Reexamining English Only in the ESL Classroom

‘English Only’ is a method of teaching ESL/EFL that has been utilized by many educators and policy makers throughout history. The concept is evident in classrooms across the United States as well as other countries where English is taught as a second language. The author of the article, Reexaming English Only in the ESL Classroom questions this practice and formulates an opinion that such a method “rests on unexamined assumptions, originates in political agenda of the dominant groups, and serves to reinforce existing relations to power”. (Auerbach,9) In spite of the author’s belief, her primary goal is not to scrutinize the monolingual use of English but rather propose reconsideration to the ‘English Only’ practice in the classroom. She invites the audience to examine the effectiveness of such a method.

The historical implications of ‘English Only’ in the ESL classroom is the author’s first topic of discussion. She explains how immigrants who arrived in the United States were told that in order to succeed in the work force they must speak English well, and the only means of accomplishing this is by speaking only English. She elucidates how such an idea is no more than a part of the dominant groups’ political agenda, and furthermore it continues to be enforced today. She continues by stating that the idea that students should not use their first language in learning English is a common sense assumption and exists without any factual evidence. However, neither case provides evidence that would lead us to conclude that usage of one’s native language hinders the ability to acquire a second language. Through a brief survey conducted at a statewide TESOL conference, she found that 80% of ESL educators, who were asked whether ESL students should or should not use their first language when learning ESL, answered ‘yes’ they should. They responded affirmatively, but seemed uncertain of their answer. They also felt guilty for letting their student use their L1 in the classroom. Their response proves that they had no true evidence justifying their answers and that they assumed the use of L1 should not be allowed in the classroom. Thus this is a commonsense belief not one of factual merit.

The author proves that English only in the classroom is not the best method by demonstrating that it can cause ESL students to remove themselves from their program. It is also particularly evident in adult ESL classrooms where learning a second language can often be more difficult due to weaknesses in their L1 literacy. For example, through interviews conducted by Klassan with ESL adult students for The University of Massachusetts Project; it was found that students who had minimal L1 literacy often felt their teachers were isolating them from the other students. This isolation created frustration for these learners, as well as low self esteem, and in turn, led to the withdrawal of students. Unfortunately, dropping out of the program caused more problems for the students than what they had originally anticipated. It prevented them from acquiring a better job due to their lack of English skill. In the end limited federal and state fundings for bilingual models of teaching inhibited the improvement of quality of life for those who speak little or no English. Here again exists the perpetuation of current relations to power.

The author also explains benefits for the use of L1 in the classroom. One benefit she mentions is “that it reduces affective barriers to English acquisition and allows for more rapid progress to or in ESL.” (Auerbach,19) Hemmindiger (1987) found that nonliterate and nonschooled Hmong refugees who did not use their 1st language, actually learned English at a slower rate than when they were finally permitted to utilize their first language. Moreover, Strohmeyer and McGrail (1988) found that allowing for the exploration of ideas in the L1 served to enhance students’ ESL writing. When students were asked to express their ideas in writing by first using their L1, they were more successful than if they did not use their native language.
This article was extremely insightful in the field of TESOL. I believe the author did an incredible job of presenting several practice and related research in the benefits of using the L1 in the ESL/EFL classroom. She has proved that teachers should not be afraid to allow their students to use their L1 in the classroom. She makes it clear that many teachers think that the L1 in the classroom hinders the students’ ability to learn a second language, when in fact it does the opposite. She also discussed how beginner students learning ESL/EFL who have trouble learning a second language (because they can’t use their first language) often pay the price in their life and can’t acquire better employment. Overall, she managed to establish how important it is for students to use their L1 in the classroom.

I was quite pleased to read this article. It showed that my own practice of teaching EFL is not always the most effective. I was taught that letting the students’ use the L1 in the classroom was not a good idea and it would impede my students from learning English. I had not yet contemplated the benefits of the L1 in the ESL/EFL classroom until I read this article. I know from my own personal experience (moving to the United States at a young age), my teachers and classmates would remind me not to speak my first language in the school. They would tell me that in order to improve my English and blend in with the other students’, I needed to speak ‘English only.’ Now, however, I do not believe this to be entirely true. At that time, I spoke English quite well in that I used English to communicate with my father. All my American friends understood me, so why was I kept from my first language? At the end, the school won. I spoke English only. Within a year I lost my first language. What I have learned from this article is that rather than following what I have been taught is best method for teaching EFL/ESL, I should begin to reconsider my own experiences and implement them in that ESL/EFL classroom.