Investigating the Needs and Drawbacks of L1 in L2 Education: Students’ Perception

Abstract

This paper aims at exploring the EFL Students’ Perspective of the Use of the Arabic (L1) in English language (L2) learning. The relevant literature reviewed concerning the development of some fundamental issues in L1 usage shows that this technique plays a vital role in breaking the language barriers, promoting better communication, and contributing to linguistic competence. The statistical analysis and evaluation of the responses of the questionnaire exhibited that the need for (L1) in L2 was rated higher. The students claimed that their mother tongue is effective since it increases their awareness of similarities and differences between (L1) and (L2) and helps in explaining the difficult areas in the foreign language. Likewise, they confessed that L1 has drawbacks. It could be said that (L1) is a helpful technique in (L2) learning process, but it should be handled with care.