Abstract
M.Ed.
This inquiry investigates the effect of code switching on communicative competence and academic achievement in a second language English lesson in Grade 7. Code switching occurs when another language other than the medium of instruction — in this case English — is used to explain concepts. The claim of this investigation is that code switching rather than aid the learners’ communicative competence and academic achievement, impedes it especially in a cosmopolitan and a multilingual classroom. If there are any benefits to code switching, they are marginal and occur in a limited context.
Several studies have shown that academic subjects (geography, mathematics, natural science) taught in a multilingual classroom to second language English speakers, who lack mastery of English, and are incapable of communicating well, might face difficulties in mastering academic content. For this reason, educators tend to switch to the learners’ mother tongue (code switching) to aid understanding of subject content. The question then is does code switching convincingly benefits the learner, and in what context?
To investigate the above questions, the study adopted a qualitative case study methodology, and used observation and structured open-ended interviews to answer these questions from the educators’ stance — educators of Grade 7. The data collected was analysed thematically using Critical Discourse Analysis.
The main findings are that educators who code-switch have not mastered the medium of instruction, and use code switching to mask their own incompetence. Secondly, code switching in a cosmopolitan and multilingual classroom has marginal benefits for learners. If anything, it leads to pedagogical injustice, that is, the learners who do not speak any of the languages the educator might use to code-switch will not follow the lesson. Thirdly, it is hard to understand how an educator rather than teach concepts...