c. Checking students’ comprehension
The example of checking students‟ comprehension is by asking “do you understand?” or “do I make myself clear?”. Here, the role of L1 is to decrease the language barriers by using L1
to ask the students. The L1 usage will cut the identity gap between the students and the teacher. Schweers Jr. 1999 mentioned the example of the use of L1 for checking the students‟
comprehension as follows, the t eacher asked the students “how do you say „I‟ve been waiting
for ten minutes‟ in Spanish?”. By the question, the teacher can check the students‟ understanding. If the students answer it correctly, it means that they have understood the
material given by the teacher.
d. Giving instructions
Teacher can use the L1 to give instructions and commands for the students to do the assignments or tasks. This role will be beneficial for the students because by using the L1, they
will know what to do in the classroom better than when the teacher use the target language. Cook 2008, p.184 said that the teacher can use the students‟ first language when explaining
the instruction of the task and activity, and moreover, they should use it to keep the activity going. She added
that the teacher should „balance the gains and loses‟ of using both languages. This argument is supported by Brown, as cited in Royal 2008, who confirmed that “this is
when students feel that the task is too hard, or that the directions are not clear, or that the task is not interesting, or that they are not sure of the purpose of the task, then teachers may invite
students to take shortcuts via their native language.”
e. Reinforcing the students
Giving reinforcement is important in teaching learning proc ess as it could reduce students‟
anxiety by giving them a „motivational reward‟. Thus, by using L1 for reinforcement, it will decrease the anxiety felt by the students. Atkinson, as cited in Bouangeune 2009 stated that
one of the uses of L1 in L2 classroom is to improve reinforcement.
f. Communicating in the classroom
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