Leveraging on L1 for successful second/foreign language English teaching and learning

Second language teaching/learning process is often fraught with problems, especially when the target language is not in constant use in non-native environments. The English language teaching/learning process in Nigeria continues to present enormous challenges in the nation's educational system, because of the multiplicity of languages, numbering about 500, contending with English, officially designated as the language of education. Although the language provision in the National Policy on Education recognizes indigenous languages, as it prescribes their use at the formative stage of learning, the non-implementation of this policy has affected the effectiveness of the teaching/learning process in general. The thrust of this paper is how English, Nigeria's official language, as well as the language of education, can receive a boost in its teaching/learning process through the mother tongue, as studies have shown that proper acquisition of L1 can aid second language learning. There are recommendations on methods of using L1 to teach L2, which, if properly adopted will lead to fluency in L2 rather than pursuing accuracy through grammaticality. This paper is expected to contribute to existing literatures on the role of mother tongue in effective second language learning, so that instead of throwing away the baby with the bath water, we can use L1 knowledge to leverage on learning English as a second/foreign language.