Abstract
It has been a cornerstone of English language teaching, as well as a proud tradition, that English should be taught by using only English. The practice is not questioned often and student teachers remember and are sometimes reminded during their practical teaching sessions of various techniques and strategies that can be used to get learners to speak English only, from pretending to be deaf when learners address them in their home language to punishing learners by exacting a ‘fine’ of some sort when they ‘lapse’ into their home languages. Auerbach (1993), Swain and Lapkin (2000), Cook (2001) and Hughes et al. (2006) discuss the resistance against the use of home or community languages in language teaching classes and describe a variety of functions for which languages other than the target language can be used with good effect. The question in this article is whether English language teaching practices in a number of Western Cape schools demonstrate similar functions of code switching.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.