Learner Perspectives on First Language Use in EFL Classrooms: A Study of Turkish University Students

Abstract

This research paper aims to explore how strategic first-language use affects willingness to communicate (WTC) of the university-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners within Turkish context. The study of the following intricate interdependence between first-language and English immersion was conducted using a mixed-method research design that included 85 survey participants and 15 participants in the interview, which allows a thorough investigation of the topic of the issue. The quantitative analysis demonstrates that 93.2 percent of the respondents consider their native language to be an inalienable instructional tool; however, these students, at the same time, note that they have a strong desire to communicate with English in the classroom setting. According to qualitative data, two major functions of first-language integration are determined. First, the language acts as a cognitive mediator and this helps learners to process abstract linguistics and academic concepts using the previously existing linguistic knowledge. Second, the use of mother tongue is a support mechanism which works as an affective mechanism, reducing speaking anxiety and enhancing learning in a psychologically safe environment. On the whole, these results suggest that inadaptable English-only policies hamper communicative intentions of learners by increasing cognitive and emotional load of learners. The proposed study is thus a balanced model of instruction that emphasizes the use of the first language as either a cognitive or an affective scaffold while simultaneously suggesting as much exposure to the target language as possible.