The Role of Mother Tongue in Foreign Language Teaching

The use of mother tongue in foreign language classrooms in China has always been a controversial issue,and foreign language teachers sometimes feel guilt-ridden when they do slipback to Chinese.By viewing the literature on the use of mother tongue and considering the present situation in foreign language classrooms in China,the author believes that the use of Chinese can be warranted.The procedures in which mother tongue can be used are also suggested.The key question is when,how and to what extent Chinese should be used in foreign languige classrooms.