Karin,
I am going to piggy-back on what Phil has contributed- Phil has a better
grasp of the theoretical issues related to L2, I believe. My comments
are based more from my own experience in the L2 classroom and general
knowledge of AT (I'm currently researching L1 writing issues but hope to
return to L2 in the near future).
I think Phil is right on when he suggests considering how L1 as a
mediational tool aids (hinders?) the L2 communicative act. As the task
gets more difficult (and this is a complex problem in defining how
difficult the task is) I think that the student is more likely to rely
on L1 as a mediational tool. You might think of this as an example of
the task moving beyond the speaker's current level of development (ZPD,
if you wish). With this in mind it would be interesting to go back and
see during what specific activities your student was engaged in which
necessitated L1. You could also design some 'experiments' to see when
the learner needed to use L1 to accomplish the activity. Or maybe you
want to save this for your PhD research ;)
Another point was related to your comment that the learner uses the L1
as a "reflection" tool. It would be interesting to see exactly what
they were reflecting on- was it some aspect of the task, some aspect of
language, translating from L1? This might give you some insights into
how the learner was using this 'tool' to mediate their own communication
activity. Of course this brings up the role of 'inner speech' and that
is something I hope that others can comment on.
Sounds like an interesting problem- good luck and keep us informed of
your thinking and progress. Let me know if I can clarify anything
jim
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