The role of code switching in a communications skills classroom

Lee, C. C. P. (2005). The role of code-switching in a communications skills classroom (Master’s dissertation). Retrieved from http://libris.nie.edu.sg/

Background

The author observed that her students frequently code-switched in her Communication Skills (CS) class and wondered if insights into it could help with planning and refining her teaching.

Aims

The study examined the motivations and roles of code-switching between English and Mandarin by bilingual students in a CS classroom.

Sample

Thirty-two Chinese (it is unclear whether they were Chinese nationals or Singaporean Chinese) students from two classes in a Singapore polytechnic participated in the study. They were selected because they code-switched frequently between English and Mandarin in the classroom.

Method

Using a participant observation approach, the researcher audio-recorded conversations during various classroom activities (e.g. group discussions) and took field notes. Based on the classroom observations, an interview was carried out at the end of each week’s lesson with two to five subjects from either of the two classes. The interviews focused on the social relations among the interlocutors, identities, and the functions of code-switching and code choices in serving communication and interactions. Data collected were analysed using the Conversational Analysis approach.

Findings

The study found two motivations for the code-switching. The first was to regulate interactions between students and the second was to facilitate meaningful communication in conversations. Three roles of code-switching were identified. The first was as an interaction tool. Code-switching was used to indicate power in a relationship through the use of contrasting codes in conversational sequences and to establish cooperation and mitigation of differences through the use of a similar code. The second was as a communicative resource. Code-switching served to make messages more meaningful through the clarification and repair of utterances in a mutually familiar language. The third was as a knowledge-building tool. Code-switching allowed students to grapple with concepts in English by explaining them to one another with similar concepts in Mandarin. More than mere translations, they provided in-depth explanations by playing on subtle differences in meaning in the two languages.

Implications

The author recommended that teachers should teach language in the context of its functions and allow students to use other codes in the classroom if they were functional and context-appropriate.

Original article retrieved from NIE Digital Repository.