Abstract:
Code switching has become a common phenomenon in L2 classrooms. Most
bilingual Language teachers switch codes in the classroom. Ghaderi et al write
that, “code-switching, despite the historical debate, serves various purposes
in language classrooms, including facilitating comprehension, managing the
class, and enhancing learner engagement.”. This study aimed to explore the
practice of code-switching by English language teachers at the tertiary level,
firstly, to identify the reasons for which they switch codes, secondly, to find
out the extent to which code switching is practiced by them, and, finally,
to ascertain the type of code-switching that takes place in the classroom.
Five tertiary level language teachers teaching foundation level English to
Freshers in a private university of Dhaka, Bangladesh were chosen using
purposive sampling. The data were collected through classroom observations
and semi-structured interviews. Three classes of each sample were observed
to document the extent to which each participant switched codes and the
type of code switching they practiced. The semi-structured interviews were
designed to find out the teachers’ perceptions of why they switched codes.
Data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman’s three step analysis process
i.e. data reduction, data display and lastly drawing conclusions. The findings
of the study have implications for language teachers who can make more
efficacious use of code-switching if it is done with a more critically deliberative
approach.
