also want high marks in written examination. Some of the students answered the questions based on what they hope and what they want, instead of the real situation of Chinese use.

Some (3 out of 10): In junior high school, we only studied the English textbooks. The thing we did is to remember the grammar rules and new words, and then doing the exercises to prepare for the senior high entrance examination. Our junior high English teachers taught us every thing in Chinese. When we are here, we admire those classmates who speak good English. We were frightened and nervous when the teachers teach in English at the very beginning. Later we found when we calm down and listen attentively. But we feel tired if the teachers teach in English for over 15 minutes. We guess if we stick to English, we will be used to it. We are not confident with our understanding of English, often want Chinese to check. When answering the questions, we hoped to be the same as others, so we put down “Some Chinese” or “ a little”

Discussion

Although a lot of studies are against the use of L1 in foreign language teaching, there is overwhelming agreement and evidence about the use and benefit of L1 in the classroom from both teachers and students, and students wanted more L1 use than teachers. This supports Tang(2002) and Schweer‘s(1999) studies, which claim that L1 can have a ―supportive and facilitating role in EFL classrooms although English should be ―the primary vehicle of communication.

The results of the present study on the use of the mother tongue in Chinese high school EFL context bear many similarities to Tang’s (2012) study in Chinese university context. Both studies indicate that the mother tongue was used by the majority of teachers investigated, and both students and teachers responded positively toward its use. Minor discrepancies exist concerning the occasions when the L1 should be used and the amount of the L1 use. Some of these differences can be explained by the participants’ (students as well as teachers) different L2 proficiency levels. University English majors have a higher proficiency level than the high school students. Another possible reason might be that the high school learners can understand English if they try to, but they still want more Chinese to be psychologically confident, and they might like to stick to the habit of learning in Chinese, and unwilling to Change.

The teachers participating in this study indicated that the translation of some words, complex ideas, or even whole passage is a good way to learn a foreign language. Our class observation suggests that English-only sometimes put learners into misunderstanding, and make them confused, and finally cause comprehension breakdown. This is similar to Tang’s (2002) study with university EFL learners. Translation is regarded as a kind of intellectual activity. When they are translating, they feel they are learning.

This study also reveals that in the EFL classes observed Chinese still plays only a supportive and facilitating role although the average amount of time spent by teachers speaking Chinese is about 40% (from observation), with a percentage much higher than the questionnaire and interview results. The chief medium of communication in the class is still English. We noticed that the teachers first of all tried to use English to teach. When they found the students were confused, they turned to Chinese for help, mostly for the purpose of clarification and accuracy.

In the interview, the majority of the students (7out of 10) think that teachers speak too much Chinese, and they should cut down the amount of Chinese by a half. That is about 20% of Chinese. According to the teacher’s experience, this percentage decreases as the students’ English proficiency improves.

Just like the participants in Tang’s study (2002), the students in the present study are highly motivated to learn English. As a student in Taiyuan Foreign Language School, they regarded English as a way to establish their reputation, as students with good command of English are more likely to be admired by their peers. Many graduates from this school go to universities in English-speaking countries or first-class universities in China without taking National College Entrance Examination. So they do not have the feeling that English is imposed on them, neither do they regard the use of English as a threat to their identity (Tang 2003). Although they prefer more English use in the classroom for grammar and exercises, and they admire teachers who speak beautiful English. In their view, Chinese should be used only when necessary to help them to learn. Moreover, students saw a greater benefit of L1 use than teachers, which suggests that teachers should consider its use to the students’ benefits.

Apart from all above, there are some differences between the results from questionnaires and our observation. For example, the questionnaire results reveal that no teachers supported that L1 is useful in practicing the use of phrases and expressions, but observation shows the opposite. The possible explanation is the Chinese Examination System. In China, the way to evaluate students’ English ability is the examination result. Though there are some changes, they are rather superficial. So teachers have to use some L1 in English class to help students get high score. In the interview, all the teachers said for grammar and usage of words and phrases, they use about 90% of Chinese to teach to ensure accuracy, usually at the expense of fluency, because they always worry that using English might cause misunderstanding. The students are always worried about the examination results if their teachers speak purely English in class. We happened to have a few words with two Senior 3 English teachers in this school. They said they did not use English to teach because their goal was to ensure the students’ high scores in the National College Entrance Examination.

The results also shed some light onto the amount of L1 use in classroom activities and macro linguistic skills. Teachers saw 10-40% benefit of L1 use in listening and speaking while some students saw even greater benefit. This is understandable as with use of L1, the practice and development of fluency in speaking and listening can be better achieved. There was a greater perceived benefit in reading and writing, especially when giving instructions and for explanation of words and clarification of answers perhaps because the students find it harder to understand in L2. However, Owen points out that the use of translation actually compounds the difficulty in the learning process, ―as it brought transference errors to language production (2003, online). Yet from the students’ perspective, they are more satisfied with Chinese explanations for abstract ideas and ambiguous meanings than English explanations. This is supported by Chamot (2005). In his research on the most successful reading strategies in reading comprehension, Chamot demonstrated that ―teachers found it easier to teach strategies in the native language and students who were more able to verbalize their thinking processes in L1 displayed greater comprehension of the L2 text than those unable to describe their thoughts (2005, p.120). In addition to this, ―L1 translation is the most effective among ―the comprehension supports such as a demonstration, a picture or a diagram, a real object, L2 context clues or an L1 translation ( Nation 2003).

Moreover, the most-cited advantage of L1 is explaining grammar rules. This supports research that suggests both explicit and implicit grammar teaching is important to satisfy learners’ needs and learning styles (Thornbury, 1999). Sometimes it is necessary to remind the language learners of important rules and L2 usage by distinguishing it from their L1, thus the explicit knowledge will enable learners to notice the gap between their inner grammars and the target language. In addition to this, explicit instruction using L1 can assist the writing skills for students since writing is more focused on simple language structures, which require explicit grammar rules. In our interview, two of the teachers even said they preferred to present grammatical rules in Chinese， then gradually move to English in the practice and production stages. Students also like clear and accurate grammar instruction in Chinese when meeting a grammar rule for the first time. When they become familiar with it, they like to have more English.

Our observation of classes suggest that while in pair work or group work, though students stand up and speak English in class, while they are preparing in pairs or groups, most of them would resort to the help of L1,which, according to the teachers, is not good for cultivating their sense of English and training them the target language thinking. Cole supported the inappropriateness of L1 in those activities:―L1 is largely inappropriate unless the instructions lead to frustration (1998, online). Similarly, L1 has limited use in speaking and listening as a vast majority people said maximum benefit of L1 use is less than 40%. To improve these component communication skills, students need to build up their confidence and fluency by responding in English such as when ―asking for clarification, checking for comprehension, and paraphrasing, rather than … reverting to the L1 use. (Chamot, 2005, p.119).

Based on Table 4, teachers and students disagree on the activities where the L1 is least useful. For the teachers, they are practicing the use of phrases and expressions and carrying out pair/group work, whereas for the students it is classroom management. In the interview and class observation, we found that teachers actually use a lot of Chinese (60-80%) in classroom management and giving suggestions on how to learn effectively. Their explanation for this is for time-saving and accuracy. However， classroom management, if well-planned and consistent, can be very effective meaning- focused input of English. (Nation 2003) In the observation, we found that in the teaching of one module, teachers spent a total of 40% of class time speaking in Chinese， for the advanced group it is about 20-30%. That validates the findings we got from the questionnaire and interview to some extent, but the percentage of L1 use is a little higher. In questionnaire, the teachers answered they used about 55% of Chinese in explaining grammar rules, but the percentage from classroom observation is 80%. Maybe the teachers are unwilling to admit that they are using Chinese since the English-only approach is encouraged. Another possible explanation is for the sake of accuracy and the students’ scores in the examinations.

Conclusion and recommendations

This research has investigated the attitudes and usage of L1 in a senior high school context. It was pointed out that L1 plays a supportive role in the language classroom, especially in speaking and listening. A bigger sample of students and teachers could be employed in the future. It is also important to acknowledge the influence of the learning environment and cultural environment the Chinese learners have been exposed to, on their preference for L1 use.

The findings discussed in the previous section have important implications for the EFL teaching. The following recommendations are important steps that schools can take to improve the teaching environment and ensure students’ success.

First, students, teachers and administrators should work collaboratively towards the improvement of English teaching. It is up to the teachers to do some classroom research into the students’ needs and preferences, and analyze the findings with foreign language teaching theories to decide a reasonable and beneficial amount of L1 use at different stages of EFL teaching. For instance, the sentence structures and words and phrases used for classroom management are often repeated. So teachers can gradually reduce the amount of Chinese use and increase the target language use in classroom management. And for the usage of phrases, teachers can use examples to explain rather than Chinese.

Second, an English-only policy is more useful when employed in the upper levels where the percentage of English used by both teachers and students is high. We need to train the lower level learners to learn English in English, help them to overcome their psychological barriers, and cultivate their good English learning habits since it is self-evident that learners with a higher proficiency level progress from the lower levels. If at the lower levels, more target language is used, learners will improve much faster. To learn a foreign language, input in the target language is a must. Maybe it is a good idea that teachers discuss with the students about the importance of target language communication, and together with them make up a list of when and how much L1 help should be provided during a certain period of time, then move forward towards more target language use step by step.

Third, Chinese secondary school teachers do not have the freedom to choose textbooks, neither can they decide when examination should be held and what to be examined. Therefore the time pressure on them is quite tense. In Tang’s study(2002), university teachers used more Chinese to save time, and the teachers in our study also spoke Chinese to save time. But the tight schedule should not become an excuse for excessive L1 use. We should make clear why, when and how should L1 be used, so as to avoid its disadvantages.

In China, at the secondary school level, English teaching in foreign language schools is usually more advanced than common high schools. Our investigation also shed light on general EFL teaching in other secondary schools. We can reasonably assume that in the county-based and country –based high schools, where teacher and student resource are not as good as in the cities, L1 use in EFL instruction is well over 50%. In some schools, the instruction is totally in Chinese except when reading English sentences.

Secondary school English teachers need to have trainings on when to use L1 to help teaching and how to encourage L2 communication in class. If the situation of L1 use in secondary school context becomes better, the English proficiency level of university learners will be improved.

As the findings have indicated the importance of judicious L1 use and increase of L2 use, classroom activities promoting L2 use should be developed. In order to strengthen the teaching outcomes in a short period of time, Zhao (2000: 38) suggested a method called “comparison”, which means to make a comparison and analyze the similarities and differences between L1 and target language under a controlled guidance according to different periods and subjects. What’s more, a merit system could be implemented where rewards are given to students who try to communicate in English.

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Appendix I

Questionnaire / for teachers (modified from Tang’s, 2002) The purpose of the questionnaire is to discover the use and attitude of using native language (Chinese) in ELT classrooms. Your answers will be used for research purposes only. Thank you for your cooperation.

1. Do you think the use of Chinese helps students learn English?
   Very useful/ useful/ sometimes useful/very small / Not at all
2. If you think the use of Chinese is necessary in the classroom, why ?
   1. It aids comprehension greatly.
   2. It is more effective.
   3. It is less time-consuming.
   4. other, please specify___________________________________
3. To what extent do you use Chinese? (Circle the preference)
   all the time / frequently / sometimes / a little / not at all
4. To what extent should students use Chinese? (Circle the preference)
   all the time / frequently / sometimes / a little / not at all
5. When do you think it is useful to use Chinese in English classrooms? (You can circle more than one answer.).
   1. to give suggestions on how to learn more effectively
   2. to clarify the meaning of the words, expressions or sentences
   3. to explain grammar rules
   4. to practice the use of some phrases and expressions (e.g doing translation exercises)
   5. to carry out pair and group work(communicative activities)
   6. classroom management/ to give students discipline
   7. other, please specify
6. When do you think it is not useful to use Chinese in English classrooms? (You can choose more than one answers ).
   1. to give suggestions on how to learn more effectively
   2. to clarify the meaning of the words, expressions or sentences
   3. to explain grammar rules
   4. to practice the use of some phrases and expressions (e.g doing translation exercises)
   5. to carry out pair and group work (communicative activities)
   6. classroom management/ to give students’ discipline
   7. other, please specify
7. What is the most challenging aspect when you encourage your students to speak English as much as possible?
8. What do you usually do when your students do not understand what you say in English? (You can choose more than one answer and circle alphabet.).
   1. ask classmates to translate for you
   2. use Chinese to explain again
   3. write down the words which students don’t understand and ask them look up the dictionary
   4. use English to explain again until students get the idea
   5. ignore it
   6. other, please specify ______
9. In those skill(s) how much can your students benefit from by using Chinese? (Please choose a percentage from each item).
   1. Speaking 0-10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%
   2. Listening 0-10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%
   3. Reading 0-10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%
   4. Writing 0-10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%

Appendix II

Questionnaire for students (translated from Chinese, and modified from Tang’s, 2002)

The purpose of the questionnaire is to discover the use and attitude of using native language(Chinese) in classrooms. Yours answers will be used for research purposes only. Thank you for your cooperation.

1. Which grade do you belong to?
   Grade1 / Grade 2 / Grade 3
2. Do you think native language (Chinese) should be used in English classes? Yes / No
3. Do you think the use of Chinese helps you learn English?
   Very useful/ useful / often useful/ sometimes useful/ very small use/ Not at all
4. Do you think what extend teachers should use Chinese?
   all the time / frequently / sometimes/ a little / not all
5. When do you think it is useful to use Chinese in English classrooms? (You can circle more than one answer.).
   1. to give instructions
   2. to clarify the meaning of the words, expressions or sentences
   3. to explain grammar rules
   4. to ask questions to teachers
   5. to carry out pair and group work(communicative activities)
   6. classroom management/ to give students’ discipline
   7. other, please specify
6. When do you think it is not useful to use Chinese in English classrooms? (You can choose more than one answers).
   1. to give instructions
   2. to clarify the meaning of the words, expressions or sentences
   3. to explain grammar rules D. to ask questions to teachers
   4. to carry out pair and group work (communicative activities)
   5. classroom management/ to give students’ discipline
   6. other, please specify
7. What do you usually do when you do not understand what the teacher says in English? (You can choose more than one answers).
   1. ask classmates to translate
   2. write down the words which you don‘t understand and look up the dictionary
   3. ask the teacher for clarification
   4. ignore it
   5. other, please specify
8. In those skill(s) how much can your students benefit from by using Chinese? (Please choose a percentage from each item and explain your reasoning).
   1. Speaking 0- 10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%
   2. Listening 0- 10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%
   3. Reading 0- 10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%
   4. Writing 0- 10% 10-40% 40-60% 60-100%

Appendix III

Interview Questions (to students)

1. Do you think native language (Chinese) should be used in English classes? If your answer is yes, then why and when L1 use (Chinese) useful or not useful?
2. Why are students more willing to have Chinese even though most candidates have answered that L1 should be used in the range of ―sometimes to a ―little?
3. What kind of difficulties and frustrations do the students encounter when they are learning English?

Interview Questions (to teachers)

1. Why and when is L1 use (Chinese) useful or not useful?
2. Why do English teachers prefer to use Chinese even though most teachers have answered that L1 should be used in the range of ―sometimes to a ―little ?
3. What kind of difficulties and frustrations do the teachers encounter in teaching English?

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