The Attitudes of Saudi EFL Teachers about Using Their Mother Tongue in EFL Classrooms
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes of the Saudi EFL teachers towards using their mother tongue (L1) in English classrooms amongst the Female students of three female secondary schools in Tabuk City. A questionnaire and classroom observations were used to achieve the purpose of the study .Fifty female English language teachers participated in this study. The descriptive statistics of percentages were used to analyze the quantitative data. The findings showed that there are positive teachers’ attitudes towards using Arabic in EFL classes. The EFL teachers in the study preferred the use of their mother tongue for various situations and reasons and under certain circumstances. The discussion of the findings concludes that the mother tongue can be used by the teachers to facilitate the teaching process as well as a pedagogical tool by to enhance learning experience in the classroom. Recommendations and some future solutions are discussed.