| Summary: | The role of LI in foreign language classrooms has been a matter for debate in FL teaching and learning for many years. In this thesis, it will be argued that it is now time for the current dogma "always teach in the FL" to be questioned and replaced by a view which re-integrates the LI into FL classrooms in a positive way. The thesis will trace the historical basis for and implications of the current view first in relation to language learning theories, and then in relation to language teaching theories and practices in the context of the classroom. On the basis of this re-examination of ideas, it will be suggested that many of the arguments leading to the view that the FL should always be used are either questionable in themselves or inappropriate for use in the FL context. In the process, an optimal view of LI use and a theoretically based framework of potential functional LI uses will be proposed. The theoretically based framework will then be used to provide the basis for an empirical investigation of the perceptions and actual use of the LI in a number of 'Eadadi' schools in Egypt. A study of what teachers actually do reveals the current pattern of use of the LI, and a questionnaire for teachers and students reveals the attitudes behind this use. Teachers' attitudes will then be compared to their actual use to find the motivations behind teachers' use of the LI, and how far it is optimal. Extracts of classroom interactions are then presented in order to illustrate how use of the LI could have been used in an optimal way, presenting more learning opportunities to the learners. The thesis concludes with a set of recommendations for the use of the LI in FL classrooms.
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