2. Does your mentor teacher use Hebrew/Arabic/heritage language of immigrants in the classroom? If so, to what extent? No.

3. As a student teacher, do you use the learners’ L1 in the classroom? Please explain.

   Yes, when I'm teaching new vocabulary, I translate it to them so they'll understand the meaning of the word, in addition, in low grades, I mix English and Hebrew in my speech because they still can't speak or understand English fluently.

4. When is the use of the learners’ L1 helpful?

   • When explaining difficult grammar points

   • When introducing new vocabulary

   • When giving complex instructions

   • When supporting weak students

   • When making connections between languages

5. When is the use of the learners’ L1 counter-productive?

   • When it reduces exposure to English

   • When students rely only on translation instead of developing thinking skills in English

   • When it interferes with understanding and fluency development

6. In summary, should the learners’ L1 (or other languages) be used in the classroom? If so, to what extent? For what purposes?
   Yes, but in a balanced way. L1 should be used as a tool for support rather than the main focus. It can be useful for explaining difficult concepts and providing reassurance, but English should remain the primary language of instruction.

1.                As a language learner, did you find the use of L1 helpful in learning an additional language?  Please explain.  

As I grew older, I did find the use of L1 helpful in learning an additional language. When I was little, I don’t remember L1 being that much help, but obviously it did since this is the way it is taught in schools when you learn a new word and its translation, and so the understanding of some words help you build on that to understand more words.

2.      Does your mentor teacher use Hebrew/Arabic/heritage language of immigrants in the classroom? If so, to what extent?

My mentor teacher uses Hebrew sometimes for clarification or when she wants to tell someone off, but it’s rare. She mostly talks in English in the classroom and also out of it, since she’s American.

3. As a student teacher, do you use the learners’ L1 in the classroom? Please explain,

Yes, I’ve come to find it helpful and learned to use it, sometimes intentionally, but more importantly when it’s unintentional and it comes from the students. For example, when I was teaching vocabulary about weather, the students heard the word “thunder”. I asked them if they know the word, or can they guess what it means. One girl connected it to the Hebrew word טנדר, and I built on that, telling it’s not that but it does make a big, loud noise when it comes, just like a טנדר does, and they immediately understood that “thunder’ means רעם. What’s more beautiful, is that they all remembered it through this connotation to the Hebrew word.

5. When is the use of the learners’ L1 helpful?

When the teacher or the learner makes use of it.

6. When is the use of the learners’ L1 counter-productive?

When they rely too much on it, it becomes their comfort zone.

7. In summary, should the learners’ L1 (or other languages) be used in the classroom?

If so, to what extent? For what purposes? Please give examples?

I think L1 can be very helpful for students to understand items in TL, especially if the languages are similar and share processes and structures. When languages are different, they can also be used for learning through comparison. Since languages shape our identities and are connected to cultures and social environments, I think other languages are important for broader knowledge of these cultures and environments.

1.                   As a language learner, did you find the use of L1 helpful in learning an additional language?  Please explain.  I did to some extent mainly in the beginning of my learning when I didn’t know how to ask questions in English and my vocabulary was small. But as soon as I could read and ask for simple explanations (5^th grade) I went to English speakers’ class and used L1 less and less.

2.   Does your mentor teacher use Hebrew/Arabic/heritage language of immigrants in the classroom? If so, to what extent? Mira did not use a lot of Hebrew. A bit more in 4^th grade but she taught me for example not to translate every line in the story to enhance the student’s ability to use L2 to understand L2.

3. As a student teacher, do you use the learners’ L1 in the classroom? Please explain. I do use L1 quite a lot for a few reasons. I teach special ed middle school right now and many students are not confident in English at all and used to saying “I don’t understand anything” using Hebrew and allowing them to switch to Hebrew than repeat the English after me boost their speaking confidence. Moreover, I taught in “practice teaching” mainly grade 4. They are not advanced and lacked the vocabulary to use mainly English.

4.  Discuss the role of the learners’ L1 in the following quotes/excepts:

Excerpt #1

T: What is ‘employment’

S: תעסוקה

T: איך אומרים אבטלה?

S:unemployment

T; Disappointed = מאוכזב

Now: tell me in English about some situations when you were disappointed!

I like the English questions and think the teacher should have asked the second question in English too: “how do you say  "אבטלה" with only the word itself in Hebrew.

Excerpt #2

T: לוקחים שאלה YES/NO

ומוסיפים WH  

T: שימו לב שזה רק תופס ל

Who & what

התשובה שלך היא הנושא למשפט

This too, I would use more English, they know the word question and they can be taught the word subject.

Excerpt #3

T: You go ahead; tell us what you wrote.

S: כתבתי משהו, אבל אני לא בטוחה

T: So try come onתנסי  

I like the way the teacher kept using English even when the student answered in Hebrew. She did say try in Hebrew but only one word as an encouragement and she said it in English as well.

Excerpt #4

אני משתמשת בעברית כאשר אני נאלצת לתרגם מילה מאנגלית לערבית ובמקרה הזה המילה בעברית מוכרת וקלה להבנה יותר בקרב התלמידים שלי. דוגמא: המילה  already  . באנגלית – קל יותר לתרגם אותה למילה "כבר" בעברית , המילה המקבילה בערבית קשה להבנה ולא שכיחה על ידי התלמידים. אני גם לא יודעת אם היא מדויקת.

I understand this if the question came up but not as a plan. I would look it up and maybe even explain to the students I want to verify a good explanation for them. Adding a 3^rd language is confusing.

5. When is the use of the learners’ L1 helpful? When it is a low level and they don’t have the vocabulary for explanation in L2, when they ask for a specific word or to understand a specific word I said and when something happened and I need to address emotions or non-related to the lesson subject because L2 creates a barrier on relationships.

6. When is the use of the learners’ L1 counter-productive? In most reading and speaking contexts with advanced students when using full sentences in L1 instead of a few words. If the student’s level is high enough to understand English instructions and questions, they need them in English to practice.

7. In summary, should the learners’ L1 (or other languages) be used in the classroom?

If so, to what extent? For what purposes? Please give examples? Yes in the beginning and in specific situations but less and less as they advance.