Pupils’ Mother Tongue in Elementary EFL Classes: Teachers’ Practices.
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Date
2023
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mouloud Mammeri University
Abstract
The current study addresses the issue of pupils’ Mother Tongue interference in the
development of proficiency in the practice of EFL in Algeria. This study aims to explore
how pupils’ first languages, Arabic and Berber, hinder their ability to acquire a foreign
language. We adopted two theories in relation to language acquisition. The first one is
Piaget’s theory and cognitive development in relation to language transfer and the second
one is called Error Analysis (EA), which can be helpful to teach language and to understand
the types of errors that pupils make when they produce speech. The aim of this study is to
investigate how teachers overcome the mother tongue interference during the learning
process and which techniques they use to help their pupils to master and use only English
during class. In this research study two data collection tools are used : nine classroom
observation sessions were conducted on 3rd and 4th year Elementary pupils in BELHOCINE
Hocine and HAMMOUTENE Ali Elementary schools of TIZI-OUZOU, and EL
MOKRANI, and AMAR Khelloufi Elementary schools of TIGZIRT. A questionnaire
designed to elementary teachers was also submitted and sent via the social media ‘Facebook’
to teachers around Algeria. The collected data were analyzed by using the descriptive
statistical method to turn the quantitative data into percentages, and the qualtitative data were
analyzed by using Discourse Analysis (DA). The results of the study show that 3rd and 4th
year Elementary school pupils make errors due to the interference between English, Arabic
and Berber dialects because of the lack of proficiency since their early childhood, and that
teachers tend to make use of Realia and concrete situations to help the pupil understand
better the concepts and the nuances between each language.
Description
56p. : Ill. en coul. ; 30cm(+CD-Rom)
Keywords
Cognitive Development, Mother Tongue Interference, Error Analysis, Discourse Analysis
Citation
Language and Communication