Extent of code switching in English classrooms in Pakistan.

Abstract

The use of two languages in language learning classrooms by English as a second language (ESL) teachers is called code switching. In Pakistan, where English is a compulsory subject and taught as a second language (L2) in its primary, secondary and tertiary level institutions, the educational policy states that ESL teachers must use English Only (EO) as the mode of instruction. However, in reality, most Pakistani ESL teachers opt to code switch to facilitate teaching and learning in their ESL classrooms. This could be due to their L2 learners’ lack of expected proficiency in English particularly in the speaking skill even at the tertiary level. In this respect, the aim of this study is to investigate the extent of code switching by three ESL teachers teaching students at three different levels of proficiency (low, medium, and high) in Pakistan. This entails exploring the frequency of turns the ESL teachers code switched, the occurrences of code switched words and phrases in Urdu, and the frequency of types of words and phrases code switched in Urdu according to the three different levels of proficiency. The data includes recordings of four classroom lectures from each ESL teacher which were transcribed and then analysed quantitatively. Analysis of the transcribed lectures revealed that the use of code switching was prevalent, and it was recognised that the ESL teachers practiced code switching based on the learners’ proficiency levels. The results suggest that the higher the proficiency of the ESL learners, the lower the frequency of code switching by ESL teachers in the classrooms in terms of the number of teachers’ turn which contains code switching, code switched words and phrases, and types of code switched words and phrases. Thus, this research indicates that code switching does exist at different proficiency levels of ESL classrooms in Pakistan in spite of the EO policy by its educational ministry.