An investigation of teachers’ use of Amharic language in English language classrooms

Abstract

This study investigated teachers’ use of mother tongue in EFL classrooms in Benishangul Gumuz region, Asosa Zone junior schools during actual classroom instruction of first and second semesters in 2014 academic year. The investigation focused on the functions of Amharic language and its amount in target language classroom. Subsequently, it looked at teachers’ knowledge of L1 use in L2 and if they had guidelines of how mother tongue (Amharic) could be well treated in EFL classes. To select target population for the study, cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used. Stratified sampling technique was also employed in order to select target population proportionally from clustered woredas. To answer the research questions qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Classroom observations, interviews and questionnaire were used to collect data. Observations were accompanied by tape recording and recorded data were transcribed and analyzed to investigate the functions of Amharic during lessons, the amount of L1 use and the distribution of L1 use within teachers and across lessons. It was found that the amount and functions of L1 used were varied between teachers, and the overall proportion of L1 talk was higher than that of found in previous studies. Some teachers consistently used high L1 within the lesson. Data obtained through interview confirmed that the variability was attributed to teachers’ personal feeling about L1 in L2 use. Most of the teachers used Amharic for specific functions such as translation and maintaining discipline. Questionnaire was also used as a complement of qualitative data that aimed at gathering data on teachers’ knowledge of the pedagogical values of L1. The findings showed that there was disparity between all teachers (beginner-higher led teachers) in responding to items and ANOVA confirmed that there was no significant difference between groups of teachers on the current trained of L1 in EFL classroom. Finally, it was found that most of the teachers had no clear guidelines of how to handle Amharic in EFL classes. Finally, teachers’ commitment in maximizing target language input appeared to be indispensable in English language teaching. Educational experts and teacher trainers are also needed to intrude on the problem of maximal amount of mother tongue in target language classroom.