When and how learners’ own languages (Uzbek, Russian) help English learning. The field has moved from target-language-only orthodoxy to planned L1 use.
Where the sources disagree
- L2-only vs L1 support: the ELT Research Bites teaser reports L2-only vocabulary explanations beat L1 use. Selivan, G. Cook and the MultiEd study support planned translation and translanguaging. These are compatible if L1 is a planned scaffold, not the default medium. (Claude)
Notes
- Translation done well - four L1 activities
- Planned translanguaging improved expository reading (MultiEd)
- Learning to learn starts in primary
- ELT Research Bites - reading queue
More notes (by source)
Cambridge World of Better Learning
- Use L1 selectively - a bridge, then back to English
English with Jennifer - Linguistic self-love - value learners’ home varieties
Geoff Jordan (applingtesol) - Translanguaging as theory - a critique of Li Wei
Hana Tichá (How I see it now) - Culture-loaded English - correct only errors that cause misunderstanding
Sam Shepherd (ESOL, Learning, and FE) - Emergent-language teaching works with beginners if planned
Side Notes on ELT (Lina Gordyshevskaya) - Intelligibility as the goal, accent as the learner’s informed choice
TeachingEnglish (British Council) - English in Uzbek state primary schools - Copland et al. 2024
Key terms (DELTA M1)
translanguaging (García; Williams) · own-language use (Hall & Cook 2012) · coordinate vs compound bilingualism · cross-linguistic influence · back translation · L1 lexicalisation gaps