Supporting linguistically and culturally diverse English language learners by integrating first language

Abstract

This qualitative study is to report an activity designed in the Learning English through the Arts program to explore the L1 use in an L2 class at a Canadian University English Language Improvement Center. The participants are five adult English language learners registered in different departments and faculties at a Canadian university. The results showed that: 1) L1 can, to some extent, facilitate students' L2 learning; 2) home culture sharing is an effective activity when teachers consider integrating L1 in L2 class, and 3) multimodal ways of presentation are crucial in integrating L1 into L2 learning. This study can provide insights for English language teachers who want to integrate L1 into L2 classes. In addition, for teacher educators, this study can also offer suggestions for teacher education programs with an increasing need to develop competent teachers to support English language learners in a diverse learning environment.