Code switching

Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics
                       Code-switching in the English classroom
                                   Written by Mahjabeen Malik        
                                                         Dated: 11th November 2018
                                             Abstract
Code-switching is a widely observed phenomenon in multilingual and multicultural communities like Pakistan. Code-switching is a phenomenon that exists in bilingual societies where people have the opportunity to use two or more languages to communicate. Being able to speak more than one language, bilinguals can code-switch and use their languages as resources to find better ways to convey meaning. Code-switching occurs in English classrooms in upper secondary school every day.
Code-Switching is generally defined as a shift from one language to another by the speaker during the speech. It is a common linguistic phenomenon in Pakistani classrooms. It is considered to have both a positive and negative impact. This exploratory study investigated the perceptions of Pakistani students towards teachers’ code-switching during English lectures at tertiary level. Students have different attitudes towards code-switching of teachers in a classroom. There is a need to investigate whether it is beneficial or malevolent to switch between two codes in an English classroom and how the students view this alternation between codes. The researchers employed 5- point Likert scale questionnaire along with 12 open-ended questions to investigate the perceptions of the students towards code-switching of English language teachers during lecture. The findings of the study revealed positive attitude of the students towards teachers’ code-switching, however some of the students were of the view that code-switching by teachers restricts their exposure to English. Keywords: English language, Urdu language, code-switching
Introduction Pakistan is a multilingual state with English as its official language (Rahman, 2010; H. Khan, 2011; Coleman, 2010). English holds central position in the linguistic scenario of Pakistan as it claims to be language of education, offices, administration, technology, research, etc (Sultana, 2007; Dar, Akhtar, & Khalid, 2014; Atique & Khan, 2015; Ali & Khan, 2015; Dar & Khan, 2014; Sultan, 2015). Learning English has been of vital importance for students from primary level and it continues to have importance even at tertiary level of their education. Though learning English is considered a challenging task for Pakistani English language learners, yet they realize the importance of learning it. Varieties of other languages are also spoken in Pakistan and people unconsciously mix and switch between languages in their communication (Rukh, 2014; Iqbal, 2011) Code-switching has become a very common phenomenon in Pakistan and people commonly switch between Urdu and English. In daily life, on media and even in formal conversation people switch between codes (K. R. Khan, 2004). The occurrence of English in Urdu has become a common phenomenon in textbooks as well (Noor, Anwar, Muhabat, & Kazemian, 2015). In spoken discourse English teachers switch code during their lectures for different (∗Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, NED University of Engineering and Tech Journal of Education & Social Sciences purposes, for example giving instructions, clarifying new vocabulary, managing classrooms etc). Teachers switch from English to Urdu either to explain things better or to build rapport with their students . Some students are in favor and some are against code-switching in English classes . When code-switching is used to facilitate, students can have both positive and negative attitude towards it. Hence, the attitude of tertiary level students towards teachers’ code-switching needs to be explored in ESL context in Pakistan in order to devise teaching strategies to fulfill needs of the students. This study focuses on students’ perception of teachers’ code-switching during lectures and specifically the study explored answer to the following question: • What are the perceptions of Pakistani undergraduate English language learners towards English language teachers’ code-switching from English to Urdu language during lectures?
In language acquisition: In studies of bilingual language acquisition, code-mixing refers to a developmental stage during which children mix elements of more than one language. Nearly all bilingual children go through a period in which they move from one language to another without apparent discrimination. This differs from code-switching, which is understood as the socially and grammatically appropriate use of multiple varieties.
Beginning at the babbling stage, young children in bilingual or multilingual environments produce utterances that combine elements of both (or all) of their developing languages. Some linguists suggest that this code-mixing reflects a lack of control or ability to differentiate the languages. Others argue that it is a product of limited vocabulary; very young children may know a word in one language but not in another. More recent studies argue that this early code-mixing is a demonstration of a developing ability to code-switch in socially appropriate ways.
Internal-Code-Switching
If the code-switching occurs among regional languages in one national language, or among dialects in one regional language, or among some styles in one dialect, it is called as Internal Code-switching.
External Code-Switching
If code-switching occurs among native language and foreign language is called as External Code-switching.
Linguistic Convergence
The other features of code-mixing are that the language or variant elements that are inserted in other language have no more functions. These elements have united in the language they are inserted is called as Linguistic Convergence. Inner Code-mixing: originated from the native language with its all variations. Outer Code-mixing: originated from foreign language.
Code-Mixing:  The use of two or more language by putting in/inserting linguistic elements in one language into other language consistently. In code-mixing, dependency features are marked by the relationship between the language role and function. If the speaker mixes his/her code/language, then it must be asked who the speaker is: his/her social background, level of education, religion, etc.
Some linguists use the terms code-mixing to utterances that draw from elements of two or more grammatical systems. These studies are often interested in the alignment of elements from distinct systems, or on constraints that limit switching.
Some work defines code-mixing as the placing or mixing of various linguistic units (affixes, words, phrases, clauses) from two different grammatical systems within the same sentence and speech context, while code-switching is the placing or mixing of units (words, phrases, sentences) from two codes within the same speech context.