Options
The role of code-switching in a communications skills classroom
Author
Lee-Cheng, Choong Peng
Supervisor
Schaetzel, Kirsten
Abstract
This study examines the motivations and role of code-switching between English (both the standard and colloquial varieties) and Mandarin in a Polytechnic Communications Skills classroom. Code-switching is the use of two or more languages in alternation within a single discourse, sentence, or constituent, and it is a common phenomenon in bilingual interactions. Once seen as a sign of interference, code-switching is now recognized as an additional resource used by interlocutors to highlight the context of conversation, as well as participants' roles and relations in social interactions.
In this study, an ethnographic approach using the methods of participant-observation and interview was adopted to collect naturally-occurring data of students code-switching during collaborative activities in the classroom. The conversational analysis (CA) approach was used to evaluate the collected data in a sequential, turn-by-turn manner to capture in detail the meaning of different interactions and instances of code-switching in different contexts.
The study found that code-switching was a tool used by participants to regulate social relations while engaging in collaborative work in the classroom. Code-switching was also used by participants to achieve certain communicative goals, such as enhancing meaning-making and communication. In addition, it has been found that through code-switching, all linguistic and non-linguistic resources can be harnessed to aid knowledge construction, given the context of a constructivist classroom. Pedagogically, the study suggested the possibility of using code-switching as a resource in language teaching and learning through the use of the mother tongue as an additional language to facilitate the learning of English or other content subjects.
In this study, an ethnographic approach using the methods of participant-observation and interview was adopted to collect naturally-occurring data of students code-switching during collaborative activities in the classroom. The conversational analysis (CA) approach was used to evaluate the collected data in a sequential, turn-by-turn manner to capture in detail the meaning of different interactions and instances of code-switching in different contexts.
The study found that code-switching was a tool used by participants to regulate social relations while engaging in collaborative work in the classroom. Code-switching was also used by participants to achieve certain communicative goals, such as enhancing meaning-making and communication. In addition, it has been found that through code-switching, all linguistic and non-linguistic resources can be harnessed to aid knowledge construction, given the context of a constructivist classroom. Pedagogically, the study suggested the possibility of using code-switching as a resource in language teaching and learning through the use of the mother tongue as an additional language to facilitate the learning of English or other content subjects.
Date Issued
2005
Call Number
P115.3 Lee
DOI
Date Submitted
2005