CODE-SWITCHING

Code-Switching

Code-Switching In an EFL Classroom

Introduction

Code-switching is the process of shifting from one linguistic code to another depending on the communication setting or context. Identity researchers got interested in the way that code-switching, particularly among ethnic groups, got used to shape and maintain a sense of community and identity. To develop a better understanding of code-switching, the history of code-switching and the ideological perspectives surrounding code-switching got discussed in this entry. Code-switching involves moving linguistically from one language to another depending on context. It is a concept rooted in the historical experiences of African Americans, particularly youth and the education system that influences them. As a result, educators have held two ideological perspectives associated with code-switching: corrections and contrastive. These perspectives have played a major role in shaping the cultural identity of the learners.

Discussion

Code-switching is a quite common occurrence in EFL classrooms. A switch in code can convey salient meanings over and above the referential meaning. Because the English proficiency of non-English majors is different from that of English-major students, teachers 'code-switching between English and other language occurs inevitably more often in EFL teaching for non-English majors. Code switching in this study defined as an unmarked linguistic choice; and a teaching strategy that can be exploited by EFL teachers to achieve some specific teaching goals (Auer, 2007).

In recent years, foreign language classroom has become one of the exact code-switching contexts. Language teachers are guides to communication, for even though other communicative guides exist, such as body language, voice, eye contact, our predominant reliance typically is on the spoken and written word: language (Gafaranga, 2007). Studies suggest that teacher code-switching, whether in the teacher-led classroom discourse or in teacher-student interaction, may be a sophisticated language use serving a variety of pedagogical purposes (Jonsson, 2005). It employed to facilitate student comprehension at various educational levels and build their vocabulary knowledge. Alternatively, code switching is a strategy for teachers to adapt to students' English proficiency, teaching goals, and teacher roles in a university setting in countries with English as a second or foreign language.

Although forms of bilingual talk such as code-switching and mixing are widespread, they do not occur in all bilingual speakers or communities. For instance, although almost all Luxembourgers with Lëtzebuergesch as their first language are also fluent in French, (frequent) code-switching between these varieties is rare. Using Lëtzebuergesch is the unmarked way of signaling one's belonging to the non-immigrant part of Luxemburg society, and French used in public and in many institutions; the alternating use of these languages would constitute an identifiable occurrence. Quite in contrast, code-switching/ mixing is the unmarked way of speaking among many second-and third-generation Turkish/German bilinguals among themselves, while speaking monolingual Turkish got marked (Muysken, 2000). Different language ideologies involve here, which regiment the ways in which linguistic behavior becomes meaningful and even normative in the constitution of social groups and their boundaries. This also applies to the evaluation of bilingual talk. While it is true that, in various contexts, bilingual talk evaluates negatively against the background ...