Friend or foe?: English As The Medium of Instruction Policy Versus Code Switching Practices

Abstract

This study investigated the educational functions of code switching instances that occur during the classroom interactions of novice teachers who teach English at an English medium institution of higher education. The study also aimed to explore teachers’ and their students’ perceptions regarding CS in teachers’ teaching practices and the role of the functions of CS in the classrooms. Three novice English language teachers and 12 of their students volunteered to take part in the study. A number of six pre-intermediate level preparatory school classes of an English medium university were observed, video recorded and fieldnotes were taken. Additionally stimulated recall interviews were conducted with the participants. Results indicated that CS served for variety of educational functions being but not limited to create a feeling of connectedness, to put forward teachers’ inner voice and to express feelings emotions and abstract concepts. Finally, in contrast to what has been emphasized in English-only policy-related studies, the study revealed that both teacher and student participants perceived CS as a positive contributor to teaching and learning environment in the classrooms.