Use of mother tongue/s in learning English as a foreign language: practices in private language schools in Cyprus

Bilingual education distinguishes itself from other forms of language education as content and language learning are integrated when two languages are used as a medium of instruction. Various models have been proposed in the literature, e.g. subtractive, additive and dynamic bilingualism (Wright, Boun and García, 2015). The later, dynamic bilingualism, refers to the multiple language interactions and other linguistic interrelationships that take place on different levels, extend and spaces among multilingual speakers. This paper uses a translanguaging lens to showcase the transformational power, structures and practices of bilingual education.

More specifically, the current study examines language use in the classroom context in private language schools where English is taught and learned as a foreign language by young learners in the Republic of Cyprus. In particular, it investigates the different roles and functions of three linguistic varieties used in such classrooms: (i) English as the target foreign language (L2); (ii) Cypriot Greek as the teachers’ and learners’ first language (L1a), used for everyday communication and functioning as the Low variety (cf. Ferguson 1959) in the Cypriot bidialectal/diglossic setting (see e.g. Moschonas 1996); and (iii) Standard Modern Greek, as the official language (L1b), functioning as the High variety and used in non-EFL educational settings (see e.g. Papapavlou & Sophocleous 2009). Even though EFL teachers may claim that L1 use in limited, it has been shown to be actually used by both teachers and learners (see e.g. Tsagari & Georgiou 2016). The present study hones in on the three-way tension among L1a, L1b, and L2, revealing that the former two are not only used, but have their roles in the EFL classroom, each serving different functions. Moreover, regarding the dynamics between L1a and L1b, the analysis of classroom talk in the EFL settings investigated resulted in interesting comparisons with the situation in classrooms where Greek is taught as first language. The paper argues in favour of translanguaging as a tool to mediate cognitive complex activities and will conclude by addressing research, pedagogical and policy issues that will help support quality multilingual education in the particular and other related contexts.

References

Ferguson, Charles (1959). Diglossia. Word (15): 325–340.

Moschonas, Spyros (1996). Η Γλωσσική Διμορφία στην Κύπρο [The Language Diglossia in Cyprus]. Thessaloniki: Greek Language Centre.

Papapavlou, Andreas & Andry Sophocleous (2009). Relational Social Deixis and the Linguistic Construction of Identity. International Journal of Multilingualism 6(1): 1–16.

Tsagari, Dina & Egli Georgiou (2016). Use of Mother Tongue in Second Language Learning: Voices and Practices in Private Language Education in Cyprus. Mediterranean Language Review 23: 101–126.

Wright, Wayne E., Sovicheth Boun, & Ofelia García (2015). The Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.