Abstract:
The debate over whether to use or not to use learners’ L1 in EFL classes has always been the
topic of discussion for teachers for various reasons. Some argue that such use may lead to more
dependence of EFL learners on their L1 that may hinder the progress of mastering the target
language. Whereas others believe that the use of L1 may ease the process of teaching and
learning the target language as the teachers could explain complex ideas and rules more
effectively in learners’ L1 saving a lot of time. This use can also assist the EFL learners in
acquiring and mastering vocabulary of the target language. Some researches carried out so far
validated the judicious use of L1 to be facilitative. Being inspired by this, the present study set
out to assess teachers’ practice of L1 (Afan Oromo) in English language classrooms of grade 12
at Balemi preparatory school. To this end, a mixed research method involving quantitative and
qualitative methods of data collection was employed. The study was conducted on 140
representative students drawn from grade 12 student population and three EFL teachers
teaching grade 12 at the school. In order to investigate teachers’ practice of L1 in EFL
classrooms, distinct questionnaires addressing students and their EFL teachers were developed
and employed as a major tool to assess issues such as the purposes for which L1is used, the
frequency and the amount of L1 and others. Furthermore, classroom observation and openended
interview were used as supplementary data collecting tools.
The results depicted that Afan Oromo was used in EFL classrooms of grade 12 for various
purposes and it was frequently used for some functions. It was also confirmed that the students
use their mother tongue due to their lack of confidence in their abilities of the TL and because of
being accustomed to using L1 in EFL classes. On the other hand, the teachers used Afan Oromo
for the sake of helping students’ comprehension and as a result of realizing the importance of
using L1 in teaching / learning the TL. Moreover, the amount of L1 used by the teachers varied
from 2-10 minutes or 5-25% of English class time. What’s more, it was found that the over use of
L1 in EFL classrooms resulted in the reduction of students’ opportunities to develop their
listening and speaking skills in the TL thereby hindering L2 learning. The overall findings
indicated that the over use of Afan Oromo in EFL classes led students to have poor performance
in their English. To that end, this research paper provides some recommendations that could
bring desirable changes in teachers’ practice of L1 use in EFL classrooms.