On Going Research

Factors of Code-switching in ESL Classroom: A Survey at Troy University

The Statement of the Problem: The researcher proposes to identify and evaluate code-switching in ESL classroom among international students of Nepal, India and China and to compare the purposes in different levels in ESL classes of Troy University.

The Subproblems: 1. To identify the factors of code-switching in ESL classroom whether students themselves naturally switch the language code from one to another or the contents of teacher’s lead them for code-switching. 2. To evaluate factors of code-switching among the students of three different countries 3. To analyze, interpret and compare the collected date so as to develop a comparative conclusion of code-switching factors.

The Hypothesis: Bilingual students at Troy ESL classes code-switch their languages from one to another for conversational purpose rather then academic purpose and factors vary according as the purposes.

The Delimitation:

The study will be limited to elected students from Nepal, India and China for this research work. It will not study multi-dimensional aspects of code-switching in sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics.

The Definition of Terms: Code: It is taken as verbal component for this study. It can be one or more than one morphemes. Code-switching: Code-switching (CS) is a term in linguistics referring to using more than one language or dialect in conservation. CS can occur between sentences or within a sentence. Gumperz defines code-switching (CS) as “the juxtaposition within the same speech exchange of passages of speech belonging to two different grammatical systems or subsystems” (1982:59). Romaine additionally calls code-switching “a communicative option available to a bilingual member of a speech community on much the same basis as switching between styles or dialects is an option for the monolingual speaker” (1994:59).

Linguistics: It refers to the study of language and its components.

Abbreviations:

ESL: English as Second Language CS: Code-switching

Introduction: Human language develops and creates meaning with an interaction of social members. It is language and its interaction that helps people enable to communicate each other with purposeful information. Various bilingual speakers switch their languages with ease at different points in conversation or in writing. In this case, code-switching is studied to perceive why people who are competent in two languages alternate languages in a particular situation. Gumperz defines code-switching (CS) as “the juxtaposition within the same speech exchange of passages of speech belonging to two different grammatical systems or subsystems” (1982:59). In other words, it means alternative use of two or more languages in the same conversation. For Nepalese, Indian and Chinese speakers, English is the second language (L2) and the first language (L1) for them would be their mother tongue and that will be again regionally, locally and socially different in each place and country. For instance, Nepali would be second language whose mother tongue is Newari in Newar culture, and Gurung language will be third language if s/he lives in Gurung Community in Nepal. Though each group has communicative registers in each language, the bilingual speakers can alternate the code for various reasons and factors during conversation.

Review of Literature: Several researchers have studied and investigated the functions, factors, characters and effects of code-switching in wide ranges of linguistics domain. In a seminal work by Gumperz (1982) we can find six functions of code-switching: quotation, addressee specification, repetition, interjection, message qualification and personification. The list goes loner if one goes on collecting the figures. Auer’s (1995) list includes 8 functions whereas Baker (2000) contains 12 functions of code-switching. Auer (1995) admits that such functions are ‘ill-defined’ and they are actually a “mixed bag” of different dimensions such as linguistic form, conversational structure and function. Further more they ignore community specific norms which motivate code-switching (Chan, 2003).

According to some scholars of linguistics, as quoted in Ayeomoni (2006) the factors of code-switching are intra-group identity, poetic creativity, and the expression of modernization. Reyes (2004) writes that children code-switch when they do not know the word in one language. Some research findings have indicated that one of the major factors of code-switching is that elements of the other language convey the meaning of the intended idea more accurately (quoted in Reyes, 2004). Some researchers of SpanishEnglish bilinguals focus on ‘lexical items’, Turkish-Danish bilinguals focus on ‘powerwielding purposes’ and French-English bilinguals focus on ‘competence and performance factors’ of code-switching (quoted in Reyes 2004). However we do not know why Nepalese-English bilinguals, Indian-English bilinguals and Chinese-English bilinguals code-switch in ELS classes at Troy University.

It is observed that all the studies on the factors and functions of code-switching among international students in ESL university classes are silent. It is this area that this study focuses and explores the factors of CS in respect of the acquisition of English language of non-native speakers of English in ESL classes. K###################################################################### ############

Methods:; Methodology Participants The study considers the language of 15 international graduate NepaleseEnglish, Korean-English and Chinese-English bilingual students from post secondary education classes at Troy University, Troy. All the students, of mid-twenty age, were of international background. Children were given a small gift (e.g., stickers and pencils) for their participation. The school where this study took place is part of a working-class Latino and African American neighborhood. The children learned and continue to use Spanish at home but hear and learn English in school and the community

around them (Reyes, 2001). These children participate in a transitional bilingual

program, but the school is not bilingual. In general, teachers supported the use and development of both Spanish and English. Teachers and children used both languages outside the classroom as well as during classroom interaction. Language background Information regarding each child’s language background was obtained from the parents and the teachers. The parents reported the language they thought their child spoke the best, and they gave information about the age at which the child learned English. The teachers were asked the same questions; in addition, teachers used school test scores to report on each child’s language proficiency. In a brief interview, the children were asked about their language preference at home with parents and siblings, as well as in school with teachers, staff, and friends. The parents’ and teachers’ reports were compared for agreement. In most

cases, parents and teachers agreed about the relative proficiency of the children. However, in those cases where their reports did not agree, we looked at the students’ school English placement scores to determine their relative fluency in English. In the few cases in which parents and teachers disagreed, the parents underestimated the children’s fluency in English. This could be explained by the fact that most of the parents see their children in a monolingual Spanish environment. In contrast, teachers see the children at school, where children are learning English and speak both languages throughout the day. Children’s relative language knowledge was determined for each language by looking at the information about each child’s language abilities as observed by the parents, teachers, and researchers. Table 1 shows students’ relative proficiency in each language and their language preference (data for all

children are included, except for two who were absent the day of the interview). Table 1 Children’s Language Background: Proficiency and Preference by

References:

Auer, P. (ed.) (1998). Code-switching in Conversation: Language, Interaction and Identity. London: Routledge. Ayeomoni, M.O. (2006). Code-switching and Code-mixing: Style of Language Use in Childhood in Yoruba Speech Community. Nordic Journal of African Studies 15 (1): 90-99. Baker, C. (2000). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Third Edition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Chan, B. (2003). Conversational Code-switching and Relevance Theory. International Pragmatic Association Journal. Hong Kong: HUP. Gumperz, John J. (ed.) (1982). Language and social identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reyes, Iliana (2004). Functions of Code-switching in Schoolchildren’s Conversations. Bilingual Research Journal, 28 (1): 77-96. Romaine, Suzanne (1994). Language in society. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.