TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON PREVALENCE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Marija Todorova; Vesna Prodanovska-Poposka

doi:10.46763/JESPT22171034t

Marija Todorova 1Faculty of Philology, Goce Delchev University, Shtip
Vesna Prodanovska-Poposka Faculty of Biotechnical Science, St. Kliment Ohridski University- Bitola

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46763/JESPT22171034t

Abstract

This paper analyzes the role of the mother tongue (MT or L1) in foreign language (FL or L2) teaching process. The purpose of the paper is to determine MT prevalence in foreign language (FL) classroom moreover to explore the degree of MT usage by the teachers and to determine the perception of teachers regarding its use in foreign language teaching, specifically whether MT should be used continuously, partially or not at all within the FL teaching process. For the purpose of this paper and in addition to the theoretical research of professional literature in this area, a survey for teachers has been conducted to determine and explain the role of the mother language (L1) namely whether the mother tongue is generally used in foreign language teaching and acquisition, how often, and in which segments is MT usage mostly prevalent. The results of this paper will contribute to facilitating foreign language teaching process, specifically by perceiving overall teachers’ perspectives on MT role and usage in upper secondary schools, which in turn will enable easier and more efficient learning and successful acquisition of the foreign language.