Using Students' Native Languages in the Classroom: Rationale and Strategies for Monolingual Teachers

The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in American public schools increases every year, yet ELLs are not achieving academic or English proficiency as measured by assessments. Researchers document the use of students' native languages (L1) as a valuable academic resource tool for ELLs. Research shows that when teachers incorporate students' L1 into classroom instruction, students increase their metalinguistic awareness, learn more academic content, increase their English proficiency, and have more well-developed identities and self-esteem. However, incorporating students' L1 into the classroom can be very difficult in multilingual classrooms or in classrooms in which the teacher only speaks English. Furthermore, it is a political and emotional debate. However, the use of students' L1 can influence the success of ELLs in our school system. Therefore, finding strategies that allow teachers to incorporate students' L1 into the classroom is a vital issue for educators today. This paper addresses the benefits of incorporating students' L1 into daily classroom instruction, methods and strategies for using students' L1, and an example of using students' L1 in a small-group setting.