Focusing on Code Switching: Educators’ Perceptions in Assessing Learners’ Foreign Language Proficiency

Abstract

In Indonesia, educators usually apply more than one code in the EFL classroom as an alternative way to support language learning activities. This issue is known as codeswitching. This research focused on investigating educators' perceptions of assessing learners' foreign language proficiency. Particularly, it aimed at finding the educators' attitudes toward code-switching, factors influencing the educators' codeswitching within the class and the functions of the educators' code-switching toward learners' foreign language proficiency. This research employed a qualitative method. Observations and questionnaires were carried out to obtain the data. Those data were analyzed by using descriptive analysis following Knight's (1992) framework for assessing speaking skills. Participants of this research were ten educators in Senior High School selected by purposive sampling. The analysis shows that educators have a positive attitude toward code-switching, employ code-switching to convey meaning. The analysis also shows that learners' foreign language proficiency can easily improve through their understanding of switching as an appropriate way to explain materials, teach new vocabularies and encourage learners' participant in classroom activities. This study contributes to how code-switching is applied for effective teaching and learning.