The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes

Dan Tam Thi Nguyen

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11

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The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes

Dan Tam Thi Nguyen

Received: 26 September 2020 Accepted: 12 October 2020 Published: 30 October 2020

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Abstract

The balance of using L1, L2, and English-only policy classes has been widely explored in English language teaching. However, research on the possible and reasonable spaces for L1 in English-only policy classes among students from diverse cultural communities has been very limited. This paper reports findings of employing the Vietnamese language among Vietnamese student-teachers of English from different ethnic groups (Kinh-Vietnamese, Hoa- Chinese, and Khmer- Cambodian) to learn English in English-only policy classrooms. These 60 student-teachers were in the final year of their program at a teacher training college in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings belong to a larger project which was designed as a qualitative case study collecting triangulated data from questionnaires, observations, textual analysis, interviews, and focus groups. Results showed that Vietnamese played significant roles in students’ processing and performing tasks to adapt to the English-only classroom policy. The students’ use of Vietnamese (even by non-native Vietnamese students) enabled them to work productively and facilitate the establishment of a positive and inclusive language atmosphere thanks to the proper use of Vietnamese as a tool of cognition, affection and pedagogy.

DOI	10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
Published in	International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 6, Issue 4, December 2020)
Page(s)	109-115
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Language Acquisition, Cultural Diversity, English-Only Policy, Language Function

References

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APA Style

Dan Tam Thi Nguyen. (2020). The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 6(4), 109-115. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11

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Dan Tam Thi Nguyen. The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2020, 6(4), 109-115. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11

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AMA Style

Dan Tam Thi Nguyen. The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2020;6(4):109-115. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11,
  author = {Dan Tam Thi Nguyen},
  title = {The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {109-115},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20200604.11},
  abstract = {The balance of using L1, L2, and English-only policy classes has been widely explored in English language teaching. However, research on the possible and reasonable spaces for L1 in English-only policy classes among students from diverse cultural communities has been very limited. This paper reports findings of employing the Vietnamese language among Vietnamese student-teachers of English from different ethnic groups (Kinh-Vietnamese, Hoa- Chinese, and Khmer- Cambodian) to learn English in English-only policy classrooms. These 60 student-teachers were in the final year of their program at a teacher training college in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings belong to a larger project which was designed as a qualitative case study collecting triangulated data from questionnaires, observations, textual analysis, interviews, and focus groups. Results showed that Vietnamese played significant roles in students’ processing and performing tasks to adapt to the English-only classroom policy. The students’ use of Vietnamese (even by non-native Vietnamese students) enabled them to work productively and facilitate the establishment of a positive and inclusive language atmosphere thanks to the proper use of Vietnamese as a tool of cognition, affection and pedagogy.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes
AU  - Dan Tam Thi Nguyen
Y1  - 2020/10/30
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 109
EP  - 115
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
AB  - The balance of using L1, L2, and English-only policy classes has been widely explored in English language teaching. However, research on the possible and reasonable spaces for L1 in English-only policy classes among students from diverse cultural communities has been very limited. This paper reports findings of employing the Vietnamese language among Vietnamese student-teachers of English from different ethnic groups (Kinh-Vietnamese, Hoa- Chinese, and Khmer- Cambodian) to learn English in English-only policy classrooms. These 60 student-teachers were in the final year of their program at a teacher training college in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings belong to a larger project which was designed as a qualitative case study collecting triangulated data from questionnaires, observations, textual analysis, interviews, and focus groups. Results showed that Vietnamese played significant roles in students’ processing and performing tasks to adapt to the English-only classroom policy. The students’ use of Vietnamese (even by non-native Vietnamese students) enabled them to work productively and facilitate the establishment of a positive and inclusive language atmosphere thanks to the proper use of Vietnamese as a tool of cognition, affection and pedagogy.
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Dan Tam Thi Nguyen

Department of English Language, Faculty of Social Sciences and International Languages, Hong Bang International University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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Dan Tam Thi Nguyen. (2020). The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 6(4), 109-115. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11

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ACS Style

Dan Tam Thi Nguyen. The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2020, 6(4), 109-115. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11

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AMA Style

Dan Tam Thi Nguyen. The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2020;6(4):109-115. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11,
  author = {Dan Tam Thi Nguyen},
  title = {The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {109-115},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20200604.11},
  abstract = {The balance of using L1, L2, and English-only policy classes has been widely explored in English language teaching. However, research on the possible and reasonable spaces for L1 in English-only policy classes among students from diverse cultural communities has been very limited. This paper reports findings of employing the Vietnamese language among Vietnamese student-teachers of English from different ethnic groups (Kinh-Vietnamese, Hoa- Chinese, and Khmer- Cambodian) to learn English in English-only policy classrooms. These 60 student-teachers were in the final year of their program at a teacher training college in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings belong to a larger project which was designed as a qualitative case study collecting triangulated data from questionnaires, observations, textual analysis, interviews, and focus groups. Results showed that Vietnamese played significant roles in students’ processing and performing tasks to adapt to the English-only classroom policy. The students’ use of Vietnamese (even by non-native Vietnamese students) enabled them to work productively and facilitate the establishment of a positive and inclusive language atmosphere thanks to the proper use of Vietnamese as a tool of cognition, affection and pedagogy.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Roles of Mother Tongue in Enhancing English Language Acquisition in English-policy Classes
AU  - Dan Tam Thi Nguyen
Y1  - 2020/10/30
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 109
EP  - 115
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
AB  - The balance of using L1, L2, and English-only policy classes has been widely explored in English language teaching. However, research on the possible and reasonable spaces for L1 in English-only policy classes among students from diverse cultural communities has been very limited. This paper reports findings of employing the Vietnamese language among Vietnamese student-teachers of English from different ethnic groups (Kinh-Vietnamese, Hoa- Chinese, and Khmer- Cambodian) to learn English in English-only policy classrooms. These 60 student-teachers were in the final year of their program at a teacher training college in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings belong to a larger project which was designed as a qualitative case study collecting triangulated data from questionnaires, observations, textual analysis, interviews, and focus groups. Results showed that Vietnamese played significant roles in students’ processing and performing tasks to adapt to the English-only classroom policy. The students’ use of Vietnamese (even by non-native Vietnamese students) enabled them to work productively and facilitate the establishment of a positive and inclusive language atmosphere thanks to the proper use of Vietnamese as a tool of cognition, affection and pedagogy.
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download