On functions of the mothertogue in college English teaching

Teaching methods such as Direct Method,communicative approach,etc.are very helpful in solving the common problem-mute English-among Chinese students.However,they also have some shortcomings.Using the students' mother tongue properly in teaching can help to overcome these problems and improve our teaching.First,contrasting the mother tongue with the garget language,students can understand the target more profoundingly.Second,the good and bad are intermingled in the class,so using the mother tongue in teaching,we can make sure those whose foreign language is weak can keep up.Third,in foreign language teaching,using mother tongue in analysing Abstract grammars and words can have better effect.Moreover,as for college students,the translation ability is also an important aspect in English learning.Using mother tongue in teaching can improve students' ability of transfering between the target and mother tongue,therefore,improve their translation ability.