Volume 4, No. 3 Maret 2023

p-ISSN� 2721-3854 | e-ISSN 2721-2769

DOI:� https://doi.org/10.46799/jst.v4i3.706

CODE-SWITCHING IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM

Budi Sampurna

MA Negeri 1 Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract:

Code-switching is one of sociolinguitics phenomenon when a a speaker of bilingual or multilingual switch from a language to another one. The research aims to figure out types of teacher�code-switching in the teaching and learning process in English class. The study applied a case study of qualitative descriptive research. The participant of the research was an English teacher at a state Islamic school in Sumedang. Observation and interview were used to collect the research data, and the data were analyzed based on code-switching theory proposed by Poplack (1980). The study revealed that (1) teacher applied three types of code switching, namely: intrasentential code switching, inter-sentential code switching, and tag switching; (2) the most frequently used types of code switching used was intrasentential code switching followed by inter sentential code switching and tag switching. Code switching is used by the teacher to reduce either students' misunderstanding of the lesson or their difficulty understanding the English lesson offered by the English teachers in the classroom.

Keywords: Code-Switching; Classroom; English Classroom.

INTRODUCTION

Code-switching is a fruitful area of language research (Martin-Jones, 1995). It has long existed as one of the most inescapable results of communication between different language varieties due to widespread linguistic interaction, especially in multilingual and multicultural settings (Ahmad & Jusoff, 2009; Fachriyah, 2017; Then & Ting, 2011). In the 1980s, code-switching as a phenomena and tactic used by foreign language teachers attracted attention (Chowdhury, 2012).

�� English teachers in Indonesia, where English serves� as foreign language, usually speak English and Bahasa Indonesia in teaching and learning process for educational purposes (Ferguson, 2003; Lin, 2013). They think students will understand if they use both of the languages. Other teachers, on the other hand, do not speak English and are hesitant to do so (Ibrahim et al., 2013).

�� Code switching can be defined as the alternate employment of two or more languages in the same statement or discourse (Toribio, 2004). It can happen when the speakers of the utterance is a bilingual or multilingual.

According to (Gardner-Chloros et al., 2000; Riehl, 2005),� there are three kinds of code switching. They are intra-sentential , inter-sentential, and tag code switching. An intra-sentential switching can be indicated when a word, phrase, or clause, of a foreign language is found within in the sentence in a base language. The speaker generally shifts in to embed language in the sentence boundary in this form of switching. A word or a phrase might be used as the embedded language.

Inter-sentential code switching appears when there is a complete sentence in a foreign language uttered between two sentences in a base language. The switching takes place outside of or in between phrases. In most cases, the speaker uses Language A in the first clause or statement and then switches to Language B in the second clause or sentence, or vice versa.

Tag code switching is when there is a tag in one language into an utterance that is otherwise wholly in another language. This tag change occurs at several points throughout the utterance. In other words, when a bilingual adds short statements (tag) from a different language at the conclusion of his or her utterances, this is what happens.

Classroom code-switching research has been conducted in a wide range of linguistic environments, including bilingual (and even multilingual) classrooms and second language classrooms. Some academics, such as (Basnight-Brown & Altarriba, 2007; Green & Wei, 2014), have looked into both classroom discussion and code-switching. (Olson, 2016) discovered that a bilingual teacher's use of the mother tongue and the target language is fairly constant.

(Kecskes, 2006) investigated code mixing and code switching in English class to find out the teacher talk, the student talk and the students' preference for the utilization of code mixing and code switching in their learning achievements.

As far as the writer conceerned, research on the� type of code switching cannot be found especially in the setting of state Islamic school. Therefore, research in this field will be beneficial for English teachers.

METHOD

The study applied a case study of qualitative descriptive research. This research applies a qualitative research design. The qualitative approach was chosen since the researchers are interested in natural events that occur in the field. The data were collected through class observation and interview. The participant of the reseach was an English teacher at a state Islamic school in Sumedang. The site of the research was selected based on purposive sampling.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

All types of code-switching such as intra-sentential switching, intra-sentential switching, and tag switching are used by the teacher. The teacher used intra-sentential switching when teaching the lesson, translating their explanation, and translating unfamiliar words to the pupils. The teacher also used intra-sentential switching when interpreting the explanation, stressing the lesson, and asking questions to explain the lesson. In addition, tag switching also practiced by the teacher.

The study also revealed that most frequently used types of code switching used was intrasentential code switching, inter sentential code switching and tag switching. It means that teacher uses intrasentential code switching more frequent than the last two code switching.

The study also uncovered the reason behind code switching stated by the teacher. The teacher switches code to reduce either students' misunderstanding of the lesson or their difficulty understanding the English lesson offered by the English teachers in the classroom. It implied that teacher did not believe students� ability to understand the lesson if the classroom language use only English as language of instruction.

CONCLUSION

Code switching is a real phenomenon in English as foreign language learning classroom. It helps teacher to explain the lesson material since the teacher felt students will not understand if the language of instruction was fully in English. Further research is neede to uncover students� persepective regarding the use of code switching in English class.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahmad, B. H., & Jusoff, K. (2009). Teachers� Code-Switching in Classroom Instructions for Low English Proficient Learners. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 49�55.

Basnight-Brown, D. M., & Altarriba, J. (2007). CODE-SWITCHING AND CODE-MIXING IN BILINGUALS: COGNITIVE, DEVELOPMENTAL, AND. Speech and Language Disorders in Bilinguals, 69.

Chowdhury, N. (2012). Classroom code switching of English language teachers at tertiary level: A Bangladeshi perspective. Stamford Journal of English, 7, 40�61.

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Ferguson, G. (2003). Classroom code-switching in post-colonial contexts: Functions, attitudes and policies. AILA Review, 16(1), 38�51.

Gardner-Chloros, P., Charles, R., & Cheshire, J. (2000). Parallel patterns? A comparison of monolingual speech and bilingual codeswitching discourse. Journal of Pragmatics, 32(9), 1305�1341.

Green, D. W., & Wei, L. (2014). A control process model of code-switching. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 29(4), 499�511.

Ibrahim, E. H. E., Shah, M. I. A., & Armia, N. T. (2013). Code-Switching in English as a Foreign Language Classroom: Teachers� Attitudes. English Language Teaching, 6(7), 139�150.

Kecskes, I. (2006). The dual language model to explain code-switching: A cognitive-pragmatic approach.

Lin, A. (2013). Classroom code-switching: Three decades of research. Applied Linguistics Review, 4(1), 195�218.

Martin-Jones, M. (1995). Code-switching in the classroom: Two decades of research. One Speaker, Two Languages: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Code-Switching, 90�111.

Olson, D. J. (2016). The impact of code-switching, language context, and language dominance on suprasegmental phonetics: Evidence for the role of predictability. International Journal of Bilingualism, 20(4), 453�472.

Riehl, C. M. (2005). Code-switching in bilinguals: impacts of mental processes and language awareness.

Then, D. C.-O., & Ting, S.-H. (2011). Code-switching in English and science classrooms: More than translation. International Journal of Multilingualism, 8(4), 299�323.

Toribio, A. J. (2004). Convergence as an optimization strategy in bilingual speech: Evidence from code-switching. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 7(2), 165�173.

Copyright holder:

Budi Sampurna (2023)

First publication right:

Jurnal Syntax Transformation

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