Making use of Arabic in an English as a second foreign language classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to show how making use of Arabic in a foreign language class is beneficial and helpful for the students and teacher. A study was done at a French medium school for fourth, fifth and sixth graders. The teacher wrote her diary, observations and lesson plans that were necessary for conducting this study. The students filled in a questionnaire at the end of the three cycles, and they were interviewed by the teacher to explain certain responses. It was clear that exploiting the Arabic in English language classes was necessary and useful. Students understood the difficult grammatical and vocabulary concepts when their English teacher switched to Arabic. Moreover, disruptive students were disciplined when the Arabic language was used by the teacher to chastise them. Recommendations for other language teachers will be discussed.