Sixth graders\u27 opinion on the teacher\u27s use of mother tongue (Slovene) in teaching English

Razprava o uporabi maternega jezika pri poučevanju tujega jezika še vedno poteka. Največja težava je v tem, da ni nobenih določil glede količine uporabe maternega jezika pri tujejezikovnem pouku. Učitelji so glede primernosti, pogostosti in smiselnosti uporabe maternega jezika prepuščeni svoji presoji. Sami namreč določajo, kdaj in kje bodo v pouk tujega jezika vključili še materni jezik. Največkrat se odločajo na podlagi teme učne ure in ravni razumevanja učencev. Učenci so večinoma naklonjeni svoji in učiteljevi uporabi maternega jezika, ker tako lažje sledijo pouku tujega jezika in so bolj sproščeni ter motivirani. Težava nastane, kadar učenci uporabljajo več maternega kot tujega jezika pri tujejezikovnem pouku. V teoretičnem delu sem predstavila pomen uporabe maternega jezika pri pouku tujega jezika, prednosti in slabosti ter primere uporabe materinščine. Navedla sem še nekaj metod in pristopov, ki omenjajo uporabo maternega jezika, ter primerjala dve tuji raziskavi o tej temi. V empiričnem delu sem ugotavljala mnenje učencev šestega razreda o učiteljevi uporabi maternega jezika (slovenščine) pri pouku angleščine. V raziskavo je bilo vključenih 152 učencev in učenk. Vsi učenci so anonimno rešili vprašalnik, ki sem ga predhodno sestavila. Na podlagi njihovih zaključnih ocen pri angleščini sem izbrala devet učencev, s katerimi sem opravila intervjuje. Ugotovila sem, da učitelji in učenci pogosto uporabljajo slovenščino pri pouku angleščine. Šestošolci se z uporabo slovenščine strinjajo, ker jim to pomaga pri lažjem razumevanju snovi in učitelja. Rezultati so pokazali, da učitelji slovenščino najpogosteje uporabljajo pri razlagi neznanih besed, najmanj pa pri ustnem preverjanju znanja. Učenci menijo, da učiteljeva uporaba slovenščine pozitivno vpliva na njihovo znanje in oceno pri angleščini. Ugotovila sem še, da učenci pri nerazumevanju učitelja največkrat ugibajo, kaj govori, in vprašajo sošolce ali učitelja za ponovno razlago.The discussion about the use of mother tongue in foreign language teaching is still ongoing. The biggest problem is that there are no quantity guidelines for the use of mother tongue in foreign language teaching. Teachers have to decide for themselves when, where and how often to use mother tongue. They usually decide based on the topic of the lesson and the students\u27 level of comprehension. Students are mostly in favour of using mother tongue in foreign language teaching because they can participate better and understand more. They are also more relaxed and motivated during class. If students use more mother tongue than foreign language in foreign language teaching, that can pose a problem. The theoretical part of the thesis consists of the importance of mother tongue in foreign language teaching, the advantages and disadvantages and the examples of using mother tongue. I also listed and described some methods and approaches that mention the use of mother tongue and compared two foreign researches on this topic. In the practical part of the thesis I focused on the sixth graders\u27 opinion on the teacher\u27s use of mother tongue (Slovene) in teaching English. 152 students were included in the research. All of the students filled in a questionnaire that I had previously made. I also interviewed 9 students, who were chosen based on their final grades in English. The results have shown that the students and teachers often use Slovene in English class. Year 6 students agree with the use of Slovene because it helps them to better understand the topic of the lesson and the teacher. The most and least commonly listed reasons for the teacher\u27s use of Slovene were explaining unknown words and oral examination. Students believe that the teacher\u27s use of Slovene has a positive impact on their knowledge of English and their grade. The strategies students use when they don\u27t understand the teacher are to guess what was said or to ask their classmates or the teacher for another explanation