International Journal of English Literature and Culture
 

International Journal of English Literature and Culture

Vol. 3(1), pp. 7-13, January, 2015

 ISSN: 2360-7831

DOI: 10.14662/IJELC2014.077

Research Paper

Barriers to Code Switching in English Second Language medium classrooms

Liswani Simasiku¹, Choshi Kasanda² and Talita Smit³

¹Department of Communication and Study Skills in English, Language Centre, University of Namibia

+264 61 206 3227. Corresponding author’s E-mail: lsimasiku@unam.na

²Department of Mathematics, Science & Sport Education, Faculty of Education, University of Namibia

+264 61 206 3726. E-mail: ckasanda@unam.na

³Department of Language & Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

University of Namibia. +264 61 206 3822. E-mail: tcsmit@unam.na

Accepted 10 December 2014

Code switching was prevalent in the Namibian communities; however, teachers were reluctant to use it in their English Second Language classrooms even when their learners failed to understand what they were saying. This paper therefore, was set to find out why teachers were not embracing code switching in English medium classrooms. The objective of this study was to find the barriers to code switching in English medium classrooms. The mixed method design was used for this study, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. When the effects of Code Switching were talked about, both numbers and words were used to persuade the Grade 10 ESL language teachers to give a vivid picture about the language of instruction situation in the Namibian schools. The questionnaire and observation checklist were the two research instruments that were used to collect data in this study. The study investigated 12 teachers at 12 schools in the Caprivi Education Region. Both teachers and politicians’ attitudes were seen to be the barriers to the use of Code switching in the Namibian English Second Language classrooms. There was a need to conduct a study that would investigate whether the use of Code Switching reflects language deficiency on the speaker.

Keywords: medium of instruction, English Second Language, code switching.

 

Cite This Article As: Simasiku L, Kasanda C, Smit T (2015). Barriers to Code Switching in English Second Language medium classrooms. Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult. 3(1): 7-13

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