LANGUAGE CHOICE IN CODE-MIXING AND CODE-SWITCHING APPROACH, A CASE OF STUDY IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS REFERS TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING MULTIPLE-LANGUAGE IN TEACHING METHODS

Abstract

This study planned to undertaken in public which prescribes English as the medium of instruction for all courses taught. However, it has been observed that this policy has notbeen fully adhered to. Code-switching (CS) and code-mixing (CM) of English and any other language occur extensively in the speakers’ speech in the classroom. This paper attempts to highlight the frequency of this communicative behavior, and both the instructors’ andstudents’ attitudes towards it. Using self completed questionnaires and interviews asmethods of data collection. For example it reveals that instructors frequently code-switched and code-mixed between the two languages in the classroom. The analysis shows that the occurrence of these phenomena was related to the instructors’, as well as the students’ own linguisticcompetence, and the purpose of facilitating effective teaching and learning. There is,however, mixed attitudes towards CS/CM. While both instructors and students agreed thatCS/CM can promote better understanding, the latter, however, students with better Englishproficiency felt that such communicative behavior can be off-putting as it does not help inimproving their linguistic competence in English. The paper, thus, raises some legitimate concerns of the conflict between the policy and its actual implementation, which certainlyhas some implications on language development, teacher education and policy assessment.