Code Switching: Awareness Amongst Teachers and Students in Saudi Universities EFL Classrooms

Abstract

This study is a comprehensive investigation of Saudi university EFL classroom interactants’ [faculty & students] awareness towards various dynamics of code switching (hereinafter CS). The participants comprised of 100 faculty members and 100 students drawn from Taif University English Language Center [henceforth TUELC]. A 22 item questionnaire was adapted on a Likert-scale to elicit their perceptions related to various functions of CS in a Saudi EFL classroom context. The results revealed that both groups [faculty & students] indicated almost the same results as far the attitudes towards the reasons that prompt CS in the EFL classroom are concerned but they showed comparatively wider differences towards perceptions of the awareness of CS in Saudi EFL universities classrooms (section 1) and perceptions of the subjective norms of CS in Saudi EFL universities classrooms (section 2) of the questionnaire. The findings of the study reveal that Saudi EFL classroom interactants bear quite positive attitudes towards CS. It is also found that the participants of this study have a strong urge to learn the English language and for the specified purposes of the role of CS is authenticated by the respondents. During the analysis, the results of the study indicated that both respondents [i.e. faculty & students] agreed to use CS, but utility of different functions vary in their perceptions. Moreover, in the light of the data analysis, trends were determined among groups to measure the significance of each function of CS. In short, this work tried to understand the significance of mother tongue [hereinafter MT] and target language [henceforth TL] in the EFL context of Saudi universities.