大学外语教学中母语的作用

“直接法”、“交际法”等教学法有助于解决在中国学生中广泛存在的“哑巴”英语问题，但也产生了一些弊端，在外语教学中适当利用母语有助于克服这些问题，对外语教学能够起到积极的促进作用。首先，把母语和外语进行对比，使学生对外语的理解更透彻，更深刻。其次，学生的外语基础良莠不齐，在大学的外语教学中适当的使用母语可以起到兼顾较差学生的作用。第三，外语教学中，教师在讲解抽象的语法概念或词义时，适当利用母语可起到事半功倍的效果。另外，对于大学生来讲，翻译能力也是英语学习中很重要的一个方面。在教学中适当使用母语，能够提高学生在外语和母语之间转换的能力，从而提高他们的翻译能力。

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 language＂ 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 language＂ and ＂mother tongue＂, therefore, improve their translation ability.