Functions of Code Switching in Schoolchildren's Conversations

Abstract

This study examined the code-switching patterns in the speech of immigrant Spanish-speaking children. Seven-and 10-year-old boys and girls from bilingual classrooms were each paired with a mutually selected friend, and their speech was collected in two contexts: while the children waited for an expected science experiment and when they worked together to follow an instruction worksheet about hands-on magnetic materials. This study presents data on the discourse characteristics of children's code switching, and the functions that Spanish and English have according to context. In addition, the data are described in relation to children's language competence and preference. The study found that code switching occurred both within and across turns. The older children's switches were more frequent and were deployed for a wider variety of functions than the younger children's. The results challenge the negative view that code switching by children who are learning two languages is due to lack of proficiency, and instead support the view that it is used as a strategy to extend their communicative competence during peer interaction.

Code Switching in English as Foreign Language Instruction Practiced by the English Lecturers at Universities

“…With regard to these statements Reyes (2004) describe the function of code switching as clarification. With this function, the code switching gives more information to clarify an idea or the message of the speaker.…”

Code-Switching Patterns in the Writing-Related Talk of Young Emergent Bilinguals

“…Evidence from studies of emergent Spanish-English bilinguals indicates that younger children show more code switching at the lexical level than older children (McClure, 1981;Zentella, 1997). Older children, however, seem to manipulate their linguistic codes for a wider variety of stylistic purposes and situational demands than younger children (Jørgensen, 1998;I. Reyes, 2004;Zentella, 1997), such as using code switching to convey the intended meaning more accurately (Halmari & Smith, 1994;Zentella, 1997).…”

“…The procedure was both deductive and inductive; there was a continual interplay between beginning with code-switching typologies from existing frameworks (e.g., Becker, 1997;McClure, 1981;MontesAlcala, 2001;I. Reyes, 2004;Zentella, 1997) and checking those against the data, and starting with the data and moving toward grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967).…”

Using the First Language (L1) as a Resource in EFL Classrooms: Nepalese University Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives

“…With the increasing growth of globalization today, increasing numbers of people are bilingual rather than monolingual, and the number of languages NELTA one speaks plays an important role in determining the rate of success one might achieve (Ahmad & Jusoff, 2009). The rise of multilingualism has, therefore, directed attention to CS, which primarily occurs not because of lack of knowledge, but for different communicative purposes such as to establish multicultural identities among themselves (Kramsch & Whiteside, 2007), carry out cognitively demanding tasks (Reyes, 2004), mediate understanding during peer interaction (Sah, 2014), and convey the meaning of the intended idea more accurately (Zentella, 1997). This has received a greater attention from researchers to investigate the effectiveness, conditions, and purposes of using students' local languages in EFL classrooms.…”