摘要：The debate whether the second language or foreign language learners' mother tongue should be included in L2 settings is among the crucial issues of second language acquisition and language teacher training (Atkinson, 1987; Brooks-Lewis, 2009). Moving with this debate, this study focuses on the uses and functions of Turkish in the collaborative talks of seven first year students of English Language Teaching Department while carrying out two different English tasks. This study is guided by a number of dimensions: the uses and functions of Turkish produced by the participants during carrying out each task and the participants' perceptions upon the functions of L1 in ELT classrooms. The data are collected through collaborative dialogues carried out by the participants while doing the two tasks and a structed interview with each participant. The results indicate that Turkish gives the participants the chance of engaging in the content, requirements and management of the tasks and the lexical and grammatical issues included in the tasks. This means that in each task the amount, use and functions of Turkish in the participants’ dialogues have changed. Focusing on the assumption that L1 can be regarded as a cognitive and psychological tool (Storch &Wigglesworth, 2003; Swain& Lapkin, 2000), this study ends with suggestions on the uses and function of L1 in ELT settings.
