CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Study

When the child was born, parents have started to teach us the language

that is still simple. They began from teaching the word "mom" or “dad”.

Mother tongue or first language is the language that first time rill taught by

mom or dad. in first language acquisition we've been taught since we were

born into the world. Teaching second language or foreign language is the next

step for children got the second language for their communicated with other

people, but it not easy to do. Teaching of first language that was done of their

parents can influence for the second language.

The state-of-the-art teaching of languages is based on the

communicative method which emphasizes the teaching English through

English. However, the idea of abandoning the native tongue is too stressful to

many learners, who need a sense of security in the experience of learning a

foreign language.

Although most linguist acknowledge that there must be a bidirectional

independence between first language (L1) and foreign language or second

language (L2), only one side of this interaction has been emphasized in the

relevant literature (cf. Cummins, 1979, 1984;Cook, 1991; Larsen-Freeman.

Long, 1991). Much is known about the influence of the first language on the

foreign language learning process but much less about the opposite direction the

effect of second language learning has on the development of mother tongue.

Translation has been thought as uncommunicative, boring, pointless,

difficult, and irrelevant. Recently there has been a revival of interest to

translation due to the shift of its emphasis - to using a mother tongue as a

resource for the promotion of language learning. According to Ross,

1 | P a g e

(2000:61). Translation develops three qualities essential to all language

learning: accuracy, clarity, and flexibility. Therefore, the use of mother tongue

and translation can serve as a tool for improving language skills.

B. Identification of Problems

1. How is the impact of mother tongue in second language learning?

2. How is using translation method in second language learning?

C. Limitations of Problems

The writer Limit this paper only about how is impact of mother tongue in

second language learning.

D. Objectives

The objectives of this research are:

1. To know the impact of mother tongue in second language acquisition.

2. To know teacher strategies for develop second language ability.

2 | P a g e

CHAPTER II

FRAME OF THEORIES

A. Definition of terms

Mother tongue is defined as the language which a group of people

considered to inhabitants of an area acquired in the early years and which

eventually becomes their natural instrument of thoughts and

communication( You may wish to re-consider other definition of language}

(Awoniyi, 1978). Mother tongue is the first language that a person learned. In

terms of that view, the person is defined as a native speaker of the first

language, although one may also be a native speaker of more than one

language if all of the languages were learned without formal education, such

as through cultural immersion before puberty. Often a child learns the basics

of the first language(s) from family (Wikipedia, 2007).

Language acquisition is very similar to the process children use in

acquiring first and second languages. It requires meaningful interaction in the

target language-- natural communication—in which speakers are concerned

not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying

and understanding. Error correction and explicit teaching of rules are not

relevant to language acquisition (Brown and Hanlon, 1970; Brown, Cazden,

and Bellugi, 1973), but caretakers and native speakers can modify their

utterances addressed to acquirers to help them understand, and these

modifications are thought to help the acquisition process (Snow and Ferguson,

1977).

B. Correlation of L1 and L2

The theoretical and conceptual framework, which informed and

framed this study emerged first from bilingualism and its two forms, namely

the additive and the subtractive models, and secondly from related models of

second language teaching which are the transitional and immersion models.

3 | P a g e

According to Hornby and Genesee, (1977) One of the expectations and

assumption of bilingual education is that the product becomes successful both

linguistically and culturally, but it is only possible when the form of

bilingualism is additive rather than subtractive. Subtractive bilingualism arises

out of a situation where the second language is acquired without

accommodating the linguistic skills that have already been developed in the

first language (Mwamwenda, 1996). Such situations are evident in societies

where one language is considered as having a more prestigious socio-

economically determined status than the other, which is regarded as inferior

(Jeffreys, 1996; Hornby, 1977; Roy-Campbell, 1996). In this model, the

learners’ L1 skills are replaced by the L2, thereby placing linguistic and

cultural systems in conflict instead of complementing one another (Robinson,

1996). The subtractive model thus disadvantages bilingual children

(McLaughlin, 1990) since studies by Hakuta (1986) in Travers, Elliot and

Kratochwill (1993) show that children with a high degree of bilingualism

have a better level of cognitive development. In this argue explained that the

child who have good bilingualism can implemented their ability anywhere.

So, the good knowledge depends on their good bilingulism.

C. Mother tongue and translation in English Language Teaching

It is necessary to discriminate between the teaching of translation as a

vocational skill and the use of the mother tongue in the teaching situation as

an aid to language learning. The need for some translation in language

learning is usually supported by non-native teachers. Native teachers of

English argue that foreign language learning needs as much exposure to the

L2 as possible during precious classroom time, and any usage of the L1 or

translation is a waste of time. In the past, most methods in L2 language

pedagogy dictated that L1 should be prohibited in the classroom.

Communicative approaches to language learning in the 1970s and 1980s

considered the use of the L1 as undesirable. However, recently the attitude to

4 | P a g e

mother tongue and translation in language classes has undergone a positive

change.

Translation is sometimes referred to as the fifth language skill

alongside the other four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and

writing. ‘Translation holds a special importance at an intermediate

5 | P a g e

CHAPTER III

DISCUSSION

A. How is the impact of mother tongue in second language learning?

Mother tongue have role for teaching language. First language can

show develop in second language acquisition. First language can make self

confidence of child because they feel enjoyed. it is a part of the Nigerian

culture; it conveys or transmits culture and itself in subjects to culturally

conditioned attitudes and beliefs (Awoniyi, 1975). The positive results of the

experiment in Mother Tongue Medium in Yoruba carried out at the then

University of Ife empirically demonstrated the great advantages of mother

tongue in primary education for scholastic attainment (Bamgbose,1984) and

even in the successful mastery of English as a second language.

According to Carless, (2008:331) mother tongue has

potentially both positive and negative consequences: it may

serve social and cognitive functions (It is claimed that

students working in groups do not have to speak English all

the time. Use of mother tongue relates to learner identity.

Negative impact of mother tongue use is that too much

reliance on the L1 may undermine the interaction in English.

However good the students are at comprehending authentic

reading or listening materials, the majority keeps mentally

translating from L2 into L1 and vice versa. This fact makes

teachers of foreign languages aware of the importance of

translation in language classrooms. Why do students use the

mother tongue in class? According to J. Harmer (2001:131), a

principal cause of the L1 use is required by the activity, if

students are linguistically incapable of activating vocabulary

6 | P a g e

for a chosen task. So, mother tongue can influence in second

language acquisition while first language was

B. How is using translation method in second language learning?

Translation as a teaching tool needs to take into account a number of

different aspects, such as grammar, syntax, collocation and connotation.

Uncritical use of translation may give learners insufficient, confusing or even

inaccurate information about target language. Translation is sometimes

referred to as the fifth language skill alongside the other four basic skills of

listening, speaking, reading, and writing. ‘Translation holds a special

importance at an intermediate.

Based on data of Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius,

Lithuania showed that translation method can develop of

second language learning. Numerous studies indicated that both

negative and positive transfer between the L1 and L2 was important for

development of the interlanguage, the complex system of the learners’ L2.

Many teachers recognize that the L1 in the classroom is a positive

representation of the interlanguage. The data on the interlanguage and

language transfer show that it is highly probable that L2 learners will always

think most often in their L1, even at the advanced level (Mahmoud, 2006:29).

Moreover, translation in the L2 classroom offers a way to highlight

similarities and differences between L1 and L2 forms. The translation is

useful for L2 acquisition because, firstly, it uses authentic materials, secondly,

it is interactive, thirdly, it is learner-centered, and finally it promotes learner

autonomy (Mahmoud, 2006:30)

7 | P a g e

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

Mother tongue is a first language that we got in our parents. According

to Awoniyi,( 1978) argue that mother tongue is defined as the language which

a group of people considered to inhabitants of an area acquired in the early

years and which eventually becomes their natural instrument of thoughts and

communication( You may wish to re-consider other definition of language}.

Correlation of LI and L2 is significant and both of them influence of language

teaching. Mother tongue is crucial problem in language teaching. But, mother

tongue or first language has role important to progress in second language

acquisition. First or home language is particularly important for the child‘s

development of a positive self-concept and well-being. Children who have the

chance to maintain their first language can extend their cognitive

development.

8 | P a g e

REFERENCES

Kavaliauskienė, Galina. 2009. Role of Mother Tongue in Learning English for

Specific Purposes.

http://www.espworld.info/Articles_22/pdf/role%20of%20mother%20tongue

%20in%20learning%20english%20for%20specific%20purposes.pdf: Access

on January 01, 2013 at 9.00 a.m

Ndamba, Gamuchirai Tsitsi. 2008. Mother Tongue Usage in Learning: An

Examination of Language Preferences in Zimbabwe.

http://www.jpanafrican.com/docs/vol2no4/2.4_Mother_Tongue_Usage_in_Le

arning.pdf. Access on January 01, 2013 at 9.30 a.m

Oluwole, David Adebayo.2008. The Impact of Mother Tongue on Students’

Achievement in English Language in Junior Secondary Certificat

Examination in Western Nigeria. http://www.krepublishers.com/02

Journals/jss/jss-17-0-000-000-2008-web/jss-17-1-001-08-abst-text/jss-17-1-

041-08-590-oluwole-d-a/jss-17-1-041-08-590-oluwole-d-a-tt.pdf: Access on

January 01, 2013 at 9.20 a.m

9 | P a g e