AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN L1 AND L2 LEARNING: WHERE ARE WE?

The debate on L1 use in EFL teaching is enigmatic, with controversy arising and subsiding with varying intensity but never approaching resolution. The enigma is that inclusion of L1 has been theoretically justified, verified by research, and pedagogically accepted, while its exclusion has been based on unexamined assumptions (Kimberly, 2009). The issues and questions surrounding the use of NL information have changed. Within the past 50 years we have witnessed great flux in research directions, traditions, and assumptions. Accordingly, the present study, first, traces the conceptual history of the notion "language transfer" from its early beginning to its current position within Universal Grammar. Second, it problematises the exclusion of L1 from the classroom and supports the notion of incorporating students' input into pedagogical decision making processes.