Children’s beliefs on first language use in English learning through metaphor elicitation in Greek primary schools

While leveraging students’ first language (L1) has been gradually gaining ground in the field of intercultural education, it still has limited acceptance in English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction. The present study reports on young learners’ beliefs on the use of L1 in learning EFL through metaphor elicitation in the Greek context. The participants were 133 students aged 10–12 attending primary education in Greece, who described and explained their L1 (Greek) in learning EFL using a metaphor. The metaphorical representations were categorized and analyzed through thematic interpretation. As identified in the metaphor analysis and together with few responses that did not involve metaphorical expressions, more than half of the participants reported a positive view on L1 use in EFL learning, while less than one-fifth expressed a negative view. The findings suggest a reevaluation of monolingual teaching approaches in second language learning, common in English language education, and are discussed in relation to the pedagogy of translanguaging. Considering students’ views, by strategically incorporating practices that involve the L1 in foreign language teaching, educators can promote effective learning and contribute to language equity in a responsive manner.