Code-switching in Iranian Elementary EFL Classrooms: An Exploratory Investigation

Ehsan Rezvani,Abbass Rasekh

doi:10.5539/elt.v4n1p18

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a small-scale exploratory investigation of code-switching (CS) between English and Farsi by 4 Iranian English foreign language (EFL) teachers in elementary level EFL classrooms in a language school in Isfahan, Iran. Specifically, the present study aimed at exploring the syntactical identification of switches and the functions that the switches served. The data consist of field notes and scripts of audio-recordings of the teachers’ talk collected during classroom observations. The findings suggest that CS is a frequently applied strategy and a valuable resource for bilingual teachers in foreign language classrooms, and its judicious and skillful use can boost the quality of teaching. Moreover, it was found that EFL teachers in this study tended to use the learners’ L1 (i.e., Farsi) to serve a number of pedagogic and social functions, which contributed to better teacher-student classroom interaction. Implications may be drawn for language teacher education programs and for further research on systematic investigation into actual classroom practices.

Highlights

Code-switching (CS) is a common phenomenon of language contact, which is broadly discussed in every subfield of linguistic disciplines (Nilep, 2006)
The following conclusions were drawn from the analysis and discussion above: First, this study lends further support to previous studies reporting that CS is a readily available and frequently applied strategy for foreign language teachers in classroom interaction and classroom management (Merritt et al, 1992; Polio and Duff, 1994; Kim and Elder, 2005; Qian et al, 2009)
We agree with Polio and Duff’s (1994, p.315) argument that for non-native speakers, “it may be unreasonable to expect the exclusive use of the target language in the classroom” because teachers are expected to use every possible means at their disposal to fulfill their duty of educating their students and to ensure the smoothness of classroom interaction

Summary

Introduction

Code-switching (CS) is a common phenomenon of language contact, which is broadly discussed in every subfield of linguistic disciplines (Nilep, 2006). According to Myers-Scotton (1997), codes involved in CS do not necessarily constitute those of standard languages. She expands the scope of CS to subsume switching between languages (Azuma, 2001; Treffers-Daller, 1998; etc.), dialects (Alfonzetti 1998), styles and registers (Farris, 1992). In this paper, ‘code’ is used to refer to two distinct languages, English and Farsi

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion