Second language learners' first languages have a supportive effect on their learning of the new language. As Nations says in the article, “In most of the roles of the L1 that we have looked at, there is the common theme that the L1provides a familiar and effective way of quickly getting to grips with the meaning and content of what needs to be used in the L2.”( Nation 5),the first language, L1, help students understand the meaning of what they are learning by offering a more familiar way of communicating ideas, and discussing the tasks in the first language get students more indulged in the share of thoughts, thus invoke students' deeper understanding of the new knowledges. Research shows that students who did preparatory work in their first language did better in their production of the second language than those students did not. First language also helps by providing learners a more accurate definition of words in second language. A larger preference for bilingual dictionary shows that most language leaners grasp the meaning of new vocabulary more effectively with the help of their first language. The ideas convey in this article is similar with Composing in English, the book that I will talk about later that both of them talk about the positive effects first language could have on the learning of second language. But this article focus more on the comprehension of second language, while the Composing in English focus more on the production of second language.
The helpful effects of first language in the learning of a second language is explicit in Ruoran Wang's narrative, Studying English in Exam-oriented Way(Wang 1). In her case, Ruoran learned the grammar of English more efficiently and accurately with the help of bilingual English textbooks in which English grammars are explained in her familiar language, Chinese. The tricky grammar rules which she “could not tell the difference from those subtle grammar issues and messed up with result” (Wang 1)can be understand better with Chinese explanation on the bilingual textbooks she was using. Ruoran's narrative clearly shows how the first language can help students learn a second language by offering fully comprehension of the tasks they are studying.
However, Nation did not mention the drawbacks of employing first language in the learning of a second language. First, the use of first language in the classrooms of a second language hinder the practice of second language speaking. Being able to use their first language in second language class not only decreases the chance for students to speak the new language, but more importantly, eliminates their motivation to convey their thoughts in the second language. Knowing that they can use first language in the classrooms, students will tend to believe that there are back-up plans even when they do not know how to say a sentence in the second language: say it in the first language. Thus they will have less motivation and chances to try making up sentences in the new language. Like Ruoran's experience she described in her narrative, Studying English in Exam-Oriented Way “ I recognized that I could not study English by answering questions, but by creating new thoughts and putting them into writing or dialogue."(Wang 1) On the contrary, a monolingual second language learning environment push them to practice the language more because it is the only way for students to communicate with teachers and each others. Also, translations of second language tasks in the first language are not always correct. Some definition of foreign words in bilingual dictionary have slightly difference with how native speakers use the word. For example, the word 'rhetoric' means 'xiuci' (words for describing) in English- Chinese dictionary. But in English, it is more commonly used as 'using language effectively to please or persuade'. The use of first language even make the understanding less accurate.
The helpful effects of first language in the learning of a second language is explicit in Ruoran Wang's narrative, Studying English in Exam-oriented Way(Wang 1). In her case, Ruoran learned the grammar of English more efficiently and accurately with the help of bilingual English textbooks in which English grammars are explained in her familiar language, Chinese. The tricky grammar rules which she “could not tell the difference from those subtle grammar issues and messed up with result” (Wang 1)can be understand better with Chinese explanation on the bilingual textbooks she was using. Ruoran's narrative clearly shows how the first language can help students learn a second language by offering fully comprehension of the tasks they are studying.
However, Nation did not mention the drawbacks of employing first language in the learning of a second language. First, the use of first language in the classrooms of a second language hinder the practice of second language speaking. Being able to use their first language in second language class not only decreases the chance for students to speak the new language, but more importantly, eliminates their motivation to convey their thoughts in the second language. Knowing that they can use first language in the classrooms, students will tend to believe that there are back-up plans even when they do not know how to say a sentence in the second language: say it in the first language. Thus they will have less motivation and chances to try making up sentences in the new language. Like Ruoran's experience she described in her narrative, Studying English in Exam-Oriented Way “ I recognized that I could not study English by answering questions, but by creating new thoughts and putting them into writing or dialogue."(Wang 1) On the contrary, a monolingual second language learning environment push them to practice the language more because it is the only way for students to communicate with teachers and each others. Also, translations of second language tasks in the first language are not always correct. Some definition of foreign words in bilingual dictionary have slightly difference with how native speakers use the word. For example, the word 'rhetoric' means 'xiuci' (words for describing) in English- Chinese dictionary. But in English, it is more commonly used as 'using language effectively to please or persuade'. The use of first language even make the understanding less accurate.