Using Native Language in Assisting English Mastery for Difficult-to-Understand Classroom Learning Tasks at Vocational Education Schools
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Learning English using the mother tongue effectively enhances English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at Vocational Education Schools (VES). This strategy necessitates the teacher to act as a facilitator by incorporating Arabic into the English learning process. Using the mother tongue in teaching English can be beneficial for promoting the students' comprehension of diverse cultures and the development of positive communication with both the teacher and peers. A descriptive approach was used to get the information needed for this study. Achievement tests were conducted to see how significantly the students had learnt during a practical semester ended of the curriculum. The pretest scores were equivalent for the randomly selected groups before using Arabic as the mother tongue for the necessary activities in English teaching. At this point, the experimental group was (M=2.04, SD=.883), and the control group was (M=1.73, SD=.622), and t=(1,62), 1.60=.114, p<0.05 was also equivalent. Conversely, the experimental group's mean score was significantly higher than that of the control group in the posttest following the switch to Arabic in the English syllabus (M=2.46, SD=.918), and (M=1.79, SD=.693), respectively, and t=(1,62), 3.28=.002, p<0.05 was also significant. Based on these findings, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups. Spearman's rho test indicated a meaningful relationship difference was found between the two variables, mother tongue use and English language proficiency. Spearman's rho value for pretest and language proficiency indicated no positive correlation (x2 (1,62)= .031, p<0.05). On the contrary, Spearman's rho value for posttest and language proficiency was seen as (x2 (1,62)= .229, p<0.05). At the same time, pre and posttest mean scores also have a strong correlation (x2 (1,62)= .583, p<0.05). The primary conclusion of the study is that vocational education students can improve their English for Specific Purposes (ESP) by placing a greater emphasis on the mother tongue.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
References
Akpan. (2020). Classical and Operant Conditioning—Ivan Pavlov; Burrhus Skinner.
Science education in theory and practice: an introductory guide to learning theory, 71-
Al-Sobhi, & Preece. (2018). Teaching English speaking skills to the Arab students in
the Saudi school in Kuala Lumpur: Problems and solutions. International Journal of
Education and Literacy Studies, 6(1), 1-11.
Ali. (2007). Some linguistic problems facing Arab learners of English. Adab AlRafidayn, 37(48), 117-130.
Alisoy. (2024). Exploring Language Acquisition: The Role of Native Language
Interference in ESL Learners. Journal of Azerbaijan Language and Education Studies,
(1), 50-66.
Alnuzaili. (2016). Arabic and English Adjectival Systems in Translation: Agreement
Intricacies. Arabic and English Adjectival Systems in Translation: Agreement
Intricacies, 8(27), 291-310.
Ambridge, Pine, & Lieven. (2014). Child language acquisition: Why universal
grammar doesn't help. Language, 90(3), e53-e90.
Atkinson. (1987). The mother tongue in the classroom: a neglected resource? ELT
journal, 41(4), 241-247.
Babakr, Mohamedamin, & Kakamad. (2019). Piaget's Cognitive Developmental
Theory: Critical Review. Education Quarterly Reviews, 2(3), 517-524.
Barman. (2012). The linguistic philosophy of Noam Chomsky. Philosophy and
Progress, 103-122.
Beers, & Nagy. (2011). Writing development in four genres from grades three to
seven: Syntactic complexity and genre differentiation. Reading and Writing, 24, 183-
Brown. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching: A course in second
language acquisition: Pearson.
Butzkamm. (2003). We only learn language once. The role of the mother tongue in FL
classrooms: death of a dogma. Language learning journal, 28(1), 29-39.
Campion. (2016). ‘The learning never ends’: Exploring teachers’ views on the
transition from General English to EAP. Journal of English for Academic Purposes,
, 59-70.
Carson, & Kashihara. (2012). Using the L1 in the L2 classroom: The students speak.
The Language Teacher, 36(4), 41-48.
Cenoz, & Gorter. (2022). Pedagogical translanguaging and its application to language
classes. RELC journal, 53(2), 342-354.
Chejne. (1968). The Arabic language: Its role in history: U of Minnesota Press.
Cherry. (2022). Piaget's 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Explained. Retrieved from
Verywell Mind: https://www. verywellmind. com/piagets-stages-of-cognitivedevelopment-2795457.
Cook. (2001). Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern Language
Review, 57(3), 402-423.
Costa. (2010). Mother tongue or non‐native language? Learning from conversations
with bilingual/multilingual therapists about working with clients who do not share their
native language. Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, 3(1), 15-24.
Dodonov, & Dodonova. (2011). Basic processes of cognitive development: missing
component in Piaget's Theory. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1345-
Dörnyei. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL quarterly,
(1), 55-85.
Douglas. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. NY: Longman.
Ellili-Cherif, & Alkhateeb. (2015). College Students' Attitude toward the Medium of
Instruction: Arabic versus English Dilemma. Universal Journal of Educational
Research, 3(3), 207-213.
Farghaly, & Shaalan. (2009). Arabic natural language processing: Challenges and
solutions. ACM Transactions on Asian Language Information Processing (TALIP),
(4), 1-22.
Faridy, & Syaodih. (2016). Analysis on the importance of mother tongue in early
childhood. Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference on Early Childhood
Education (ICECE 2016).
Febriani, Wargadinata, & Arifin. (2021). The Philosophy of Language Acquisition in
Stephen Krashen's Theory based Multiple Intelligences Classroom. International
Journal of Arabic Language Teaching, 3(01), 1-14.
Glăveanu, Ness, Wasson, & Lubart. (2019). Sociocultural perspectives on creativity,
learning, and technology. Creativity under duress in education? Resistive theories,
practices, and actions, 63-82.
Ikyegh. (2023). The relevance of Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development to
initial formation. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY, 12.
Kecskes, & Nde Papp. (2000). Foreign language and mother tongue: Psychology
Press.
Koucká. (2007). The role of mother tongue in English language teaching.
Krashen. (1981). Second language acquisition. Second Language Learning, 3(7), 19-
Krejcie, & Morgan. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities.
Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610.
Lewis, Jones, & Baker. (2012). Translanguaging: Origins and development from
school to street and beyond. Educational research and evaluation, 18(7), 641-654.
Lightbown, & Spada. (2001). Factors affecting second language learning. English
language teaching in its social context, 28-43.
Machida. (2011). Translation in teaching a foreign (second) language: A
methodological perspective. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(4), 740-
Maluleke, & Mapindani. (2020). Second Language Acquisition and Learning:
Rethinking the Pedagogical Applicability of Stephen Krashen’s Monitor Model.
International Journal of Social Research, 4, 50.
Mcleod. (2023). Operant conditioning: What it is, how it works, and examples. Diakses
pada situs Simply Psychology https://www. simplypsychology. org/operantconditioning. html#:~: text= Positive% 20reinforcement% 20is% 20a% 20term,
reward% 20is% 20a% 20reinforcing% 20stimulus.
Mizza. (2014). The first language (L1) or mother tongue model vs. the second
language (L2) model of literacy instruction. Journal of Education and Human
Development, 3(3), 101-109.
Moradi, Nanquette, Hosseinipour, Amiri, Rakhimov, & Biniaz. (2013). Publishing in
Persian language. In: International Alliance of Independent Publishers.
Nation. (2003). The role of the first language in foreign language learning.
Ness. (2023). Zone of proximal development. In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the
Possible (pp. 1781-1786): Springer.
Nguyen. (2020). The roles of mother tongue in enhancing English language acquisition
in English-policy classes. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation,
(4), 109-115.
Nordquist. (2023). Definition and Examples of Native Languages. In:
https://www.thoughtco.com/native-language-l1-term-1691336
Nuessel. (2013). Frederic Field. Bilingualism in the USA: The Case of the ChicanoLatino Community. Language Problems and Language Planning, 37(1), 93-96.
Nunan. (1999). Second Language Teaching & Learning: ERIC.
Nunan, & Carter. (2001). The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of
other languages: Cambridge university press.
Nwali. (2014). Impact of mother tongue on the academic achievement of the child.
Knowledge Review, 30(1), 5-12.
Ortega. (2014). Understanding second language acquisition: Routledge.
Owolabi, Olaoye, Olaoye, & Olatunji. (2022). Effect Of Yoruba as Language of
Instruction in Social Studies on Junior Secondary School Student’s Performance in
Ilorin-West, Kwara State. African Journal of Humanities and Contemporary Education
Research, 6(1), 40-52.
Paker, & Karaağaç. (2015). The use and functions of mother tongue in EFL classes.
Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 199, 111-119.
Prodromou. (2002). From mother tongue to other tongue. Retrieved on August, 20,
Rahman, & Alhaisoni. (2013). Teaching English in Saudi Arabia: prospects and
challenges. Academic Research International, 4(1), 112.
Robertson, & Ford. (2008). Language acquisition: An overview. Retrieved from.
Samardali, & Ismael. (2017). Translation as a tool for teaching English as a second
language. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 40, 64-69.
Shcrrmo. (2006). Mother tongue use in English classroom. Journal of NELTA, 11, 1-2.
Sihombing. (2022). The language instinct (Steven Pinker vs Noam Chomsky). Journal
of Applied Linguistics, 2(1), 17-22.
Singh, Grover, Padmanabhan, & Chaudhary. (2015). Vocational education in higher
secondary schools. India today.
Skutnabb-Kangas. (2013). Mother tongue medium education. The Encyclopedia of
Applied Linguistics.
Tepich, & Akay. (2024). The Influence of Arabic in an English Classroom. European
Journal of Language and Literature Studies, 10(1), 16-26.
Tupas. (2015). Inequalities of multilingualism: Challenges to mother tongue-based
multilingual education. Language and Education, 29(2), 112-124.
Turnbull. (2001). There is a role for the L1 in second and foreign language teaching,
but…. Canadian Modern Language Review, 57(4), 531-540.
Turnbull, Lea, Parkinson, Phillips, Francis, Webb, Bull, & Ashby. (2010). Oxford
advanced learner’s dictionary. International Student’s Edition.
Wu, & Liao. (2019). Interpreting in the Language Classroom: Effects of Chinese-toEnglish Interpreting Strategy Training on EFL Undergraduates' Oral Proficiency.
Compilation & Translation Review, 12(2).
Yildiz. (2012). Beyond the mother tongue: The postmonolingual condition: Fordham
Univ Press.