The Functions of Code Switching Used by Secondary Students in English Classes

Master's Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 3.96/4, , language: English, abstract: This study aimed at investigating The Functions of Code Switching Used by Secondary Students in English Classes. To achieve the goals of the study, the researcher used two instruments after checking their validity and reliability and they were: classroom observations of four classes and students' questionnaire. The sample included 71 students at the Modern American School.The study focused on the following questions:1) What are the functions of code switching used by secondary students in English classes at the Modern American School?2) How does code switching affect the linguistic aspects of language varieties among secondary students in English classes at the Modern American School?Statistical analysis was conducted for the collected data. The percentages and means were calculated for the questionnaires, and the lesson observations were described in words.Results of the study revealed that some of the students use code switching in order to add a comic sense to his/her utterances, and therefore attract the interlocutors attention. Despite the fact that they study at an international school, they switch codes as it is hard to find proper equivalents especially to culturally loaded terms. Also, students switch codes in order to avoid misunderstanding. Students feel comfortable and confident in using more than one language within the same discourse. However, students believe that code switching is used haphazardly and unconsciously without paying attention to the syntactic rules that govern each language.The results elucidated different topics on which code switching takes place. The most prominent topics were religion and emotional issues.As shown in the results, there are a variety of functions of code switching in grade 12 classes that teach English. The most dominant function was using code switching to express emotions. It is noteworthy to mention that students find it easier to use their own language when conversing with their counterparts.According to the findings of the study, the researcher recommended that the sample may be expanded to cover different occupations and ages for the purpose of differentiating various speech communities (i.e. a group of people sharing a common language or dialect).