This article challenges the widely held assumption in monolingual English as a foreign language (EFL) settings that students prefer their teachers to rarely use their mother tongue (MT)--the language children initially learn in order to communicate. Through an examination of data derived from eight classrooms in four private language schools in…

In the literature of second language teaching and learning, the use of students' first language (L1) has been an issue of debate for many years. Despite the changing state of teaching and learning aspects over the years, the belief that L1 should not be used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms has stood the test of time.…

In classrooms tests, students are regularly required to demonstrate their understanding of mathematical concepts. When children encounter problems in demonstrating such understanding, it is often not clear whether this is because of the language of the teachers' questions and instructions or a genuine non-understanding of the concept itself. This…

The design and implementation of the professional development model of the New Zealand Numeracy Development Project has been successful in improving teacher knowledge and practice as well as raising student outcomes. Since 2000, more than 25,000 teachers in English-medium settings have participated in the project. In New Zealand the terms…

This paper calls attention to the vital need to reexamine the role of the students' first language in foreign language teaching. It provides a brief snapshot of the views concerning L1 use in L2 classes put forward by different methodological schools of thought over the last century. Through the presentation of potential uses of the first…

Considers the position of Franco-Ontarians studying to become French-medium teachers. They are a minority, subordinate to the English-speaking population, and in many ways subinordinate within the francophone community. Using contrasts between primary (home-based) and secondary discourses, and between teaching-as-apprenticeship and…

One of the aims of the Threshold Project was to examine the school-based learning experiences of children in lower primary grades in Southern African schools, particularly in relation to the changeover to English as the medium of instruction. Ethnographic observations were conducted in two Primary Education Upgrading Project (PEUP) schools and two…

This article describes the shift from English to Filipino (Tagalog) as the language of instruction in elementary social studies education in the Philippines, focusing on the Philippines Department of Education's efforts to implement pre-service and in-service teacher training programs to expedite the change. In 1974 the Department of Education…