Discourse Analysis (on Code Switching)

Code Switching of L2 Learners in English Classroom

INTRODUCTION

            Code switching as defined by Dictionary.com (2010) is the alternate use of two or more languages or varieties of language, especially within the same discourse. To Allwords.com (2010), it is the phenomenon of alternating between two or more languages during spoken conversation. These definitions are true in the Philippine setting for many Filipinos are bilingual. Some of them could alternately speak Filipino, English and/or other vernaculars depending on the domain of situation. Thus, Filipino language today is widely influenced by various cultures and languages resulting to code switching.

Crystal (1987) as mentioned in Skiba (1997) suggests that code switching occurs when a bilingual individual alternates between two languages during his/her speech. A bilingual speaker is capable of communicating, to varying extents, in a second language. To Crystal (1987), “this includes those who make irregular use of a second language, are able to use a second language but have not for some time (dormant bilingualism) or those who have considerable skill in a second language”. This type of alteration, or code switching, between languages occurs commonly amongst bilinguals and may take a number of different forms, including alteration of sentences, phrases from both languages succeeding each other and switching in a long narrative. Berthold, Mangubhai and Bartorowicz (1997) supplement the definition of code switching, thus, far with the notion that it occurs where 'speakers change from one language to another in the midst of their conversations'.

In the academe, many English teachers for a very long time have been encouraging their students to use L2 instead of L1 in the language classroom to maximize the amount of time spent using the target language and to improve learning efficiency. Some teachers are prohibiting students from using their mother tongue. Some are imposing policies or even penalties to their students who speak in their L1.

The study of Eldridge (2004) described and analyzed the code-switching of young learners in a Turkish secondary school. It showed that “there is no empirical evidence to support the notion that restricting mother tongue use would necessarily improve learning efficiency, and that the majority of code-switching in the classroom is highly purposeful, and related to pedagogical goals.” He suggested that:

“the issue of how we treat language alternation in the classroom is of central methodological importance and it will be argued that has enormous implications for practicing language teachers. It is therefore, vital that we understand precisely its causes, motivations, and effects, and that until that point we avoid making rash, censorial judgments on its classroom manifestations” (Eldridge 2004).

In response to Eldridge’s recommendations, this paper focuses on analyzing the occurrence of code switching in the discourse of students in a Philippine Literature class. Specifically, it aims to assess the frequency of code switching among the respondents; determine the kinds of code switching which are performed by the respondents; and explain the reason why they perform code switching in their utterances.

METHODOLOGY

Data Gathering:

The collection of data for the study was conducted at AMA-Cavite Campus, with the respondents coming from the English-7 (Philippine Literature) class which was composed of 17 third year college students, taking up Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.  The researcher used “judgment sampling” (Schilling-Estes, 2007) which involves using one’s judgment to decide in advance what types of speakers to include in the study. Furthermore, “this sampling is appropriate if one is fairly familiar with the basic characteristics of the population…” (Milroy & Gordon, 2003). Moreover, the class was selected to be the respondent and source of data for the study because they already finished basic English courses such as Communication Skills, Writing in the Discipline and Speech Communication; which allows the researcher to hypothesize that they have already acquired the basic competencies in using L2.

The discussion of English-7 class was video recorded for ten minutes and was then transcribed in order to serve as primary data for the analysis and interpretation. According to Schilling-Estes (2007), “video-recording in addition to audio can add much valuable information to sociolinguistic accounts of interactions or communities...” The researcher also conducted an interview among the respondents in order to gather substantial information on the reason why students do code switching.

Data Coding:

Data analysis was conducted, first, by determining the frequency of code switching which occur during the discourse. This was done by counting the total number of student utterances versus the occurrence of utterances with code switching.

Secondly, the researcher identified the kind of code switching that usually occurs among students. This was done by extracting all the utterances with code switching from the data, and classifying them based on Poplack‘s (1979 & 1980) category, mentioned by Metila (2009) which include the following:

• Inter-sentential Code Switching
• Tag Switching
• Intra-sentential Code Switching

Finally, the reasons why the respondents do code switching were categorized. The researcher conducted interviews among them, with set of questions anchored in the core question: Why do students shift from L2 to L1 in their utterances? The interview was conducted to shed light and explain the reason why the students switched codes during their English-7 class. The code switching categories followed Sauza (1991), as quoted by Bautista (2000) which includes the following:

• Competency related code switching
• Culturally related code switching
• Communicative related code switching

DISCUSSION

Frequency of Switching

            The data provided 15 utterances with code switching which comprises 45% of the total 33 recorded student utterances. This manifests that code switching among the respondents is moderately frequent. It is also noticeable that almost all the respondents who took participation in the class discussion during the video recording performed code switching in their discourses almost indiscriminately. The following table shows the frequency of code switching among individual respondents:

TABLE 1: Student Utterances and Code Switching

RESPONDENT	TOTAL NUMBER OF UTTERANCE	ENGLISH UTTERANCE	TAGALOG UTTERANCE	UTTERANCES WITH CODE SWITCHING
Student 1	3	3	0	0
Student 2	5	0	1	4
Student 3	4	2	1	1
Student 4	2	1	0	1
Student 5	5	3	0	2
Student 6	3	2	0	1
Student 7	6	1	1	4
Student 8	5	2	1	2
TOTAL:	33	14	4	15

           

Table 1 shows that 7 out of 8 students performed code switching in their discourse. It also manifests that some respondents, such as S2 and S7, even more frequently perform code switching than to do their utterances purely in L2, given the fact that the discourse setting is in the English class and L2 should be the priority language. Notably, minimal occurrence of pure L1 usage has been recorded from S2, S3, S7 and S8 whereas each of them performed single utterance using L1; while the majority of the respondents performed L2 utterances along with code switching throughout the discourse. Undeniably, the data reinforces the truth of Filipino bilingualism and the presence of code switching in the Philippine setting, as represented by the respondents.

Kinds of Switching (Poclack, 1979 & 1980)

TABLE 2: Code Switching (CS) Performed by Students (S)

KIND OF CS	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7	S8	TOTAL
INTER-SENTETIAL	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	5
TAG SWITCHING	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	3
INTRA-SENTENTIAL	0	3	0	1	1	1	4	2	12

Table 2 shows that all the three kinds of code switching are performed by the respondents. For instance, inter-sentential code switching occurs outside the sentence or the clause level (i.e. at sentence or clause boundaries). This switching is observed in the following utterances:

S2: Ako, okay sila sa akin! I like them because they are fun to be with and for being open individuals.

S7 : Yes sir! Yun ang mga gusto ko!

S7: They are fun to be with, but some of them are irrespectable. Dun sa ganun po ako nababad trip.

S3: Kasi po ang lalaki para sa babae at ang babae ay para sa lalaki. Ummm…So they are funny and sometimes they are irritating.

S8: …not only because they are gay and of what they do, but also because we are not ready… uhhh… Parang tipong hindi pa po sila talaga tanggap ng mga tao.

Tag switching is “the switching of either a tag phrase, or a word, or both…” (Wikipedia, 2011). According to Barredo (1997), “Tag switching involves the insertion of a tag in one language (e.g. you know, I mean, etc).” He also mentioned the inclusion of discourse markers such as “well, okay, all right”, interjections and affirmative/negative particles, following Shiffrin (1987). Such are highlighted in the following utterances:

S5: Kasi a woman … Ummm…Even in woman…Anu po… ummm…Just like lesbian, they are thoughtful and when they love, they are sincere and caring.

S2: Ako, okay sila sa akin!

S5: Oo saka okay naman sila pag walang malice ehh… Nakakatawa kaya ang jokes nila saka makulit! Parang laging may stand up comedy!

            Noticeably, the utterance of S5 also manifested the occurrence of single word insertions such as nouns: “malice” and “jokes”, and the NP “stand up comedy” which would fall under intra-sentential code switching. Barredo, mentioning Romaine (1987) says that intra-sentential switching also include mixing within word boundaries such as switching of NP, VP, PP, N, ADJ, etc. These are also highlighted in the following utterances:

S2: Sabagay! Yang mga yan may homophobia! (N)

S2: Oo nga. Buti na lang happy people sila. (NP)

S7: Nakakatawa po ang mga joke nila saka kwela sila magpatawa… (N)

S7: Saka sir diba sabi rin sa bible bawal ang bakla?! (N)

Furthermore, other intra-sentential code switching which occurs within a sentence or a clause boundary is manifested in the following utterances:

S2: I admire them sir, kasi kahit alam nilang against sa kanila ang mga tao sa paligid nila, they still don’t mind expressing what they feel especially mike nung hinawakan nya ang kamay ni Benjie sa loob ng bus.

S4: They are man, pero dahil po sa ginagawa nila para silang nagtatrying hard na maging babae lalo na si Benjie.

S6: And their actions are sometimes irritating, tipong babastusin!

S7: I like homosexuals who act naturally, yun bang walang malisya sir.

S8: Sir no. Uhhh… Feeling ko po kasi kaya sila di iginagalang is not only because they are gay and of what they do, but also because we are not ready…

            Notably, the following utterances with intra-sentential code switch begin with L1 followed by a switch in L2:

S7: “…Pwedeng tropa as long as walang malice!”

S8: “…Pero aminin nyo, they are good in making people laugh!”

Such pattern is also true in the following inter-sentential code switching which has been presented in earlier discussion:

S2: Ako, okay sila sa akin! I like them because they are fun to be with and for being open individuals.

S3: Kasi po ang lalaki para sa babae at ang babae ay para sa lalaki. Ummm…So they are funny and sometimes they are irritating.

           

These utterances provide evidences that code switching among Filipino bilinguals could also follow a pattern: L1 to L2 (L1àL2). Such utterances also manifests the preference of some speakers to use L1 over L2, whereas, the basic reason is the difficulty in expressing thoughts using L2. For instance, S7 when asked why he code switch answers, “Kasi po hindi ko maisip yung equivalent word sa utak ko…saka mas madali po pag Tagalog!”

Student Reasons for Code Switching

            Based on interview, the following reasons for performing code switching were given by the respondents:

1. Competency related code switching

a.       Hardship of expressing one’s thoughts in L2

b.      Difficulty in translating L1 to L2

c.       Limited L2 lexicon/vocabulary

2. Culturally related code switching

a.       Everybody does code switching and it is normal to everyone

3. Communicative related code switching

a.       For better understanding of the listeners and to provide additional inputs and examples

b.      To reiterate an argument and to emphasize a thought/opinion

c.       To adjust to some listeners who might misinterpret the L2 utterance

The above findings validate the result of the Students’ Survey by Matila (2009) which provided the following reasons for code switching: 

·         Easier self expression, loss of words (e.g. translation problems, not knowing the right words)

·          Influenced by people around

·          Natural already (habit)

·         Exposure to two languages  

·         Fluency in speaking both languages

·         There are some words that sound better in Tagalog than English and the other way around

·         To make the person speaking to more comfortable and for him to better understand the speaker

CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS

The study provided additional evidences in the occurrence of code switching among Filipino bilinguals as represented by the respondents. The moderate frequency of code switching also indicated an almost indiscriminate use of code switching among the respondents who sometimes even prefer to answer in L1. It recorded significant number of sample utterances that manifest code switching which varies between: intra-sentential switching, tag switching, and inter-sentential switching. It is also notable based on the data that Filipino bilinguals follow two patterns of switching even in an L2 environment, such as: L2àL1 and L1àL2.

The study also validated various reasons of speakers for code switching, which includes issues on competency, culture and communicativeness. The issue in competency should be the concern of L2 teachers. According to Bernardo (2005) as quoted by Borlongan (2009), “…code-switching can be a legitimate and potent resource for learning and teaching for bilingual students…” Moreover, educators must not forget that English medium of instruction especially in an L2 classroom should remain to be the language for formal class discussions and code switching should be regulated to discourage indiscriminate use.

References:

Bautista, Ma. Lourdes S. (2000). An analysis of functions of Tagalog-English code switching :data from one case. De La Salle University, Manila.

Barlongan, Arian M. (2009). Tagalog-English Code-Switching in English Language Classes: Frequency and Forms. De La Salle University.

Barredo, Inma M. (1997). Pragmatic functions of code switching among Basque-Spanish Bilinguals. University of Illinois. Retrieved at : http://webs.uvigo.esl/ssl/actas1997.

Crystal, D. (1987). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Retrieved at: http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org.

Eldridge, John. (2004). Code-switching in a Turkish secondary school. Retrieved at: http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org.

Matila, Romylyn A. (2009). Decoding the switch: Looking at classroom code switching as a guide in teaching and learning. Retrieved at:  http://www.britishcouncil.org

Schilling-Estes, Natalie.  (2007). Sociolinguistic Fieldwork.

Skiba, Richard. (1997). Code switching as a countenance of language interference. Retrieved at: http://iteslj.org

Appendix:

Discourse Transcription

TEACHER: Ok thank you. Next…

S1: Sir I think they don’t act like a normal individual.

TEACHER: OK. They don’t act like normal individual... What do you mean?

S1: Uhhh… Sir, they imitate the girls. Like in their movements and speaking.

TEACHER: I see. Thank you! What about Charles?

S2: I admire them sir, kasi kahit alam nilang against sa kanila ang mga tao sa paligid nila, they still don’t mind expressing what they feel especially mike nung hinawakan nya ang kamay ni Benjie sa loob ng bus.

S3: They are funny! (Everybody laughs)

TEACHER: Funny?

S3: Kasi po ang lalaki para sa babae at ang babae ay para sa lalaki. Ummm…So they are funny and sometimes they are irritating. (laughs)

TEACHER: Ahhh… A man is meant to be for a woman and a woman is meant to be for a man. OK. But why are they irritating?

S4: (Raising his hand) And sir they are trying hard!         

TEACHER: Oh? Why trying hard?

S4: They are man, pero dahil po sa ginagawa nila para silang nagtatrying hard na maging babae lalo na si Benjie.

TEACHER: Does this mean you guys don’t like them?

S5: Me sir, I think it’s not that way. I actually admire them.

TEACHER: Aha…

S5: Kasi a woman … Ummm…Even in woman…Anu po… ummm…Just like lesbian, they are thoughtful and when they love, they are sincere and caring.

S3: Wow! Based on experience!? (Everybody laughs)

TEACHER: (Laughs) Ummm… Is that based on experience or based on observation?

S5: (Smiling) I just observed sir.

TEACHER: OK. Thank you. What do you think Leopoldo?

S6: Sir what I don’t like about gays is, sometimes they are offering different things to men.

TEACHER: So you don’t like it that way?

S6: Yes sir.

S7: (Raising his hand and proceeds to speaking)I like homosexuals who act naturally, yun bang walang malisya sir.  

TEACHER: I see!

S7: Nakakatawa po ang mga joke nila saka kwela sila magpatawa, ummm… They are fun to be with, but some of them are irrespectable. Dun sa ganun po ako nababad trip.

TEACHER: Irrespectable? What do you  mean?

S7: Sir, some of them offer indecent proposals. Ummm…and many of them are like maniac. They harass boys!

S6: And their actions are sometimes irritating, tipong babastusin!

TEACHER: Yes, maybe some of them. But I see some, just like Benjie, who acts accordingly.

S7 : (Raising his hand and speaks) Yes sir! Yun ang mga gusto ko! Pwedeng tropa as long as walang malice!

TEACHER: Do you think homosexuals are being discriminated?

S1: Yes sir. But its their fault!

S3: Oo nga! Tama! Tama! (laughs)

TEACHER: Ummm… Ok. What do you think Aiza?

S8: Yes sir. I think they are discriminated especially because our country is conservative.

S7: Saka sir diba sabi rin sa bible bawal ang bakla?!

(Everybody laughs)

TEACHER: Ummm… having that in the bible, do you think we treat homosexuals properly?

S8: Sir no. Uhhh…  Feeling ko po kasi kaya sila di iginagalang is not only because they are gay and of what they do, but also because we are not ready… uhhh… parang tipong hindi pa po sila talaga tanggap ng mga tao.

S2: (joins in) Ako ok sila sa akin! I like them because they are fun to be with and for being open individuals. Uhhh…Open in the sense that they are not afraid to express their difference.

S8: Yah! But the sad part is the discrimination and maltreatment.

S2: Oo nga. Buti na lang happy people sila.

S5: Yes they are fun to be with! (laughs)

S8: Ehh kaso konti lang yung tulad natin!

S2: Sabagay! (laughs) Yang mga yan may homophobia! (pointing to S1 and S3, everybody laughs)

S7: Eh totoo naman! Madami naman talagang kadiring bakla!

S8: Yah! Pero aminin nyo, they are good in making people laugh!

S2: Tama!

S5: Oo saka ok naman sila pag walang malice ehh… nakakatawa kaya ang jokes nila saka makulit! Parang laging may stand up comedy!

TEACHER: Yes. It is true. They have good humor, even true in the character of Benjie. In several scenes in the story you will notice his funny personality. Can you read on a portion which you think manifests this character of gays?