Teachers and Students Code-Switching: The Inevitable Evil in EFL Classrooms

Abstract

Code-switching has been primarily investigated in a variety of sociocultural contexts, especially in foreign and second language settings. The majority of code-switching instances, whether in teacher-initiated activities or teacher-student interaction, seem to suggest that these interactions reflect a sophisticated language use and serve a variety of pedagogical purposes. This study aims to find out the main functions and roles of code-switching among EFL high school teachers and students in Jordan. For this purpose, classroom observation and a questionnaire were used as instruments. Two EFL teachers were regularly observed, and notes of their code-switching behaviour over four weeks were taken, examined, classified, and finally analysed. A questionnaire was used for 330 students from two secondary schools in Jordan. The students were asked to fill in a Likert-type questionnaire. From the classroom observation, the results showed that teachers code-switch for several reasons including affective function, giving instructions and directions, and linguistic incompetence. The questionnaire administered to students showed that students code-switch for non-linguistuc purposes such as maintaining rapport and interpersonal relationships as well as keeping the line of communication without interruption to avoid any sort of conflict or misunderstanding. This study concludes by recommending that teachers should improve students’ English language skills in non-linguistic domains such as the affective and interpersonal ones. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.2.5

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