The role of learners’ first language (L1) and translation have always been a hotly debated issue in the history of English Language Teaching (ELT). However, this ongoing debate mostly takes place in academic circles rather than in classrooms (Topolska-Pado, 2010). As contemporary language teaching is dominated by the communicative method, English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers still consider that English is best taught and learned without the use of learners’ L1, i.e., teachers are undoubtedly influenced by this monolingual view. As a result, many teachers are believed to disclaim the use of L1 and translation in their classes, in fear of receiving criticism or feeling guilty (Butzkamm & Caldwell, 2009; Macaro, 1997; Littlewood & Yu, 2011). In addition, there is an increasing recognition that theoretical statements of teachers do not necessarily reflect the actual teaching practices in the classroom (Artar, 2017). This conflict between theoretical statements and teaching practice shows the need to investigate the actual attitudes towards L1 and translation use in EFL classrooms.  

A number of recent studies within ELT have investigated the use of L1 and translation in the classroom (Yavuz, 2012) and teachers’ attitudes towards it in different contexts, EU-wide and globally (Artar, 2017; Hall & G. Cook, 2013; Pym et al., 2013). The findings reveal widespread use of L1 and translation in EFL classrooms and a positive rather than negative attitude towards it. In the Kazakhstan context, there is an insufficient number of publications devoted to the use of learners’ L1 and translation in the EFL classroom (Sulkarnayeva, 2017). As preliminary literature review has so far shown, there are a few qualitative studies exploring teachers’ attitudes towards the modern practice of translanguaging which allows the use of several languages in a classroom (e.g., Akhmetova, 2021; Kuandykov, 2021; Tastanbek, 2019). The results of these qualitative studies, with a maximum of ten participants, have shown that EFL teachers mainly hold English-only beliefs in the context of Kazakhstan, meaning that they prefer using the target language more than their learners’ first language (Kuandykov, 2021). However, this is only true for higher education teachers. There is a substantial gap in understanding the overall attitudes of teachers in Kazakhstani secondary schools as well as factors influencing their attitudes.

In view of the above, this study aims to investigate Kazakhstani secondary school EFL teachers’ overall attitudes towards L1 and translation use in the EFL classroom, and examine the factors which influence their self-reported attitudes. The research questions are as follows:

RQ1. What attitudes do Kazakhstani secondary school EFL teachers hold towards some of the key arguments about the use of L1 and translation in language teaching?

RQ2. In which cases and for what purposes do Kazakhstani secondary school EFL teachers consider it appropriate to use L1 and translation in EFL classroom?

RQ3. What are the factors which influence Kazakhstani secondary school EFL teachers’ choice between using or avoiding L1 and translation in the classroom?

RQ4. How are Kazakhstani secondary school EFL teachers’ self-reported attitudes towards L1 and translation use affected by background variables such as experience, school type, qualification, the language proficiency of both teachers and their learners?

The quantitative survey research was chosen after having reviewed the research methods used in previous studies on similar topics. Since most research about attitudes towards L1 and translation use are qualitative in nature and limited to ten participants only, the large-scale quantitative study is seen to be particularly relevant in the context of Kazakhstan. The questionnaire was selected as the main data collection instrument due to its ability to collect information rapidly in a form that is readily processable (Dörnyei, 2007).

Data was collected by teachers’ attitudes survey (TAS) which is partly adapted from Hall and Cook’s (2013) global survey on teachers’ views about the use of learners’ L1 in ELT. The TAS consists of 40 items and is divided into two sections: the first section contains 32 items and asks teachers to evaluate their agreement/disagreement with arguments on the 5-point Likert scale. The items of the first section made up four scales such as “advocacy of L1 and translation” (S1), “opposition to L1 and translation” (S2), “possible ways of L1 and translation use in EFL classroom” (S3), “influences on teaching approach” (S4). The first section ends by an optional open question which asks respondents to write a further comment regarding L1 and translation use in ELT if they think it is relevant. The rest of the items are factual questions. They are regarded as background variables, e.g., experience, school type, qualification, the language proficiency of both teachers and their learners. The only criterion for participation was that respondents are practising EFL teachers in any Kazakhstani secondary school. The sampling method chosen for the study is a non-probability sampling type in L2 research, opportunity sampling (Dörnyei, 2010). To ensure a wide coverage of different participants, different types of secondary schools (state, private, trilingual, international, etc.) from different parts of Kazakhstan were contacted and asked to circulate the online survey among English language teachers at the institution. A total of 100 English language teachers participated in the study. The teachers’ voluntary participation was the result of informed consent. The version 20 of the SPSS was used to analyse the survey data. First, the reliability analysis was conducted to determine the internal consistency of the main four scales of the questionnaire, and showed an acceptable Cronbach Alpha coefficient for each scale, i.e., α >.70. Next, the descriptive statistics served to describe the participants. Paired-samples t-test was performed to calculate and compare the means of two survey scales: S1 and S2. It aimed at answering the RQ1. One sample t-test was conducted on S3 and S4 scales to evaluate teachers’ attitudes to different arguments regarding L1 and translation use in ELT (RQ2 and RQ3 respectively). ANOVA was used to see the effects of background variables on the survey scales (RQ4). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the open question answers. Open question responses helped to understand some controversial results and support study findings.

The results are presented in line with the RQs. RQ1: Both supportive and opposition arguments scored almost equal in the sample. However, teachers’ attitudes reveal some degree of inconsistency, e.g., teachers consider translation as a useful skill to be practiced by language learners, but they also believe that English should be the only language used in the classroom. As a result, it is difficult to interpret whether teachers generally support or oppose the presence of L1 and translation in EFL classrooms. This contradictory attitude suggests that the longstanding debate surrounding the topic might also have produced some conflicting ideas among teachers on whether to allow or forbid L1 and translation use in their teaching practices. RQ2 and RQ3: According to teachers, it is appropriate to use L1 and translation for teaching vocabulary and culture-bound expressions, and this practice is very useful with lower-level learners. Also, they reported that they are discouraged by the school curriculum and their colleagues to use L1 and translation in EFL class they teach. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that the stand many teachers have for English-only teaching derives in part from the work environment in which they are daily involved. RQ4: Analysis of variance revealed that the extent of L1 and translation use in EFL classrooms depends on learners’ English language skills. Moreover, the results also suggest that teachers’ English proficiency influences teaching attitudes significantly. The findings show a rather diverse picture in attitudes towards the use of L1 and translation in EFL classrooms, which may be relevant not only for the Kazakhstan but also for the European and international context. Furthermore, with a better understanding of teachers’ attitudes, the findings of this study can contribute to the reassessment and recognition of diverse, often unpopular, ELT methods such as L1 and translation.

Akhmetova, I. (2021). Practitioners’ views on translanguaging in Kazakhstani EFL classrooms [Master’s thesis, Nazarbayev University]. Nazarbayev University Repository. Artar, P. (2017). The role of translation in foreign-language teaching [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Butzkamm, W., & Caldwell, J. (2009). The bilingual reform: A paradigm shift in foreign language teaching. Tubingen. Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press. Dörnyei, Z. (2010). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/10780203864739 Hall, G., & Cook, G. (2013). Own-language use in ELT: Exploring global practices and attitudes. ELT Research Papers, 13(1), 1–48. Kuandykov, A. (2021). EFL teachers’ translanguaging pedagogy and the development of beliefs about translanguaging [Master’s thesis, Nazarbayev University]. Nazarbayev University Repository. Littlewood, W., & Yu, B.H. (2011). First language and target language in the foreign language classroom. Language Teaching, 44(1), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444809990310 Macaro, E. (1997). Target language, collaborative learning and autonomy. Multilingual Matters. Pym, A., Malmkjær, K., & Plana, M.G. (2013). Translation and language learning: The role of translation in the teaching of languages in the European Union. Publications Office. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2782/13232 Sulkarnayeva, A. (2017). Foreign language education in Kazakhstan: Paradigms and trends. New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(3), 18–24. https://doi.org/10.18844/gjhss.v3i3.1507 Tastanbek, S. (2019). Kazakhstani pre-service teacher educators’ beliefs on translanguaging [Master's thesis, Nazarbayev University]. Nazarbayev University Repository. http://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/4328 Topolska-Pado, J. (2010). Use of L1 and translation in the EFL classroom. Glottodidactic Notebooks, 2, 11–25. Yavuz, F. (2012). The attitudes of English teachers about the use of L1 in the teaching of L2. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46(1), 4339–4344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.251