First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning

This book has the potential for creating changes in language teaching practices around the world. It addresses the age-old, emotionally and politically charged controversy about the use of a first language in second and foreign language classrooms. The contributors to this book, drawing on multiple theoretical frameworks, and researching a variety of contexts, discuss optimal levels of first language use and what kinds of uses are supportive and effective for second and foreign language learning. This book is bound to further debate and inquiry about the roles of first language use in classroom language teaching.

-- Merrill Swain, OISE, University of Toronto, Canada

This extremely valuable and timely collection of case studies had its origins at a workshop held in 2007 at the University of California, Irvine, where many of the authors of the various chapters met to discuss the issue of code-switching in second language learning. The authors come from three main disciplines -language pedagogy, curriculum design and sociolinguistics - and the second and foreign languages they consider include not only English, but also German, Spanish and French...I strongly recommend that all language teachers - and researchers - read this book, and ponder the implications for professional practice and academic theory.

-- Roger Barnard, University of Waikato, New Zealand * Modern English Teacher, 19(3) *

All in all, the book provides a wealth of information about the use of learners’ first language in the second and foreign language classroom. I strongly recommend this book. It deserves a place on the shelf of second language teacher educators, curriculum developers and classroom language policy-makers alike.

-- Le Van Canh, University of Waikato, New Zealand * TESOLANZ Journal, Volume 19, 20