CODE SWITCHING IN EFL CLASSROOM: TEACHER'S ATTITUDE

The term code itself refers to a language or
a variety of a language (Wardhaugh, 1992).
 In general, some experts agree on defining
code-switching as the alternating use of two
or more languages in the same utterance or
conversation (Milroy and Musyken,1995;
Myers-Scotton, 1993; Faldes-vallis,1978;
Gardner-Chloros, 1997).

Myers-Scotton (1993) further added that
code-switching is either intersentential or
intrasentential.
 While intersentential code-switching involves
switches from one language to the other between
sentences, intrasentential switching occurs within the
same sentence, from single-morpheme to clause
level
 In code-switching, the matrix language is the most
dominant language used and the embedded
language is the language that holds the lesser role.

 Gumperz (1982) sub-categorizes code switching
into conversational code-switching and
situational switching.
Conversational code-switching tends to occur
subconsciously as the speakers are motivated
by factors within the conversation itself when
it takes place.
Situational code-switching can be considered
as changes in language choice due to the
situation where the speakers exist.

 Lin (2007) in her study, defines
classroom code-switching as the
alternating use of more than one
linguistic code in the classroom by
any of the classroom participants
such as teacher and students.

This study looks at classroom code-switching
conducted by teachers in the ESL classroom.
Though the policy in English language institutions
demands that English teachers use only English in
teaching, the actual classroom practice might be
different.
Code-switching in this particular study is the
alternating use of English and Bahasa Melayu
within English classes by the teachers.

1. What are the English teachers’
attitudes toward code-switching?
2. What are the functions of the
teachers’ code-switching within
the class?
Research Questions

Participants of the Study
 The participants of this study were 2
English teachers teaching at a public
university in Malaysia.
Each teacher was observed for three
2-hour lessons. Data was collected
through observations and recording of
classroom discourse, interviews and
questionnaires.

Background of the participants
SUBJECT A SUBJECT B
 A female English teacher aged 45.  A female English teacher aged 34.
 She was of Malay ethnicity and
spoke Bahasa Melayu as her
mother tongue. She was also a
proficient English speaker with 17
years of experience in teaching
English.
 She was of Malay ethnicity and
spoke Bahasa Melayu as her
mother tongue. She was also a
proficient English speaker with 13
years of experience in teaching
English.
 Her highest educational
background was a Masters degree.
She mentioned that she also
attended some additional courses
on English teaching.
 Her highest educational
background was a Masters degree
and she had also attended
Cambridge certificate in English
language teaching to adults
conducted by the British Council
of Kuala Lumpur.

SUBJECT A
• Subject A code-switched 74 times.
Research Question 1: What are the English
Teachers’ Attitudes toward Code-Switching?
• When she was asked why English teachers code-switch, she mentioned three
reasons for teachers to code-switch; lack of proficiency, inability to think of the
proper words in English, and making the students understand better when
explaining difficult terms.
• She perceived code-switching as an alternative choice in teaching English to
students especially in explaining certain grammatical terms like the passive
and active voice. Interestingly, subject A claimed that she only code-switched
in explaining the passive and active voice, yet the observation showed that
she would code-switch in explaining other grammatical structures as well.

SUBJECT A
• Subject A displayed a positive attitude toward code-switching. She
had code-switched for a particular reason such as in explaining
difficult grammatical terms. Sometimes in explaining new terms, she
would also code-switch.
• Subject A claimed that she did not frequently code-switch. Code-
switching for her should be the last option especially in teaching
English to students whose level of English proficiency still needed to
be polished.
• She believed in the use of English only in class and held the opinion
that it is acceptable for English teachers to code-switch provided that
the switching was seldom, as too much of switching might slow down
the acquisition of the target language.

SUBJECT B
• She admitted to rarely resorting to code-switching in the class except
when most of the students were Malay. She was of the opinion that
it is permissible for English teachers to code-switch if there was a
need. Code-switching could be used by teachers in teaching English
but the frequency should be minimized.
• Subject B code-switched 42 times.
• Subject B highly encouraged the use of English-only in the class.
However, she inserted the particle lah quite frequently in her
speech.

SUBJECT B
• Overall, Subject B indicated a positive attitude toward code-
switching. She encouraged the use of English-only in the classroom,
yet, code-switching was seen as necessary to create a conducive
learning situation.
• Subject B further argued that code-switching would not essentially
impede learning the target language as the switching could be used
to make the learning environment less formal.

Research Question 2: What Are the Functions of
the Teachers’ Code-Switching within the Class?
• The most common features of code-switching displayed by the Malaysians
English speakers is the transfer of subconscious marker (Suan, 1990).
• Markers like lah, kan, and tu are frequently used in the Malay syntactical
pattern to emphasize, to seek confirmation and to inquire.
• Furthermore Jamaliah Moh. Ali (2000) defines the use of the marker such as
lah as communicative strategies of the Malaysian English speakers.

SUBJECT A
There were 6 functions of code-switching presented by subject A:
(1) As a message reiteration.
> Subject A had employed 34 code-switching under this function.
...so if you say he has cooked /so the meaning is that /the point is that /dia dah
He has
masak /he has cooked…
cooked
(2) As message qualification.
> Subject A code-switched 28 times under this function. It is believed that when a speaker
switches to the other code for this purpose, the message is better understood (Dayang
Fatimah Awang Chuchu, 2007).
…so, this is the passive / dia telah diberikan anugerah itu…
He has (been) given award that

SUBJECT A
(3) As personalization versus objectivization
> Code-switching here functions to reflect whether a statement is of the speaker’s opinion,
generally known facts, or refers to specific instances. Under this function, the exact
meaning of the switching will vary depending on the context and content of the
conversation (Coogan, 2003).
> There were 5 instances of code-switching that occurred under this function.
…I have eaten pun boleh juga /I have eaten nasi lemak /no /I have eaten
(part.) can also rice oily
nasi lemak but in spoken actually walaupun soalan ditanya dalam
rice oily though question (was) asked in
simple past you boleh juga jawab ya present perfect...
can also answer (part.)

SUBJECT A
(4) As interjection or sentence filler
…Not really perfect but /ok lah…
(part.)
> When functioning as Interjections or sentence filler, code-switching is used for better
expression, clarification or better understanding (Gumperz, 1982).
(5) As specific features of Islamic English
> Islamic English is the English language modified to enable it to carry Islamic proper
nouns and meanings without distortion, and thus to serve the linguistic needs of
Muslims users of the English language (Ismail Raji, Al Faruqi, 1986).
> Words like Insya Allah, nazar, hikmah, and ustadz are words from the Arabic language
which could not be translated into English. Those were words expressed by the subject in her
teaching.
…and the ustadz says nothing?..
>There are 6 instances of code-switching recorded under this function.

SUBJECT A
(6) The transfer of subconscious markers
> The most common feature of code-switching of the Malay speaker is the transfer of
subconscious markers through the insertion of particle lah (Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf, 2006,
and Suan, 1990).
> During the interview, the subject argued that she rarely inserted the particle lah as she
believed that it was not acceptable in formal English, so she minimized the use of it.
…Not really perfect but /ok lah…
(part.)
> Particle lah itself indicates various meanings depending on the speakers’ intention
(Jamaliah Moh. Ali, 2000).
> In this situation, the subject’s usage of the particle lah had most probably happened
without her realizing it. Suan (1990) argues that lah is a common particle used in
Malay syntactical pattern for emphasising or seeking confirmation. Hence, when the
speakers use English, they insert the particle unconsciously.

SUBJECT B
There were 7 functions for which Subject B code-switched:
(1) As a message reiteration.
> Subject B displayed 12 code-switching under this function.
…if we want to say /this is my next step /what do you use / (lepas ni / lepas
after this after
ni /in English )/ ya, something like that /after this /ya…
this
(2) As message qualification
> It can happen at the level of sentences, clauses, and phrases level. In this situation the speaker
believes that code-switching helps to better understand the message (Gumperz 1982).
> Based on the observation, it was discovered that subject B performed 12 code-switching
under this function.
…you say next /baru dia tekan…
then he press

SUBJECT B
(5) As quotation
> When functioning as quotation, code-switching contains direct quotation or reported speech
(Gumperz, 1982).
> There were 2 code-switching occurring under this function. For instance, when the
subject was recalling her previous experience, she code-switched to Bahasa Melayu in
reporting the sentence.
> This is shown in the following excerpt:
…I came like really early and went to see the cleaner / kak, tolong kak…
sister help sister
(6) As specific feature of Islamic English.
> Suan (1990) conducted a study on code-switching among bilingual Malay students. One of
her findings indicated that the subjects whose religion is Islam, inserted some Islamic terms in
their utterances.

SUBJECT B
(6) As specific feature of Islamic English.
> Similar to subject A,subject B also inserted the word Insya Allah in her sentence to express a
certain situation that is going to happen
in the future.
…Insya Allah /no written /just like your midterm…
(7) As the transfer of subconscious markers
> Subject B displayed 8 code-switching under this function. She inserted the particle lah
frequently into her discourses.
> Suan (1990) argues that among Malaysians, the insertion of markers like lah, kah, tu,
and kan has become habitual expressions to speakers who could not avoid using it in their
speech.
> During the interview, she admitted that as a Malaysian English speaker, she did the
insertion for the purpose of showing friendliness.
...he mentioned about Islamic countries which have developed well /for examples Dubai and Kuala Lumpur
/ciee / aku bangga sikit lah...
I proud a bit (part.)

• Code-switching in this particular study was the alternating use of English and
Bahasa Melayu within English classes by the teachers.
• The subjects of this study were two English teachers of a public university in Malaysia.
• Both of the subjects observed in this study displayed positive attitudes towards code-
switching. They believed that moderate code-switching is tolerable as long as the
switches do not interfere with the essential processes of the learning itself. The use of
English-only in class was highly encouraged. One of the teachers considered code-
switching as an alternative way of teaching low proficiency students.
• Both of the subjects stated that there were many reasons for ESL teachers to code-
switch, namely, lack of proficiency, inability to find the exact words in English,
promoting students’ understanding particularly in explaining difficult terms, for
friendliness, and to follow the usage that is found one’s culture.
• There were different functions of code-switching performed by each subject of the
study. However, both the subjects displayed almost similar functions. Subject A had 6
functions and subject B had 7 functions. Overall, seven functions of code-switching were
found in this study.

The occurrence of conversational functions of code-switching in both subjects is
presented in the following table.
Table 1. The occurrence of conversational functions of code-switching in subject A and B
No. Functions of code-switching
Number of occurrence
Subject A Subject B
1 Message reiteration 34 12
2 Message qualification 28 12
3 Interjection or sentence filler 1 10
4 Personalization versus objectivization 5 3
5 Quotation 0 2
6 Specific feature of Islamic English 6 3
7 As the transfer of subconscious markers 1 8
Total 75 50

The findings of this study are mostly in accordance with the theory proposed by Gumperz
(1982) on conversational functions of code-switching.
However, there are two important findings to be highlighted here as they are different
from the findings of other studies on code-switching:
(1) With reference to Malaysian English, the insertion of particles such as lah is a specific
feature of Malaysian English.
> Jamaliah Mohd. Ali (2000) argued that the particle communicates no particular
denotative meaning yet, it is used to indicate emotive and affective attitudes of the
speaker, or sometimes simply to fill a pause or a moment of hesitation or reflection in the
stream of speech. It is categorized as part of the communication strategies of Malaysians
in speaking English.
(2) With reference to Islamic English, both of the subjects inserted some Islamic terms into
their spoken discourse. The word Insya Allah was used commonly by the subjects.
> As Suan (1990) has discovered most Malay English speakers who are Muslims, will
insert some Islamic terms in their utterances.

CODE SWITCHING IN EFL CLASSROOM: TEACHER'S ATTITUDE

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