IRANIAN EFL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF L1 IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION TEXTS

The support for monolingual approach has been declining recently and some researchers and teachers have suggested that the “bilingual approach” may be more appropriate, especially when the teachers and the students share the same first language (L1). This paper examined the attitudes of Iranian high school English teachers toward employing L1 (Persian) in teaching reading comprehension texts. The main objectives were to explore the teachers’ general attitudes and also their reasons for using L1 in teaching L2 reading texts. The participants of the study were 30 Iranian high school teachers and the data were collected through questionnaires. The results revealed that, on the whole, the teachers had a positive view toward the use of Persian in teaching L2 reading texts. They agreed in the belief that L1 can be used in teaching reading texts for several reasons, including the effects of L1 on enhancing learners’ English skills and classroom interaction and also its effects on learners’ affective and metacognitive aspects which consequently increases the learner’s comprehension in L2 reading texts.