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Instructions in the Mother Tongue When Teaching English as a Foreign

Language (EFL) for Students Learning English as a Compulsory Suject in
Jenderal Soedirman University
Syaifur Rochman
Jenderal Soedirman University
rochman_syaifur@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT
In the recent teaching methodology of foreign languages, it is advocated to
maxime the use of target language. Some experts, even, do not recommend the
use of the first language. This article investigates the controversy around the
use of the mother tongue in foreign language teaching. The present study was
conducted amongst 83 students of Communication Sciences Department (42
students), and Managemnet Department (41 students) in J enderal Soedirman
University (Unsoed) as samples. A questionnaire was designed for the purpose
of the study. Findings demonstrated that studentsoverall attitude towards
mother tongue use in class rooms was positive. They agreed the use of
Indonesian language for teaching purposes.

Key words
Mother tongue, EFL, Compulsory Subject, Unsoed

It is debateble whether the students mother tongue can be used in EFL classrooms.
Some practitionairs in EFL have been reopened to controversy recently. This is due to the fact
that, in EFL contexts, the mother tongue facilitates the students understanding of the
materilas. Until now, many EFL experts discourages the use of the mother tongue on
pedagogical grounds in the teaching of EFL. This situation exists in many countries where
EFL is taught as a part of preparation for the globalization worldwide.
Learning concerns whether EFL learning is enhanced by the use of the students
mother tongue. There are no criteria with regard to the right dosage of the use of the mother
tongue. Previous studies as expained by Cook (1997; 2001), indicate that teachers use the
mother tongue in EFL classrooms to explain new vocabulary and grammatical structures,
organize tasks and give instructions, and maintain discipline in class and create rapport with
individual students.
Teachers normally use Indonesian in the teaching learing activities in class because it is
a formal language in educational institution. In tertiary level, EFL is taught for all students as
a compulasry subject called Mata Kuliah Dasar Umum or MKDU. In practice, university
students master English at different levels even though they have already studies the language
for several years when in junior and senior high schools. This article addresses the
controversy that revolves around the pedagogical appropriateness of teacher usage of
students mother tongue in EFL teaching. It presents findings from a study conducted among
English teachers in a Indonesian-speaking environment in Unsoed.

Literature Review
Cook (2001) mentions that for several years, the prevailing attitude in EFL teaching
has been discouraging of use of students first language in language teaching. However,
recently researchers have concluded that translation provided an access to enhance linguistic
awareness. They recognized the importance of comparative analysis between the mother
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tongue and the foregin language and the foreign language does not aim at substituting for the
nother tongue (Brown, 1995).
Cummins (2007) states that a hypothesis has occurred recently to indicate a positive
attitude to teacher usage of students mother tounge in teaching. An example of how attitudes
have changed overtimecan be seen in the English curriculum in many EFL countries which
refers to the usage of mother tongue as an integral part of English language education.
Arguments against teachers using students mother tongue are mainly pedagogically
based. McDonald (1993) mentions that students do not benefit when teachers over-rely on
using their students mother tongue, particularly when the EFL teacher is the sole linguistic
model and main source of EFL input. Classroom situations can create various experiences for
students such as real-life situations through simulations. If the teacher uses the mother tongue
to a great extent, students may lose the chance to benefit from these situations. In addition,
Littlewood and Yu (2011) remind that the use of the EFL in class influences students
achievements and proficiency in EFL because of the experiences they gain in class.
The issue of teacher use of students mother tongue in EFL teaching has been
explored. Researchers state that the mother tongue catalyzes the intake process of the EFL, as
well as saves time and enhances understanding (Ellis, 1994). Cook argues that a systematic
use of the mother tongue would minimize the guilty feelings of teachers when using their
students mother tongue. Cook (2002) also symbolizes that given the appropriate
environment, two languages are as normal as two lungs.
A number of psycho-linguistic arguments contribute to the arguments that advocates
teacher use of students mother tongue. Cook (1997) says that the teachers use of the mother
tongue cannot present a threat to EFL acquisition because learners already have a language
basis from their mother tongue. Because of this basis, learners are more socially developed
and have more short-term memory capacity and more maturity when they become acquainted
with the EFL (Herdina and J essner, 2002). Therefore, there is no competition between their
mother tongue and EFL.
Cook (1996) states that the belief in the 20th century is that the mother tongue and the
EFL make distinct systems in the brain. Evidence shows that languages are interwoven in the
brain in vocabulary, syntax, phonology, and pragmatics (Richards, 1990). Therefore, EFL
teaching should match the invisible processes in the brain and should not be separated from
the mother tongue. The process of foreign language acquisition involves cognitive, social, and
emotional factors that are inseparable and related to the mother tongue (Macaro, 1997).

Methodology
The study focuses on the students learning EFL as acompulsory subject attitudes and
students opinions of implementing the mother tongue in EFL teaching in Unsoed. EFL
students attitudes will be dicussed. Findings will demonstrate what pedagogical views
teachers in Unsoed take with regard to Indonesian as the mother tongue in EFL classes.
The participants were 83 EFL students in Unsoed, i.e., 42 students (21 males and 21
females) of Communication Sciences Department, and 41 (22 males and 19 females) students
of Management Department of Unsoed. All were speakers of Indonesian either as the first or
second language. Their ages ranged from 18 to 20. Those two departments are chosen as they
offer English as a compulsory subject in the the second semester, while most departments in
Unsoed offer it in the first semester. At the beginning, students normaly still adjust
themselves to the new situations. Students way of thinking may be influenced by the past
experience, i.e., in senior high school. In the second semester, it is expected that most students
are familiar with the university environmental study.
The research tool was a questionnaire that included seven questions. The questions
related to studentsattitudes with regard to the use of Indonesian as the mother tongue in EFL
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teaching, and the remainder of the questions related to implementation issues (frequency of
use, grammatical topics, language areas, and other uses). The comparison between the two
groups of students was conducted with reference to all questions.

Results and Discussion
Question 1: Arguments for mother tongue use in EFL Teaching. The studentsanswers
indicated that they could see the benefit of using the mother tongue in English lessons (CD =
100%; MD =87%). When asked to explain their reasons, students brought up the following
arguments:
The mother tongue helps students to understand complicated issues.
Some students in a low English proficiency levels demonstrate limited understanding of
English. When the teacher speaks in English and they do not understand what the teacher
is saying; so a mix of the EFL and mother tongue is useful to keep going.
Weaker students will be discouraged and frustrated if the teachers do not use their mother
tongue; for students it is easier to understand grammar and vocabulary when the teachers
get an additional explanation in their mother tongue.
Explanations are more thorough in the mother tongue; provide confidence, and save time.
Because of the over populated, i.e., CD=42 and MD=41 students, heterogeneous classes,
the use of the mother tongue is a must, or else weak students will become disruptive.

Question 2: Arguments against mother tongue use in EFL Teaching. Only 9% of CD and
0% of MD are against the use of the mother tongue in teaching EFL. When asked why,
students responded with the following arguments:
If the teacher makes more efforts to prepare teaching aids, students cannot understand
without using the mother tongue.
The teachers should always explain in English, they should switch to the mother tongue.
The use of the mother tongue slows down the process of learning.

Question 3: Frequency of mother tongue use in EFL teaching. More than half of the CD
and MD ranked the frequency of their use of the mother tongue as average (3 on the scale):
65% and 62% respectively. The lower reports of frequencies (2 on the scale) were observed
among CD (32%), more than among MD (15 %). The higher reports of frequencies (4 and 5
on the scale) were observed among CD (20%), more than among MD (6%).
Question 4: Mother tongue use for grammatical structures not found in the mother tongue
Most students prefer the mother tongue be used by the teachers to teach grammatical
structures that do not coincide between the mother tongue and EFL (CD, 90%; MD, 95%).
The examples teachers provided for structures that exist in English but do not exist in
Indonesian were tenses, article, plurals and singular.
Question 5: Mother tongue use in teaching grammar. Both CD and MD report using
the mother tongue to a great extent in grammar teaching: CD use the mother tongue mostly to
teach tenses (85%), preposition (75%), and article (50%); MD use the mother tongue to teach
complicated tenses (95%), preposition (50%), and article (40%).
Question 6: Mother tongue use in teaching language skills. CD students report using
the mother tongue to teach vocabulary (95%), reading comprehension (60%), and writing
skills (50%). MD students also use the mother tongue to teach vocabulary (80%), reading
comprehension skills (75%), and writing skills (75%).
Question 7: Other mother tongue uses in EFL teaching. Other cases exist in which
teachers make use of Indonesian as the mother tongue. CD students use it when they need to
explain complex issues, give instructions, handle discipline problems, or explain grammar
rules; MD students use the mother tongue to explain complex issues, teach learning habits,
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give instructions, or handle discipline. Both groups use the mother tongue to create rapport
with individual students
Findings demonstrate that studentsattitudes are positive and most of them see the
benefit of using the mother tongue in EFL teaching. Both CD and MD students clearly saw
the benefit in the use of Indonesian as the mother tongue in the English classroom and only
9% of CD objected to it. In addition, the higher frequencies of use of the mother tongue were
found among CD, whereas the lower frequencies were found among MD.
The obvious relationship between language and culture that needs to be set in
language lessons is some times neglected for reasons of ethics or pedagogical
inappropriateness. The mother tongue should be considered to enhance understanding in a
quick, efficient way. Some students report on relying on the mother tongue for a variety of
classroom situations, such as, giving instructions, or handling discipline problems. These
finding smake sense because it might sound artificial to use the EFL when both the teacher
and the student share the same mother tongue.

Conclusion
The finding offers an updated picture of a positive pedagogical opinion that students
in Unsoed take in regard to Indonesian as the mother tongue in EFL classes. It reveals that the
mother tongue is useful for teaching EFL, like grammatical issues or reading comprehension.
The students argue that the use of the mother tongue saves time and enhances understanding,
particularly among slow learners, and that comparisons between the two languages.
It is recommended that further research be conducted on a larger number of
participants. Since updated researches welcome the mother tongue in EFL classrooms, EFL
teachers need to introduce the mother tongue into their classes. The mother tongue is an
important asset that facilitates EFL teaching.

References
Brown, J .D. (1995). The Elements of Language Curriculum. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Cook, V. J . (Ed.). (2002). Portraits of the L2 User. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Cook, V. J . (2001). Using the First Language in the Classroom. The Canadian Modern
Language Review, 57 (3), 402-423.
Cook, V. J . (1997). The consequences of bilingualism for cognitive processing. In A. M. B.
de Groot & J . F. Kroll (Eds.), Tutorials in Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Perspectives
(pp. 279-299). Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
Cook, V. J . (1996). Second Language Learning and Language Teaching (2nd ed.). London,
England: Edward Arnold.
Cummins, J . (2007). Rethinking monolingual instructional strategies in
multilingualclassrooms. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10, 221240.
Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Herdina, P., & J essner, U. (2002). A Dynamic Model of Multilingualism: Perspectives of
Change in Psycholinguistics. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Littlewood, W. & Yu, B.(2011). First language and target language in the foreign language
classroom. Language Teaching, 44 (1), 64-77.
Macaro, E. (1997). Target Language, Collaborative Learning and Autonomy. Clevedon,
England: Multilingual Matters.
McDonald, C. (1993). Using the Target Language. UK: Mary Glasgow.
Richards, J .C. (1990). The Language Matrix. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.
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Questionnaire: the use of Indonesian as the mother tongue among students learning
EFL as a compulsory subject.

In questions on the scale of 1-5, 1 means strongly disagree, whereas 5 means strongly agree.

1. I can see the benefit of using Indonesian in EFL teaching 1 2 3 4 5 (circle relevant
answer) mainly because ___________________________________________________
2. I am against using Indonesian in EFLteaching 1 2 3 4 5 (circle relevant answer) mainly
because ________________________________________________________________
3. I prefer the teacher to use Indonesian in the EFL teaching 1 2 3 4 5 (1 =quite rarely; 5 =
quite frequently).
4. I prefer the teacher to use Indonesian mainly when structures in English and Indonesian
coincide/do not coincide.
5. I prefer the teacher to use Indonesian when the teacher teaches the grammatical aspects
_____________________________
6. I prefer the teacher to use Indonesian when he/she teaches vocabulary / reading
comprehension skills / writing skills / other_______________________ (write relevant
answers)
7. I prefer the teacher to use Indonesian in teaching other aspects
____________________________ (write relevant answers)

Thank you