Code‐switching as a communication, learning, and social negotiation strategy in first‐year learners of Danish

The term ‘code‐switching’ is used in two related yet different fields of linguistics: second language acquisition and bilingual studies. In the former, code‐switching is analyzed in terms of learning strategies, whereas the latter applies a competence view. This article intends to detect the borderline between the two concepts by investigating the use of code‐switching in first‐year learners of Danish. Our study points out that code‐switching appears as a skill used in early attempts of playing with the languages involved in the conversation (Danish/English and Danish/Polish/German/English). Thus we have to acknowledge code‐switching as an increasingly sophisticated language skill even at an early stage of SLA.