analytical hierarchy process in identifying and ranking factors affecting l1 use among iranian efl teachers

There have been many debates in the field of teaching english as foreign or second language (tefl/tesl) about whether to use mother tongue in the english teaching class or not. some researchers as krashen (1982) and ellis (1984) noted against code-switching, mentioning maximizing exposure to the target language and preventing over-dependency on first language. however, some supported the use of l1 and talked in its favor; larsen-freeman (2000) and nation (2003) believed that “well-planned” and “judicious” use of l1 can yield to positive results. this paper attempts to identify and then rank the factors and reasons behind the use of first language in english as foreign language (efl) classrooms among iranian teachers. an analytical hierarchy process (ahp) style questionnaire was designed and distributed among 30 high school english teachers in gorgan, iran and the collected data was analyzed through ahp software. the results show that identified reasons are grouped in two general categories; affective factors such as making jokes and teacher-student relationship building, and pedagogical factors, including concept meaning and conveying and instruction giving. the most common reason is ranked to be conveying concept meaning and the least common reason is praising or reprimanding the students. this study will not focus on how affective the identified factors are in improving teaching process and students’ learning and although this is an interesting question, it will have to wait for another study.