Affiliation:
1. Hadhramout University, Yemen
2. Seiyun University, Yemen
Abstract
This chapter aims at exploring teachers' perceptions of using Arabic (L1) as a pedagogical tool to mediate teaching English in higher education. It further investigates the reasons for abstaining from using Arabic and its functions and attempts to determine the factors that affect teachers' decisions on whether or not to use L1. Forty teachers from different universities responded to an online questionnaire. The results revealed that the teachers had positive perspectives toward the selective use of students' L1 (M= 2.89; SD= 0.39). The results showed a moderate positive correlation between the respondents' perceptions of using L1 and their classroom practices (r=0. 498; p=0.001). The results suggested that the teachers were hesitant about using students' L1 because of the misconception about its role in learning the target language. The chapter concludes with implications on functions for utilizing L1, its determining factors, and the reasons for abstaining from it.
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