Abstract
Despite South Africa's recognition of 11 official languages in its constitution, English is most
schools' primary language of instruction. As a result, alternating between different languages
is commonly employed in numerous schools across South Africa for instructional aims. This
research posits that if such linguistic alternation is prevalently utilised in Life Sciences
classrooms, it holds the potential to cultivate active and substantive learning through an
inquiry-driven educational approach. The present study investigated how code switching could
be leveraged as a supportive instrument to facilitate inquiry-based learning in the context of
Life Sciences classrooms. Two theoretical frameworks underpinned the study: Cognitive
Academic Language Proficiency and the 5E Inquiry-Based instructional model. The study
employed a convergent parallel mixed-method research design, drawing from a pragmatic
paradigm. For quantitative data collection, 44 teachers teaching grade 10 Life Sciences from
the Sedibeng West District in Gauteng Province were randomly selected. Only four Life
Sciences teachers were purposefully selected for qualitative data collection. The research
encompassed the entirety of Grade 10 Life Sciences learners instructed by four teachers (N=
100), who were selected to partake. Data collection involved administering questionnaires to
teachers (N=44) and learners (N=100) to probe their perspectives about utilising code
switching within the classroom to facilitate the acquisition of Life Sciences knowledge. The
investigation delved into employing code switching as an educational instrument to enhance
inquiry-based learning. Four teachers were individually interviewed and observed while
teaching Grade 10 Life Sciences learners. Using SPSS version 26, quantitative data were
analysed for inferential and descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were subjected to
content analysis. The results showed that some teachers and learners felt that code switching
supports inquiry-based learning. The results demonstrated that code switching between
languages serves a pedagogical function and constitutes a valuable approach to cultivating
learners' linguistic capacities and fostering the development of skills pertinent to the 21stcentury.
These skills are collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication,
all essential for inquiry. The study's findings provide insights for teacher professional
development programs using code switching as a scaffolding instrument to cultivate an inquirydriven
approach to learning within Life Sciences classrooms. Hence, this study advocates for
offering teachers professional development workshops focused on integrating code switching
methodologies into inquiry-based learning.
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Keywords: Code switching; cognitive academic language proficiency; inquiry-based learning;
Life Sciences