HOW TO HAVE A GUILTFREE LIFE USING

CANTONESE IN THE
ENGLISH CLASS
A HANDBOOK FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER IN HONG KONG.
BY MERRILL SWAIN, ANDY KIRKPATRICK AND JIM CUMMINS

INTRODUCTION
Teachers

should teach English through English and

encourage learners to interact with one another in English

GOAL

writing this guidebook for the use of Cantonese (L1) when

teaching English (L2).

The planned use of the L1 when teaching English supports

and enhances the learning of English.

WHY IS THERE A "MONOLINGUAL" (useonly-English) POLICY?

INTERFERENCE: We can learn L1 and L2 separately in
the classroom but in the brain doesnt store the two
languages in separate boxes: the two languages are in
contact and talk to each other.

MAXIMUM EXPOSURE: students will hear as much English as possible but

they need to undertand because if students don't understand what they are hearing
(or reading) in English, they are unlikely to learn it.

ARGUMENTS FOR MODIFYING THE

MONOLINGUAL POLICY
LANGUAGE IS A
COGNITIVE TOOL

The most powerful tool we

possess to mediate
thinking is our first
language.

LANGUAGE IS FOR
COMMUNICATING.

Bilingual and multilingual people

regularly make use of a mix of
their languages, giving them
subtle
and complex ways of conveying
their ideas, emotions and
identities.

A MULTILINGUAL MODEL IS
MORE APPROPRIATE FOR
TODAYS WORLD.

English now is a lingua

franca in todays world

GUIDELINES
Build from the known

MAKE CONTENT
COMPREHENSIBLE

Provide translations
for difficult grammar
and vocabulary

FOCUS ON
STUDENT PROCESS
AND PRODUCT IN
TASK COMPLETION.

Use cross-linguistic
comparisons

USE ENGLISH FOR

CLASSROOM
ROUTINES

GUIDELINES

MAKE CONTENT COMPREHENSIBLE

A) BUILT FROM THE KNOWN

to the students
FAMILIARITY

use content that is familiar

SIMPLICITY

B) PROVIDE TRANSLATIONS FOR DIFFICULT GRAMMAR AND

VOCABULARY
to clarify the meaning of words, phrases and
grammatical structures.

Provide translations allows students to progress more quickly

to the more important stage of active use and internalization.

GUIDELINES
C) USE CROSS-LINGUISTIC COMPARISIONS
Comparing the
ways the different languages behave grammatically and express
things can also be very useful.

FOCUS ON STUDENT
COMPLETION
PROCESS

PROCESS

PROCESS

AND

PRODUCT

IN

TASK

Students should be allowed to use the L1 or code-mixing

when developing with other students the meaning of
what the teacher (or a text) has said

Is the piece of work (oral or written) that is assigned a

grade.

GUIDELINES

USE ENGLISH FOR CLASSROOM ROUTINES

Teachers should
establish regularly used classroom routines in English.

GIVING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACTIVITIES ,

OPENING, TRANSITIONING AND CLOSING
LESSONS,
and MAINTAINING DISCIPLINE

These routines in English provide many genuinely authentic

opportunities for using English in meaningful ways.

SUMMARY

The key principle is to use Cantonese (L1) in ways that will help
the students learn English

The use of Cantonese will

help scaffold the learning of English.

Bilingual and multilingual teachers should make use of their

multilingual skills to help their students.

Postgrade of English as a L3
International University of Barcelona (UIC)
The Strategy Factor in Language Learning
Course 2015-2016
Anabel Lanuza Sabat

Swain, Merrill, Kirkpatrick, Andy & Cummins, Jim (2011). How to Have a Guiltfree Life Using Cantonese in the English Class: A Handbook for the English
Language Teacher in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Research Centre into Language
Acquisition and Education in Multilingual Societies, Hong Kong Institute of
Education.