The usage of mother tongue in ELT in Lower secondary education

Abstract

This bachelor thesis deals with the usage of the mother tongue during English language lessons in Lower secondary education. It is divided into the theoretical part and the practical part. Firstly, the mother tongue is discussed in terms of its influence on English language teaching methods, influence on aims of the learning process, and reasons for using or avoiding its usage in English language lessons. Then, the issue is put into a greater context of pedagogical communication. Lastly, the teacher's roles in the classroom environment are discussed as they, together with pedagogical communication, determine situations in which the teacher may use the mother tongue in lessons. In the practical part, qualitative research that was conducted on selected elementary schools is presented and analysed.