First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning

Edited by Assoc. Prof. Miles Turnbull, Assoc. Prof. Jennifer Dailey-O'Cain

Publication date:

24 August 2009

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

210x148mm
6x8"

ISBN-13: 9781847691965

This volume offers fresh perspectives on a controversial issue in applied linguistics and language teaching by focusing on the use of the first language in communicative or immersion-type classrooms. It includes new work by both new and established scholars in educational scholarship, second language acquisition, and sociolinguistics, as well as in a variety of languages, countries, and educational contexts. Through its focus at the intersection of theory, practice, curriculum and policy, the book demands a reconceptualization of code-switching as something that both proficient and aspiring bilinguals do naturally, and as a practice that is inherently linked with bilingual code-switching.

Introduction - Miles Turnbull and Jennifer Dailey-O'Cain

1 Teachers' Use of the First Language in French Immersion: Revisiting a Core Principle - Brian McMillan and Miles Turnbull

2 Teacher Use of Code-Switching in the Second Language Classroom: Exploring 'Optimal' Use - Ernesto Macaro

3 Code-Switching in Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic and Interpersonal Dimensions of Cross-National Discourse Between School Learners of French and English - Michael Evans

4 Target Language Use in English Classes in Hungarian Primary Schools - Krisztina Nagy and Daniel Robertson

5 Forms and Functions of Code-Switching by Dual Immersion Students: A Comparison of Heritage Speaker and Second-Language Children - Kim Potowski

6 How Bilingual Children Talk: Strategic Code-Switching Among Children in Dual Language Programs - Janet M. Fuller

7 Teacher and Student Use of the First Language in Foreign Language Classroom Interaction: Functions and Applications - Jennifer Dailey-O'Cain and Grit Liebscher

8 Building Meaning Through Code Choice in Second Language Learner Interaction: A D/discourse Analysis and Proposals for Curriculum Design and Teaching - Glenn S. Levine

9 The Impact of Pedagogical Materials on Critical Language Awareness: Assessing Student Attention to Patterns of Language Use - Carl S. Blyth

10 Concluding Reflections: Moving Forward - Miles Turnbull and Jennifer Dailey-O'Cain

This book has the potential for creating changes in language teaching practices around the world. It addresses the age-old, emotionally and politically charged controversy about the use of a first language in second and foreign language classrooms. The contributors to this book, drawing on multiple theoretical frameworks, and researching a variety of contexts, discuss optimal levels of first language use and what kinds of uses are supportive and effective for second and foreign language learning. This book is bound to further debate and inquiry about the roles of first language use in classroom language teaching.