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The Role of Code-switching in the ESL Classroom

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 WoTES e-Digest, 5th Edition, 2022

The Role of Code-switching in the ESL classroom

Johan Severinus Tati1, Suthagar Narasuman, PhD2, and Liza Blasius Golingi3
1, 3
General Studies Department, Politeknik Kota Kinabalu
2
Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA
*johan.tati@polikk.edu.my
Abstract:
Code-switching has become a common occurrence in ESL classrooms where multilingualism is the norm.
It is avoidable, especially in Sabah Malaysia, where multilingual students predominate in the classrooms.
Although the methods and techniques of English language teaching are constantly changing, the potential
role of code-switching is worth considering. This study investigates the reasons for code switching as
well as the frequency of code switching among ESL students. A qualitative research approach was used
to collect data from ten community college students in Sabah via interviews and classroom observations.
The findings indicated that students 'always' switched codes in the ESL classroom. Malay, or Sabah
Malay dialect (SMD), was the dominant language used in code-switching. The students perceived code-
switching as an alternative communicative tool and benefited from the intermittent use of other
languages. Code-switching should be permitted in the classroom to improve students' speaking abilities.
Further research into the role of code-switching in various domains such as home, work, and economic
sectors in Sabah is suggested.
Keywords: code-switching, multilingual students, ESL classroom, Sabah Malay dialect

1. Introduction
Code-switching is a common occurrence in second- or foreign-language classrooms, particularly in
multilingual communities. When multilingual speakers interact, code-switching is unavoidable. Code-switching
is a social and cognitive behaviour that is frequently observed in multilingual mental activities, according to
researchers such as Nation (2003). Multilinguals use CS as an alternative communication strategy in certain
situations. CS in multilingual speakers typically follows predictable patterns and performs communicative
functions.
The presence of CS in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom has gained attention as a particul ar
compelling research interest. As in the ESL environment, Sabah's multilingual Community college students
produce many code discrepancies in communication. The researcher observed Community college students using
a variety of languages in the classroom, which reflects their ethnicity and cultural identity. Both the mother tongue
and the SMD are commonly used in interaction. According to the education policy, the majority of Community
college students consider English to be their third language rather than their second. These students'
multilingualism allows them to code-switch frequently in speech. In some ways, CS binds them to interact with
each other at their preferred pace. Several studies have been conducted to provide evidence of the role of code -
switching in facilitating communication among students in ESL classrooms (Fachriyah, 2017). Another new and
exciting research context for sociolinguistic studies is the occurrence of CS in Community college, an ESL
classroom setting. As a result, the purpose of this study is to understand code switching in classroom interaction
among students and to document their perceptions of the phenomenon.
The specific objectives of this study are:
1. To identify the reasons for code-switching among students in the ESL classroom.

2. Literature Review
Pedagogical Functions of Code-switching in the classroom
When CS improves students' language and content acquisition and contributes to cognitive improvement, it is
said to serve a pedagogical function. Code-switching, for example, may be used in classrooms when a new subject
matter arises, making this understandable. In these cases, code-switching is motivated by the lesson rather than
by the language (Metila, 2009).
CS can be used in ESL classrooms for a variety of reasons, including social and cognitive (Cahyani, de Courcy,

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& Barnett, 2018). On a social level, students may attempt to complete the task collaboratively. Using the first
language to facilitate access to second language forms and senses that would otherwise be unattainable through
the unique and individual practise of the second language (Moghadam, Samad, & Shahraki, 2012).
Cognitively, students work together to complete all assignments, sometimes even resorting to their native
tongues for clarity or speed. These include discussing methods for completing the task, keeping each other
engaged, and coming up with creative solutions to problems (Breton-Carbonneau and Thomas, 2012). Second-
language learners can benefit from CS because it facilitates their understanding of the task's content in their native
language prior to carrying it out in English. A student must pay close attention to what is being said or written in
order to grasp grammatical and lexical concepts, for instance. They need to pay attention to the delivery as well.
Accordingly, Jiang, Garca, & Willis (2014) identify these pedagogical functions as fostering parity and resolving
conflicts. To make up for their deficiencies in the target language, students can use the equality strategy of finding
the equivalent in their native tongue of unfamiliar vocabulary from the target language. According to the available
evidence, students used CS to look up the definitions of unfamiliar terms.
Students use conflict resolution to avoid misunderstandings when the precise meaning of a word is unknown.
According to the available information, one student, for instance, grasped the topic at hand even though he lacked
a working knowledge of the appropriate English term. This student shifted from using the English term to the
native term by asking another student about the unknown items.

3. Methodology
This study applied qualitative research design. The participants for this research were students from a
community college in Sabah. They were selected based on purposive sampling. In purposive sampling, the
researchers intentionally select the participants expected to provide the required data for a particular study
(Creswell, 2014). Only semester one students in December 2018 session intake were chosen as the respondents.
The students were taking English courses in semester one of their studies. They were expected to speak in English
during classroom interaction among themselves and the lecturers. The participants' code -switching occurrences
in classroom interaction were the central phenomenon in this research. There were ten respondents involved in
this study aged 19 to 22. They are from various indigenous communities in Sabah and studying in different
certificate programmes.
The qualitative research method was applied in this study. Classroom observation and semi -structured
interviews were administered to obtain the data. The classroom observation framework was adopted from a study
by Greggio and Gil (2007). The classroom observations were conducted in two different classes; Communicative
English class and Workplace English class. This research employed semi-structured interviews with eight
questions constructed. The interviews were administered to the ten respondents selected for the interview. The
eight interview questions were focused on obtaining answers for the research objective and research question.
Interviews were conducted with a small number of volunteer students (n =10). As a result, there were ten
respondents selected to be interviewed. The purposeful sampling was used to dete rmine the ten respondents.

4. Findings
4.1 Reasons for code-switching in the ESL classroom
4.1.1 Classroom observation
This section presents findings from an analysis of eight classroom observations, with a particular emphasis on
the motivations for students' code-switching. Eight lessons were completely transcribed, and all examples were
translated from Malay to English. The CS instances were then labelled according to the roles they played.
Following the establishment of the categories, definitions were formulated and supported by illustrative data.
Although English is emphasised as the target language in English classes, analyses of the lessons show that
students engage in substantial code-switching. Moreover, it appears that students use a wide range of CS strategies
during classroom interactions. These factors have been categorised according to the contexts and goals for which
they have been observed being used.
Based on what has been seen in the classroom, CS appears to have pedagogical purposes. It appears that CS
helps speakers advance in their capacities for learning new languages, comprehending new types of information,
and developing their minds generally. Translating, helping with vocabulary, and deducing grammar rules from

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data are subcategories of CS pedagogical roles. Based on what has been seen in the classroo m, CS appears to have
pedagogical purposes. It appears that CS helps speakers advance in their capacities for learning new languages,
comprehending new types of information, and developing their minds generally. Translating, helping with
vocabulary, and deducing grammar rules from data are subcategories of CS pedagogical roles.
4.1.1.1 Translation
Students used CS to convert a variety of idiomatic expressions from English to Malay (i.e., for words,
sentences, or language functions). To get things done in class when the English word wasn't available, CS was
used. This was most prevalent in language arts classes. Examples of this are shown in examples 1 and 2 below:
In another English class, the teacher wrote six sentences on the whiteboard and asked the stud ents to read six
paragraphs and match each paragraph with the correct sentence. In this example, two students who did not know
most of the vocabulary items used code-switching to ascertain the meaning in Malay:
Student 1: Apa maksud tu' retina' in sentence 2?
Student 2: I think dia berkaitan pasal mata ni, eyes.
Student 1: Yang receptor kau faham dia punya meaning?
Student 2: Nda pula, sa tingu dulu dia punya translation la. Oh, meaning dia receiver.
4.1.1.2 Vocabulary
Students in this study appeared to use code-switching to better comprehend specific vocabularies. Once again,
this was most prevalent in English classes. Code-switching for the purpose of overcoming a communication
barrier, such as a lack of understanding or an inability to retrieve lexical items, is a common linguistic practise.
Students were given activities like word association and picture matching in one of their English classes. The
students used computational linguistics to decipher obscure phrases. This is demonstrated by Case Study 3:
Example 3
Student 1: You know the meaning ni word 'suitcase'?
Student 2: Senang saja tu maksud dia, itu yang bag kau bawa when you travel.
Student 1: Platform tu apa menaing dia?
Student 2: Kejap, saya tingu dulu in the dictionary. Oh, meaning dia itu place where you wait for the train.
4.1.1.3 Understanding grammar
The data also revealed that a key function of CS is to teach and practise proper English grammar. Sometimes
this took the shape of literal translation whenever a given clause was spoken in both Malay and English, for
example, the emphasis would be on the latter language's grammatical structure. The students also used CS to
better understand a specific grammatical principle. One of the practical classes wi ll serve as an example of this
later on.
Example 6
Student 1: Yang first sentence active and second sentence passive ka?
Student 2: Tidak, opposite tu.
Student 1: Sa confuse pula. Sa ingat first sentence is active and the second is passive.
In this example, the teacher had handed out a grammar exercise where students were required to read each
sentence and then put the verbs between brackets either in the present simple active or present simple passive.
Students appeared to use CS in this activity in order to try to understand grammar.
4.1.2 Interview
Respondents' primary justification for code switching was that it reflected an inherent part of their linguistic
repertoire. When you consider the context of a Community college student in Sabah who spea ks more than one
language, the occurrence of CS is natural and linguistically authentic.

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Analysis of interview responses reveals that code-switching is widely used among Community college students
in Sabah. In particular, it appears that CS enables students to advance in their linguistic and cognitive abilities.
Code-switching was broken down even further by the respondents into the following categories: translation,
assisting with vocabulary, and comprehension of grammar.
4.1.2.1 Translation
Code-switching between English and the Sabah Malay dialect or Malay allows students at Sabah Community
college to translate meaning at the word, sentence, and grammatical function levels. Sometimes they couldn't find
the right English word, so they'd use CS to talk to their friends instead. Here are some examples that illustrate this
point.
Respondent 2: "Senang mau kasi faham kalau cakap in Malay sama steady saja becakap."
(It's simple to explain to your Malay-speaking pals why you need to practise speaking slowly and clearly.
4.1.2.2 Aiding Vocabulary Acquisition
Community college students in this study appeared to use code-switching to better comprehend vocabulary
items, particularly in English. When this is the case, CS is employed so that the user can get aroun d their inability
to understand or retrieve lexical items in English. It turns out that this is a pattern of language use shared by those
who experience it. The reactions of the respondents are shown below:
Respondent 6:
Code switch juga sebab ada perkataan yang tidak tau maksud in inglish supaya senang kena faham.
(Doing the code switches because they do not know the meaning of words English to understand better).
4.1.3 Practicing to speak in English
It seems that respondents are making use of code-switching as a means to improve their English proficiency.
It appears that the respondents tried to improve their English-speaking skills by forcing themselves to code-switch
from the SMD to English.
Respondent 5:
Code switch supaya bole praktis speaking inglish sama lebih faham.
(Code switch is to be able to practice speaking English, more understanding).

5. Discussions
5.1 Reasons for code-switching in the ESL classroom
The results of the classroom observation and interviews showed that students frequently code switched for the
purposes of translation, aiding in vocabulary acquisition, and gaining practise in using English. Students' need to
code switch for translation purposes stands out as one of the most important takeaways from the interview.
Respondents have been quick to use CS to determine the Malay translation of any English words for which they
were unsure. They have battled on the word, phrase, and even full sentence levels. From what the students have
told the researcher, when they need to explain something clearly and quickly, they switch from English to Malay.
Merritt et al. (1992) findings that CS is used for pedagogical translation are consistent with this observation.
That's in line with what Mustafa and Al-Khatib (1994), who studied CS among Iranians in ESL classes,
discovered. Some researchers have even found that using CS for translation is the preferred method for most
students (Storch & Wigglesworth, 2003). Based on what we know now, it appears that providing students with
translation services is an effective way to aid their understanding and makes them more comfortable in the
classroom, both of which contribute to their language learning.
It's no surprise that many participants in the current investigation prefer to interact with their fellow students
using only the L1. This suggests that CS could facilitate group participation and supply students with an effective
means of sharing information and supplying strategies to complete all learning activities. It not only makes it
possible to do so, but also does so in a way that is constructive and encouraging.

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 WoTES e-Digest, 5th Edition, 2022

Among Community college students, CS has emerged as an alternative for acquiring and perfecting one's
command of the English language, which is a significant finding that supports the importance of code-switching.
They have tried to switch from Malay to English in order to hone their English skills. While there is still some
code-switching going on, it appears to be the result of a conscious effort to strengthen their command of Englis h.
On the other hand, respondents may have to code-switch because they have trouble communicating in English.
The results of the interviews showed that when the respondents found it difficult to communicate in English, they
would switch to another language, such as the Sabah Malay dialect. They are unable to express themselves fluently
in English, especially during classroom discussions, due to their limited vocabulary. Therefore, code -switching
facilitates students' communication and mutual understanding.
In addition, the students at the community colleges employed code-switching for social purposes, including
but not limited to identity expression, relationship building, and commentary. Moore (2002) stresses the
importance of having a multilingual classroom because it provides an opportunity for students to reimagine their
role in the classroom and their own identities as language learners. It would appear that CS becomes one of the
activities shared by the members of the classroom community once students begin to see their classrooms as
communities of practise in which CS is considered a legitimate practise. Students who speak Malay as their first
language have the advantage of being able to share more intimate thoughts and feelings in their native tongue.
When used among speakers of the same L1, it has the potential to foster the growth of a tight -knit professional
community.

6. Conclusion
The purpose of this research is to improve communication between ESL students at a community college by
introducing code-switching as a viable interaction strategy. Because it encourages students to participate actively
and maintain a high standard of oral performance in ESL classroom interaction, this study also aspires to
demonstrate the advantages of CS as a communicative and learning strategy to develop a classroom speaking
discourse. As an added bonus, it aids them in making up for any difficulties in maintaining a natural conversational
atmosphere in class that may result from their language barriers and inability t o convey meaning in the target
language.

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