Code-Switching in Classroom Interaction

Code-switching is a common linguistic phenomenon among multilingual speakers. This phenomenon manifests itself in diverse ways and serves a variety of purposes. This paper explores code-switching in the context of classroom interaction, specifically to find out dominant patterns and factors that trigger the switching of codes among teachers and learners. Code-switching may occur between sentences, known as 'intra-sentential code-switching'; at the beginning and end of a sentence, known as 'inter-sentential code-switching'; and it may also occur as fillers, idioms, and expressions, known as 'extra/tag code-switching. This paper analyzed the alternating use of English and Filipino in classroom interaction at the Cagayan State University-Carig Campus. The data consists of six audio-recorded lectures in the departments of Humanities and Social Sciences and Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The findings revealed that apart from the three patterns extensively researched in bilingualism, teachers and students also employed intra-word code-switching (switch within word boundary). This new pattern has emerged in the investigation. The study also shows that the widespread use of code-switching in the classroom may serve instructional purposes, such as asking, clarification/reiteration, conveying intimacy, equivalence, explanation/elaboration, floor-holding, loss of words, and translation. This research broadens our understanding that code-switching in bilingual and multilingual classrooms is largely demonstrative of communicative competence.