The Use of Code-Switching by EFL Saudi University and School Teachers

Abstract

It is common to hear bilinguals‟ code-switch two languages when speaking in different situations. In bilingual classrooms such as Saudi ones where most of the individuals have the knowledge of two languages, the linguistic phenomenon of combining languages is quite common. While teaching English as foreign language, Teachers do code-switch in the classroom and reasons for may be that for Clarification, Translation, Checking Understanding, Repetitive Functions, Linguistic Competence, and Giving Instructions Effectively. Despite the significance of the phenomenon, the reasons for teachers‟ code-switching in bilingual classroom discourse have not been investigated in Saudi although the research on the same issue has been carried out in the developed countries in the context quite different from the one existing in Saudi classrooms. The main purpose of the study was to identify the significance of each function of codeswitching by observing why they code-switch and what specific pedagogical functions code-switching serves in the classrooms and note taking during the classes. Quantitative study based on observation, recording and note taking was conducted to ascertain the teachers‟ awareness about the functions of code-switching. Moreover, recording used in this study was to capture the actual instances of code-switchingas used in normal conversational setting in the study. This study, attempts to highlight and explain some of the reasons of code-switching in the foreign language classroom. In short, this paper has made an attempt to better understand the trends of code-switching in Saudi EFL classrooms.