The paper reports that to explain why teachers in Hong Kong find using their mother tongue essential in teaching English language, four pre-service English teacher-trainees kept journals and did audio-recording everyday during their two-month practicuum.

The author reports that, though pre-service English teacher trainees are often told to teach English through English, many find teaching English without using the mother tongue impossible in actual teaching situations in Hong Kong. To explore the extent of gap between theory and practice, the author arranged 71 student teachers at sub-degree levels to fill in parallel questionnaires before and after their practicum. How student teachers may deal with this teaching situation is then suggested.