Revisiting Code-Switching Practice in TESOL: A Critical Perspective

Abstract

In academic circles, the English Only view and Balanced view have established their grounds after volumes of work on the topic of code-switching in TESOL. With recent development in Critical Applied Linguistics, poststructural theory, postmodern theory, and the emergence of multilingualism, scholars have begun to view ELT as a constantly shifting dynamic approach to questions of language in multiple contexts, rather than a method, a set of techniques, or a fixed body of knowledge (Lin in Appl Linguist Rev 4(1):195–218, 2013). Therefore, this paper represents a crucial step in addressing the paucity of research on the criticality and sociopolitical nature of code-switching in TESOL by drawing from the constructs of identity (Peirce in TESOL Q 29(1):9–31, 1995), capital (Bourdieu in Soc Sci Inf 16(6):645–668, 1977), and critical pedagogy (Freire in Pedagogy of the oppressed, The Continuum Publishing, New York, 1970). The purpose of this article is to draw connections between code-switching, constructs of identity, and capital and reveal the power dynamics embedded in language learning process. We suggest that language teachers be cognizant of the sociopolitical aspect of code-switching and pay more attention to the multiple, fluid, and contradictory identities that are assigned, claimed, and negotiated by students in classrooms. In this paper, we elaborate on studies that view classroom codes-witching as social indexicality and identity construction, discuss the missing gap in the ongoing debate about code-switching, and provide some tangible pedagogical implications in ELT classrooms.