The effectiveness of L1 use in promoting oral production in L2 across different proficiency levels

Abstract

The current study examines the impact of L1 use on EFL learners’ L2 speaking skills as well as their perceptions of L1 use in fostering oral production in L2. The study was conducted for 10 weeks with 60 low intermediate and the high intermediate students at a high school of science in Turkey. In each group, half of the students were designated as the experimental group and the other half as the control group. The experimental groups in each level group were exposed to a 10-week (40 hours of teaching) of L1 use in order to promote speaking skills in L2 while the control groups were taught through communicative language approach. In the study, the explanatory sequential mixed methods design was utilized. The analysis of a Paired-Sample t-test indicated that L1 use played a pivotal role in ameliorating students’ L2 speaking skills. Semi-structured interviews revealed that students favoured L1 use through which they could attenuate cognitive load and experience stress-free classroom environment in order to improve speaking skills in L2. Lastly, the students exposed to judicious and systematic L1 use outperformed the students exposed to only L2 at low intermediate and high intermediate level as regards boosting oral production in L2 and developing students’ positive perception of L2.