The use of L1 and L2 in prewriting discussions in EFL writing and students' attitudes towards L1 and L2 use in prewriting discussions

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of the use of L1 and L2 in prewriting discussion on EFL students‘ writing quality. The study also examined students‘ attitudes towards prewriting discussions in general, and having prewriting discussions in L1 and L2 in particular. Data were collected in three phases with 30 sophomore Kurdish native speaker students in the English Language Department at Koya University in the north of Iraq. In the first phase, the students wrote four essays after prewriting discussions in either their native language (Kurdish) or their second language (English). In the study, the students wrote two essays in the first and fourth week after L1 discussions and they also wrote two essays in the second and third weeks after having L2 discussions. In the second step, data were collected through a questionnaire which focused on the students‘ attitudes towards prewriting discussion in general and the use of L1 and L2 in particular. Then, according to their writing test scores, four participants were chosen (two with the highest and two with the lowest scores) and interviewed in order to know their in-depth feelings and attitudes towards prewriting discussions and using L1 and L2 in prewriting discussions in EFL writing classes. The findings showed that the participants wrote better essays after the L2 prewriting discussions than after the L1 discussions. The findings also showed that the students generally responded positively to prewriting discussions as an effective technique in EFL writing classes; however they had mixed feelings about some points relating to the language choice in prewriting discussions. In other words, some of the participants believed that L2 use was more useful for English major students as they need to learn English, while other participants believed that the language choice in prewriting discussions should be determined according to students‘ level of second language proficiency. In brief, the results indicated that English language students should use the second language in all speaking class activities in all levels in order to help them learn English better, but lower level students should be allowed to use their native language when they cannot fully express their ideas in English. Finally, this study presents some pedagogical recommendations such as using prewriting discussions together with other techniques in the second language writing process. It also recommends that the use of L1 alongside L2 in prewriting discussions should be allowed among EFL students, especially lower level students, in order to help them participate in class activities and make them feel less anxious while expressing their ideas, and also to help them to better understand the topics and improve their writing performance.