An Exploratory Study of Language Use and Preferences among Nursing Lecturers and Students at Mzuzu University in Malawi

Abstract

This article reports on the insights gained from multilingual nursing
 lecturers and students at Mzuzu University in Malawi on the languages
 they use and prefer in a classroom setting. Research (Setati, Chitera and
 Essien, 2009; Chowdhury 2012) has found that both lecturers and students
 in multilingual and multicultural settings favour code-switching practices
 in the classroom setting. Code-switching is, therefore, an important
 phenomenon, which researchers should continue exploring because of
 the several distinctive attributes associated with it. The study adheres to
 qualitative and quantitative designs through the use of a questionnaire
 and follow-up interviews as methods of data collection. The results reveal
 that both lecturers and students favour code-switching from English to
 Chichewa during lectures. From both lecturers’ and students’ perspectives,
 code-switching helps to translate and clarify difficult concepts. It also
 helps to prepare students for the nursing profession. The study has some
 practical and pedagogical implications. On the one hand, it contributes
 some meaningful insights for language planners and policy-makers; on
 the other hand, the study sheds important light on the need to include the
 workplace dimension during language in education and language planning
 conversations. This study is also important because it addresses the issue of
 how code-switching might effectively be exploited as a communicative and
 pedagogical resource in instruction.