Code Switching in the Teaching of English as a Second Language to Secondary School Students

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that the use of two or more languages in the same conversation or utterance occurs in many bilingual or multilingual communities. The term used to define such occurrences is code switching. Linguists around the world (Gardner-Chloros, 1997; Wardhaugh, 1998; Holmes, 2001; Ayeomoni, 2006) regard code switching as a common and non-isolated phenomenon. In Malaysia, code switching is not an exception as the diversity of languages spoken by the various races of people contributes to the linguistic practice. Previous studies (Kow, 2003; Then & Ting, 2009) show that code switching occurs in formal classroom settings. Relating code switching to present practices in the Malaysian school system, this study investigates the attitudes of teachers and the types and functions of code switching employed by English language teachers in secondary schools. It also reports on how code switching affects the delivery of the English language curriculum. A total of 42 English language teachers were selected as respondents for this study. Respondents were required to complete a survey questionnaire by indicating their attitude, usage and opinion of code switching in the classroom. The findings indicate that the majority of teachers have positive attitudes towards code switching. They only code switch in times of need. Teachers also believe that code switching has a role to play in facilitating second language learning.