Chapter I questioning strategies

Use mother tongue to explain

Shock. Confusion. Disbelief. Do you mean that we can really use our L1 to get something across to the students?! Ms Ur’s answer is yes. She says that ‘it can take ages to explain in English a relatively simple point’, that is why it’s better to keep it short sometimes. Students can find the contrastive analysis useful as well. When they compare their mother tongue with English, it can boost their understanding. All in all, ‘the fact that students have a mother tongue is an asset, not a hindrance’.