Code Switching In English

Code-Switching

Nowadays, the need to learn a second language besides the native language is essential for opening great opportunities in our lives. Since the English language is a lingua franca, most people tend to learn English as a second language. Therefore, most classrooms are comprised of ELLs who encounter a heap of obstacles to acquire the English language. The most difficult obstacle to acquire the English language is writing, especially at the beginning stage. So, students tend to find a solution that makes their writing in English easy and meaningful. They begin to code-switch in their writing, but what code-switching does mean. The code-switching according to Valde ́s-Fallis (1978), means “the alternating use of two languages on

214). It is a mixture of two different languages in writing at the beginning stage of acquiring English language. It is a necessary stage for students to move to Standard English. However, the most crucial question is, “should we let learners code-switch in their writing?” Personally, I think code-switching is a useful tool, and there are many arguments and research papers that were written in this field. Some educators and researchers think that code-switching has many benefits for learners: improving the acquisition of English language, preserving the affiliations of the ELLs, their identity, and their language, and helping ELLs to express themselves easily and in more depth. However, others think that code-switching has many bad effects on the English language, such as delaying acquiring English, signing of deficiency, and increasing

Fu (2009) provides excerpts of writing from two ELLs children who wrote to introduce themselves, then she commented by saying “when ELLs like these two children are forced to use only the limited English proficiency they have, the writing can be pedestrian and flat, but if allowed to use their own language to express themselves, they can write vivid pieces” (p. 52). When students are comfortable in using their L1 in conveying the picture they want to deliver about themselves, they will feel more secure in the classroom, according to many writers “most students agree that they feel comfortable during teacher’s code-switching/ code-mixing to L1” (2014, p. 9). Therefore, ELLs can communicate easily with their teachers and their classmates, and they can participate in more activities in the class. Kay said, “ written code-switching is a successful strategy for enhancing communication” (2009, p. 218). It increases their communication between other