Code-switching in the Algerian English as Foreign language classrooms.

Abstract

This research work probes the role of code-switching in the Algerian English as foreign language classrooms at the first year secondary school level in Constantine. It seeks to exhibit the perceptions of teachers and learners about the occurrence of Arabic and /or French in the English Foreign Language oral classroom context. Furthermore, it scrutinizes the effect of code-switching on the student-teacher interaction and on the learning process. The participants of this research were 24 teachers of English and 109 first year secondary school students. It was hypothesized that although CS is generally stigmatized in the educational setting, it may not always be a sign of deficiency in teaching and learning a foreign language in the Algerian secondary school context. It was hypothesized, too, that Code-switching in the Algerian EFL classroom was considered as a useful communicative tool which has positive effect on the student-teacher interaction if used whenever necessary. The third hypothesis suggested that the prudent use of code-switching in the Algerian EFL secondary school facilitated the learning/teaching process. To check the proposed hypotheses, quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted. These were two questionnaires submitted to teachers of English and their students, a classroom observation and a teacher interview. The examination of the data demonstrated that the majority of teachers and students held positive attitudes towards the use of code-switching, but it should be reasonably and wisely used. The findings revealed too that code-switching to Arabic and/ or French was used for academic purposes chiefly to overcome vocabulary gaps and to keep the flow of communication. Moreover; the results showed that the prudent use of code-switching had positive effects on the student-teacher interaction and it facilitated the learning/ teaching process. Nevertheless, if code-switching was overused, this would handicap the foreign language learning. At the end, some recommendations were suggested.