Bilingual English Teachers’ Perspectives on English-only Policies in an EFL Setting

Oct 15, 2026

This research explores bilingual EFL teachers’ perspectives on “English-only” language policies in private kindergarten and primary schools in Turkey, where classroom use is restricted to the target language. Using a qualitative case study design, it examines eight teachers’ views and how the policy shapes their teaching methods and professional identities. Findings differ by teachers’ professional background: kindergarten teachers largely favor the policy, while primary teachers show clear resistance. All teachers report discomfort with assigned fake English names.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Language ideologies and monolingualism

Debate on L1 use in foreign language teaching

Study aims and context in private schools

Bilingual English Teachers’Perspectives on “English-only” Policies in an EFL Setting Zeynep Gülşah KANİ1 Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey Hatice İĞSEN2 Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey Abstract Various language policies are implemented for foreign language teaching in educational institutions. One of these language policies is the monolingual approach called "English-only", which requires only the target language to be used in the classroom. This policy is largely implemented in private institutions in Turkey. Studies about teachers’ perspectives on the English-only policy are relatively less. Hence, this research aimed to explore what the perspectives of bilingual EFL teachers working in schools where the English only policy is implemented are and what the effects of such practices are on their teaching methods and professional identities. A case study research design under a qualitative approach was adopted to explore eight bilingual EFL teachers’ perspectives on language policies implemented in kindergarten and primary school of the private education institution where they worked. The results varied according to the professional background of the teachers and the department they worked. While language teachers who worked in kindergarten favoured the policy despite reacting negatively to the strict policies implemented by the school, primary school language teachers showed explicit resistance to the implementation of the English-only policy. Moreover, all the teachers expressed their uneasiness about being assigned fake English names and associated this with the impact of neoliberalism and other ideologies prevailing in the linguistic market on private institutions in Turkey. Keywords: Bilingual teachers, EFL, the English-only policy, native speakerism, private institutions DOI: 10.29329/epasr.2022.248.7 1Assist. Prof. Dr., English Language Teaching Program, Department of Foreign Languages Education, Faculty of Education,Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey, ORCID: 0000-0002-1316-0658 Correspondence: [zgulsahkani@gmail.com](zgulsahkani@gmail.com) 2 MA Candidate, English Language Education Program, Department of Foreign Languages Education, School of Graduate Studies, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey, ORCID: 0000-0002-9864-4028, Email: [higsen@outlook.com](higsen@outlook.com) Introduction Language policies in foreign language education are affected mainly by three major language ideologies: “standard language, monolingualism, and native-speakerism” (Holliday, 2005; The Douglas Fir Group, 2016) . Monolingualism was long acknowledged as the best and ideal practice of ideology in the field of English Language Teaching (Holliday, 2015; Kumaravadivelu, 2003; Macaro, 2001; Phillipson, 1992, 2013) . The historical roots of “English-only” policy as the implementation of monolingualism date back to Direct Method that emerged against Grammar-Translation Method, and this policy encourages the use of the target language only (Sampson, 2012) . There is an ongoing debate about whether L1 should be used or not in foreign language teaching, and it has not reached an agreed conclusion (Debreli, 2016) . According to the recent pedagogical approaches, an average use of the first language can support target language learning alongside with leading to a multicultural and multilingual identity formation of language learners (Rivers, 2011a) . However, as McMillan and Rivers (2011) argue, “despite the preponderance of evidence clearly favouring judicious L1 use, ‘English only’ continues to enjoy hegemonic status in some teaching contexts, with students and teachers being prevented or dissuaded from using the students’ L1 in ways that are, in fact, pedagogically principled”(p. 1) . Yaqubi and Poromoid (2013) state that even though the benefits of optimal first language use in L2 learning are suggested in theoretical research studies, these findin

FAQs

What does the “English-only” policy require in EFL classrooms?

It requires that only the target language be used in the classroom. L1 use is restricted by the monolingual approach adopted in some institutions.

How was the study designed and who participated?

The study used a qualitative case study design and explored the perspectives of eight bilingual EFL teachers. The participants worked in kindergarten and primary schools within a private education institution in Turkey.

What differences did the study find between kindergarten and primary teachers?

Kindergarten language teachers tended to favor the policy despite reacting negatively to strict school rules. Primary language teachers showed explicit resistance to implementing the English-only policy.

Oct 15, 2026

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