Socialising multilingualism: Determinants of codeswitching in Kenyan primary classrooms

Merritt, Marilyn; Cleghorn, Ailie; Abagi, Jared O.; Bunyi, G.

doi:10.1080/01434632.1992.9994486

Cited by 82 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…First, this study lends further support to previous studies reporting that CS is a readily available and frequently applied strategy for foreign language teachers in classroom interaction and classroom management (Merritt et al, 1992;Polio and Duff, 1994;Kim and Elder, 2005;Qian et al, 2009). In fact, we agree with Polio and Duff's (1994, p.315) argument that for non-native speakers, "it may be unreasonable to expect the exclusive use of the target language in the classroom" because teachers are expected to use every possible means at their disposal to fulfill their duty of educating their students and to ensure the smoothness of classroom interaction.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 65%

Code-switching in Iranian Elementary EFL Classrooms: An Exploratory Investigation

Rezvani¹,

Rasekh²

2011

ELT

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This paper presents the results of a small-scale exploratory investigation of code-switching (CS) between English and Farsi by 4 Iranian English foreign language (EFL) teachers in elementary level EFL classrooms in a language school in Isfahan, Iran. Specifically, the present study aimed at exploring the syntactical identification of switches and the functions that the switches served. The data consist of field notes and scripts of audio-recordings of the teachers' talk collected during classroom observations. The findings suggest that CS is a frequently applied strategy and a valuable resource for bilingual teachers in foreign language classrooms, and its judicious and skillful use can boost the quality of teaching. Moreover, it was found that EFL teachers in this study tended to use the learners' L1 (i.e., Farsi) to serve a number of pedagogic and social functions, which contributed to better teacher-student classroom interaction. Implications may be drawn for language teacher education programs and for further research on systematic investigation into actual classroom practices.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 65%

Code-switching in Iranian Elementary EFL Classrooms: An Exploratory Investigation

Rezvani¹,

Rasekh²

2011

ELT

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“…These findings are in line with an earlier study carried out in Kenya among Kikuyu-speaking learners who were being taught in English (Bunyi, 1999;Merritt, Cleghorn, Abagi and Bunyi, 1992). Despite such positive effects, most textbooks and wide-scale student evaluations are in English (Brock-Utne and Holmarsdottir, 2004;Holmarsdottir, 2005).…”

Section: Gauteng VIsupporting

confidence: 81%

Pedagogical and political encounters in linguistically and culturally diverse primary classrooms: examples from Quebec, Canada, and Gauteng, South Africa

Breton-Carbonneau

Cleghorn

Evans

et al. 2012

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

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Comparative research in multilingual urban primary schools indicates that the pedagogical and political goals of schooling may operate at cross-purposes.Classroom observations and teacher interview-discussions were conducted in classes for immigrant children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the language of instruction is French, and in classes in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa, where children from many different language backgrounds are taught in English. Two main themes emerged: (1) Pedagogically, effective teacher-learner communication can break down when teachers are unaware of the roles that language and culture play in second language classrooms. (2) Politically, efforts to assimilate learners into new socio-cultural/political contexts sometimes take precedence over sound pedagogical practice, such as drawing on the linguistic and cultural repertoire that learners bring to the classroom. This on-going qualitative research underlines the importance of preparing pre-service and inservice teachers for the linguistic and cultural diversity they are bound to encounter in their classrooms, and of deepening their understanding of the influence of such diversity on the teaching-learning process.

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“…Code switching thus provides a strategy for border crossing: it allows for meaning to be negotiated, for untranslatable ideas to be clarified and for children's home languages and cultural identities to be validated within the classroom (Arthur, 1994;Brock-Utne, 2003;Cleghorn, 1992;Cummins, 2003b;Eastman, 1992;Merritt, Cleghorn, Abagi & Bunyi, 1992;Myers-Scotton, 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex language encounters: Observations from linguistically diverse South African classrooms

Evans¹,

Cleghorn²

2010

L & L

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This article reports on the initial observation phase of a larger, longitudinal project that explores complex language encounters in grades R (Reception) to 3 classrooms in South Africa. Complex language encounters refer to teacher-learner exchanges that take place when neither teachers nor learners are first language speakers of the language of instruction, in this case English. Observations during teaching practice visits to linguistically and culturally diverse South African urban classrooms yielded several vignettes that illustrate the need for teachers to be provided with strategies to lessen the confusion of some language encounters. Although preliminary, our findings underline how critical it is for teachers to possess full proficiency in the language of instruction as well as cross-cultural competence. That is, in order to attend adequately to diverse learners’ sense-making efforts, teachers need to know how to relate to learners by ‘border crossing’ linguistically, culturally and conceptually.

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Socialising multilingualism: Determinants of codeswitching in Kenyan primary classrooms

Cited by 82 publications

References 5 publications

Code-switching in Iranian Elementary EFL Classrooms: An Exploratory Investigation

Code-switching in Iranian Elementary EFL Classrooms: An Exploratory Investigation

Pedagogical and political encounters in linguistically and culturally diverse primary classrooms: examples from Quebec, Canada, and Gauteng, South Africa

Complex language encounters: Observations from linguistically diverse South African classrooms

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