Language teachers’ first and second language use: a comparative contextualised study

14th November 2018 : 14:00 - 15:00

Category: Seminar

Research Group: Applied Linguistics

Speaker: Dr Marina Arcos (Universidad Compultense de Madrid); Professor Ernesto Macaro (University of Oxford); Laura Molway (University of Oxford)

Location: Department of Education, Seminar Rooms G/H

Abstract
There is now extensive theoretical and empirical literature on the place of the first language (L1) in the second language (L2) classroom.

Although this body of work includes related teacher beliefs and practices, less attention has been paid to the origins of these beliefs and practices across different contexts. Through an extensive survey of secondary school teachers of a foreign language (FL) in Spain and England we investigated two possible origins: national context (and by extension the L2 taught) and pre-service training. We found that teachers in Spain reported greater use of the L2 in their teaching across nearly all language functions; a finding that may be explained by differences in pedagogical approaches and/or by lower student L2 proficiency in England. We also found a general disconnect between advocated teaching approaches on pre-service training courses and subsequent practice as reported by teachers.