Abstract:
This paper examines the role of mother tongues in the teaching of English as a foreign language at the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The purpose of the study is to determine the perfect mother tongue of students and to evaluate the efficacy of translanguaging methods in the teaching of English as foreign language. The research used three types of data, including quantitative, qualitative, and test data, as well as a survey conducted among 250 students at the Faculty of Arts. The results of the study suggest that translanguaging methods should be adopted to meet the needs of the country, particularly when English is combined with one of the local languages or French, in order to improve the understanding of students and their academic performance, particularly for those Congolese Learners of English who are not exposed to English often.
The main problem in this study is that the learners at the University are learning English as an academic subject and a medium of instruction that they do not understand very well. However, the concept of’mother tongue’ (MT) is very important in learning other languages including a foreign language. This is especially true for students who live in a multilingual environment like DRC who have to follow and understand certain subjects taught in English. Most of them do not have their own unique and same mother tongue. For example, there are situations where a person speaks two basic languages, one is Congolese and the other is a second language. For example, someone who has been extensively exposed to a non-Congolese language like French since birth in addition to their Congolese language.
Keywords: translanguaging, perfect mother tongue, foreign language, local language, teaching methods, multiple mother tongue.
For citation: Wakenge Malekani C. Mother Tongues and Teaching English as a Foreign Language: A Сase Study. Current Issues in Philology and Pedagogical Linguistics. 2023, no 3, pp. 221–238. https://doi.org/10.29025/2079-6021-2023-3-221-238 (In Engl.).
Bionote:
Claude Wakenge Malekani
University of Kinshasa, District of Plateau des Residents,
T 18 House, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo;
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6931-0689;
e-mail: wakenge@gmail.com
References:
1. Atkinson D. The Mother Tongue in the classroom. A Neglected Resource? Teaching English as a foreign language. Selected Extracts Olomouc. University of Palackeho; 1989. Available at: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/English-Mother-Tongue-Instruction-Hidden-Curriculum-Mazur-Ande.... Accessed July 02, 2023.
2. Duff A. Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1989. Available at: https://elt.oup.com/bios/elt/d/duff_a?cc=ru&selLanguage=ru. Accessed July 02, 2023.
3. Auerbach ER. Re-examining English only in the ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly. 1993;27(1):9–32. Available at:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3586949. Accessed July 02, 2023.
4. Poulisse N, Bongaerts T. First language use in second language production. Applied Linguistics. 1994;15(1):36-57.
5. Cristovao V. Co-construindo L2? Dissertacao (Mestrado em Linguistica Aplicada ao Eusino de Linguas) Sao Paulo: Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo;1996.
6. Bamgbose. A. Language planning in West Africa. International journal of the Sociology of language. Nigeria. 2000. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2000.141.101.
7. Cook V. Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern language Review. 2001;57(3):404-423. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.57.3.402.
8. Tang J. An Empirical study of the use of the Mother tongue in L2. ‘Reading class’. Hong Kong journal of Applied linguistics. 2000. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234642256_An_Empirical_Study_of_the_Use_of_the_Mother_Tongu.... Accessed July 02, 2023.
9. Butzkamm W. We only learn language once. The role of the mother tongue in FL classrooms: Death of a dogma. Language Learning Journal. 2003;28(1):29-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571730385200181.
10. Deller S.Using the Mother tongue. Humanising Language Teaching. Sage publications Journal. 2003. Available at: https://www.deltapublishing.co.uk/book/using-the-mother-tongue-9783125016095/?page_id=1. Accessed July 02, 2023.
11. Tudor I. Using Translation in ESP. English language Teaching Journal. 1987. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/41.4.268.
12. Malekani K. English and the Mother tongue Effect in the Democraticc Republic of Congo. In African Review of Educational Sciences. 2001;2:61-73.
13. Nsimambote Z. Explanatory Notes on Quantitative Procedure Applied to Research on Mother Tongues Identification in a Multilingual setting:Matinée scientifique. Kinshasa: CELTA:Democratic Republic of Congo; 2014.
14. Malekani K. Utilisation des Langues en RDC: Cas des étudiants à Kisangani et de Kinshasa.L’observatoire des langues. 2002;1:51-63.
15. Malekani K, Nsimambote Z. Identifying Mother Tongues in a Multilingual setting in Mouvement et Enjeux sociaux. 2012;4:81-88.
16. Kothari C. Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. 2nd Edition. New Age International publishers;2004. Available at: https://ccsuniversity.ac.in/bridge-library/pdf/Research-Methodology-CR-Kothari.pdf. Accessed July 02, 2023.
17. Anderson A. English Mother Tongue Instruction. Hidden curriculum and Heteroglossic Repertoires. Lund University: Sweden; 2018. Available at: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/English-Mother-Tongue-Instruction-Hidden-Curriculum-Mazur-Ande.... Accessed July 02, 2023.
18. Dicamilla F. Socio-cognitive functions of L1 collaborative interaction in the second language classroom. The Modern Language Journal.1999;3. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00018.
19. Buhendwa M. Multilingualism in DRC. English Rising in a Predominant Francophone Environment. In Review of Applied languages and communication. 2010 ;6 :83-109.
20. Chomsky N. Language and Mind.Harcourt, Brace and World. New York;1968. Available at: https://www.ugr.es/~fmanjon/Language%20and%20Mind.pdf. Accessed July 02, 2023.
21. Cohen L. Research methods in Education. Oxon. New York: Routledge;2011. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203720967/
22. Creswell JW. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, approaches. Los Angeles: Sage;2009. Available at: https://www.ucg.ac.me/skladiste/blog_609332/objava_105202/fajlovi/Creswell.pdf. Accessed July 02, 2023.
23. Kothari C. Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. 2nd Edition. New Age International publishers;2004. Available at: https://ccsuniversity.ac.in/bridge-library/pdf/Research-Methodology-CR-Kothari.pdf. Accessed July 02, 2023.
24. Freeman L. Techniques and principles in language teaching (2nd ed .) New York: Oxford University Press;2000. Available at: https://acasearch.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/techniques-in-language-teaching.pdf. Accessed July 02, 2023.
25. Lubudi B. Promotion des langues nationales et développement culturel: pour un patriotisme linguistique non obscurantiste. Université Saint Augustin: RDC;2023.
26. Malekani K. The Linguistic Situation of DRC: How to cope with it. In Matinée scientifique, Département de Lettres et Civilisation Anglaises. Université de Kinshasa; 2009.
27. Malekani K. Le legs Colonial et la plannification linguistique au zaire. Congo la Revue des langues Vivantes et communication. 2012;7:81-88.
28. Moyo T. The changing language policies and reversing language roles in Malawi: from colonial Times (1891-1964) to the present. University of Zululand; 2001. https://doi.org/10.5785/17-2-1.
29. Mularsih PS, Satyarini E. Using Mother Tongue in EFL classrooms: Pros and Cons. Journal of Applied Linguistics. 2022;6(1):26-32. https://doi.org/10.30595/aplinesia.v6i1.13693.
30. Phindane P. Learning in Mother Tongue: Language preferences in South Africa. International journal of Education and science. 2015. Available at:https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/222967623.pdf. Accessed July 02, 2023.
31. Wahdaniyah J. The Effectiveness of Using Mother Tongue Toward Students English Comprehension. Published Thesis. University of Maakassar; 2017. Available at: https://digilibadmin.unismuh.ac.id/upload/21989-Full_Text.pdf. Accessed July 02, 2023.