ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
In Malaysian education system, English is taught as a second language, but the reality may not be true for some learners. Consequently, code-switching is inevitable among bilinguals teachers as they are used to maintain communication where L1 and L2 are used for different purposes in ESL classroom. Only a few studies were done to discover the code-switching functions among in-service teachers in English language classrooms which lead to aims of the present study. Code-switching is beneficial in ESL classrooms and teachers should know when and how it is best used. This is a survey study that utilized questionnaires as an instrument to collect data. A total of forty-two in-service English teachers currently studying at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia were chosen as the participants. The participants are chosen through purposive sampling because they are all English teachers teaching in ESL classrooms. The results suggested that the teachers have mixed perceptions on the use of code-switching. Furthermore, they advocated for judicious use of code-switching besides using it to help low proficiency learners. This perception further influences their use of code-switching where it was revealed that the teachers use code-switching mostly to help learners understand lesson content. Future research should focus on determining the correlation between teaching experience and the use of code-switching.
Ahmad, B. H., & Jusoff, K. (2009). Teachers’ Code-Switching in Classroom Instructions for Low English Proficient Learners. English Language Teaching, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v2n2p49
Benu, N. N. (2018). Code Switching in EFL Classroom (A Case Study at a State Senior High School in Kupang). Exposure Journal, 7(2), 150–160.
Chen, M. M. az B., & Maarof, N. (2017). Code switching among Malaysian primary school teachers in teaching english as a second language. Man in India, 97(13), 31–39.
Cheng, K. (2003). Code-switching for a purpose: Focus on pre-school Malaysian children. Multilingua, 22(1), 59–77.
Chowdhury, N. (2013). Classroom Code Switching of English Language Teachers at Tertiary Level: A Bangladeshi Perspective. Stamford Journal of English, 7, 40–61. https://doi.org/10.3329/sje.v7i0.14462
DeAlwis, C. (2020). Code-switching in Malaysian Classroom as the Microcosm of Society in Socio-cultural Context. International Journal of Service Management and Sustainability, 4(2), 135. https://doi.org/10.24191/ijsms.v4i2.8069
Engku Haliza, E. I., Ahamad Shah, M. I., & Armia, N. T. (2013). Code-switching in english as a foreign language classroom: Teachers’ attitudes. English Language Teaching, 6(7), 139–150. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n7p139
Ferguson, G. (2003). Classroom code-switching in post-colonial contexts. AILA Review, 16(April), 38–51. https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.16.05fer
Flyman-Mattsson, A., & Burenhult, N. (1999). Code-switching in second language teaching of {French}. Working Papers in Linguistics, 47(0), 59–72. http://journals.lub.lu.se/index.php/LWPL/article/view/2322
Gumperz, J. J. (1982). The Communicative Competence of Bilinguals: Some Hypotheses and Suggestions for Research. Lang. Soc, 1, 143–154.
Iber, G. (2016). English Language Learning in the Malaysian School Setting: Where Can We Find 10,000 Hours? A Theoretical Perspective. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.4p.46
Lee, H. (2010). Code switching in the teaching of English as a second language to secondary school students. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, 6(December), 1–45.
Levine, G. S. (2003). Student and Instructor Beliefs and Attitudes about Target Language Use, First Language Use, and Anxiety: Report of a Questionnaire Study. The Modern Language Journal, 87(3), 343–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00194
Makulloluwa, E. (2013). Code switching by teachers in the second language classroom. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 6(3), 581–598. http://universitypublications.net/ijas/0603/pdf/T3N299.pdf
Manara, C. (2007). Opinions and Practices in an Indonesian Context. Spring, 4(1), 145–178.
Maya Khemlani David, Caesar Dealwis, K. C. H. (2017). Language Policy and Language Use in Multilingual Malaysia. In Pursuit of Societal Harmony: Reviewing the Experiences and Approaches in Officially Monolingual and Officially Multilingual Countries, June, 83–103. https://store.it.si/ZA/book/in-pursuit-of-societal-harmony-reviewing-the-experiences-and-approaches-in-officially-monolingual-and-officially-multilingual-countries/578806
Milroy, L., & Muysken, P. (1995). One speaker, two languages: Cross-disciplinary perspectives on code-switching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Muriatul Khusmah, M., & Su-Hie, T. (2016). Malaysian Youth’s Receptivity Towards Code-Switching in Malay Drama Television Series. ESTEEM Academic Journal, 12(2), 31–46.
Paramesvaran, M. D., & Lim, J. W. (2018). Code-switching practices in a Malaysian multilingual primary classroom from teacher and student perspectives. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(2), 254–264. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v8i2.13273
Selamat, J.T. (2014). Code switching in the Malaysian ESL classroom. Master of Arts (Linguistic) Thesis, University of Otago.
Sert, O. (2005). The Functions of Code-Switching in ELT Classrooms. The Internet TESL Journal, 11(8), 7. https://doi.org/10.24191/smrj.v16i2.7068
Tajgozari, M. (2017). Factors Contributing to the Use of L1 in English Classrooms: Listening to the Voice of Teachers and Students in Iranian Institutes. International Journal of Research in English Education, 2(2), 63–75. https://doi.org/10.18869/acadpub.ijree.2.2.63
Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2014). An introduction to sociolinguistics. John Wiley & Sons.
Zohrabi, M. (2013). Mixed method research: Instruments, validity, reliability and reporting findings. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(2), 254–262. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.2.254-262
In-Text Citation: (Raki & Sulaima, 2021)
To Cite this Article: Raki, D. A., & Sulaima, N. A. (2021). Code-Switching Practice in English Language Classrooms among Malaysian Teachers. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(8), 534–549.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode