Essay Example on Beliefs are the most important components in every Discipline

Beliefs are the most important components in every discipline which deals with human behavior and learning Fishbein Ajzen 1975 Ajzen 1988 In one sense beliefs or personal myths about learning do not differ from the majority of myths about the human race nor do they differ from those of the majority of psychologists and educators Bruner Piaget Rogers Socrates and Kelly belived myths about learning and the controversy about the relative advantages of their myths has hidden the more interesting congruence which each learner constructs a viable myth of their own Harri Augstein 1985 In the classroom context beliefs attitudes and metacognitive knowledge that learners bring with them to the learning situation have been recognized as a significant contributory factor in the learning process and ultimate success Breen 2001 For example second or foreign language students may hold strong beliefs about the nature of the language under study its difficulty the process of its acquisition the success of certain learning strategies the advent of aptitude their own expectations about achievement and teaching methodologies Identification of these beliefs and reflection on their potential impact on language learning and teaching in general as well as in more specific areas such as the learners expectations and strategies used can inform future syllabus design and teacher practice in the course Pedagogy has the capacity to provide the opportunities and conditions within which these learner contributions are found to have a positive effect upon learning and may be more fully engaged Breen 2001 Arnold 1999 

Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the teachers and students beliefs about the motivational effect of using the first language on the learning of a second language In the following it will be cleared that why the researcher investigated the motivational effects of first language It has been asserted that teachers should use TL in the second language classroom as much as possible because it isn t a generally used language outside the classroom For this reason the learner should be exposed to the highest use of TL Based on most teachers view using Target language in FL classes is very important Cook 2001 as cited in Thompson 2006 In 1800s various teaching methods and approaches such as Direct method Audiolingualism Natural approach Sociocultural theory and the Communicative method have emphasized on the significance of using target language in the EFL classroom The only exceptions were the Grammar Translation Method GTM and the short lived reading method in USA in the 1930s Cook 2008 Also as Krashen 1982 mentioned language can be acquired through comprehensible input This input should be a little beyond the learners current level of competence On the other hand several studies questioned target only classes Guthrie 1984 Dickson 1992 Hagen 1992 Cook 2001 Macaro 2001 Turnbull 2001 Macaro 2001 asserted that excluding L1 from FL classes is impractical because it deprives students of an important tool that is learning a second and foreign language 

Also this kind of classrooms can be boring and de motivating students in a teacher centered class Deen 1991 p 173 as cited in Millous 2003 Cook 2001 also mentioned that using TL as the only tool of teaching FL in classes does not result in the maximum learning As you can see first language has an important role in FL classes but target language should be used mainly Willis 1991 xiv stated that the first language can be used for the following reasons To explain the meaning of the new vocabularies that would be time consuming To introduce the goal of the course and lesson To check the understanding of learners To discuss the aim of the reading text for improving the reading skill Arubach also add other possibilities cited in Tang 2002 To manage the classroom To analyze the language To present the grammar rules To discuss cross cultural issues To give instruction To explain errors To check the students comprehension Krashen's affective filter refers to this issue that when learners feel nervousness anxiety bordem or irritation the affective filter will be risen and a mental block will be formed that prevents available input from being used for acquisition English only classes may lead to lack of comprehension and also they may lead to resentment and embarrassment Harbord 1992 From previous studies we found that the exclusion of first language from second language environments when explaining the unfamiliar can increase the level of anxiety and this may turn facilitative anxiety into debilitative anxiety and rise affective filters Using students l1 in FL classes can decrease affective filters Meyer 2008 

And as Tahernezhad and Kargar 2014 stated the higher level of anxiety can lead to decrease the students motivation Harbord 1992 also stated that if teachers don't use mother tongue in EFL classroom for explaining unfamiliar and unknown ideas students may be demotivated considerably Also in my own experience of teaching I found that using target language as the only technique in classroom decreased my students motivation and they got bored so I used L1to ease the stress in the class I felt that using l1 decreased tension and anxiety and increased motivation At the time of the study I didn t have access to do an experimental research on the motivational effects of first language so I decided to investigate teachers and students belief about the motivational effect of the first Although many researches have been carried out on the role and the impact of first language in the foreign language classes there is still insufficient data for the motivational role of the first language in EFl classes