Codeswitching in University English-Medium Classes

Asian Perspectives

Roger Barnard, James McLellan

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781783090921
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: English Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

In the complex, multilingual societies of the 21st century, codeswitching is an everyday occurrence, and yet the use of students' first language in the English language classroom has been consistently discouraged by teachers and educational policy-makers. This volume begins by examining current theoretical work on codeswitching and then proceeds to examine the convergence and divergence between university language teachers' beliefs about codeswitching and their classroom practice. Each chapter investigates the extent of, and motivations for, codeswitching in one or two particular contexts, and the interactive and pedagogical functions for which alternative languages are used. Many teachers, and policy-makers, in schools as well as universities, may rethink existing 'English-only' policies in the light of the findings reported in this book.

1 Codeswitching in a University in Taiwan

Case Study: Ching-Yi Tien

Commentary: David C.S. Li

CASE STUDY

Introduction

The belief that ‘English only’ instruction is the most suitable medium-of-instruction policy in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, has led educators, as well as educational policy makers, in Taiwan to emphasise the importance of the English-only teaching pedagogical methods in the language classroom. As a result, the combined use of mother tongues with the target language – codeswitching (CS) – is often viewed in a negative light. As a practitioner in Taiwanese classrooms for several years, I have observed the tension between the issue of ‘English only’ teaching and the supportive role that the learners’ own language might actually play in the classroom. It is this tension which has prompted me to engage in reflective practice to explore the nature of classroom talk, focusing specifically on how I use more than one language to accomplish lesson objectives.

Over the past decade, the primary focus of the Ministry of Education's educational reform (Ministry of Education, 2003) has been the implementation of the grade 1–9 curriculum (a combination of elementary and junior high-school education) and higher education. Language planning with regard to the English language has been emphasised. Mandarin is taught from grades 1 to 9 and English is taught as a subject from grades 5 to 9. Taiwanese is an optional course in primary school and is taught for one hour per week. At high school and university levels, both Mandarin and English are compulsory courses; Taiwanese is not taught at all. In addition, the Ministry of Education has launched another new policy (Chern, 2010) requiring university students to reach a certain English proficiency level before graduation. Thus, in the upper echelons of the education system, English is the most significant language of instruction.

In line with the Ministry of Education's English policy, the university where I work has embarked on a new policy by which all students, prior to graduation, have to achieve at least a B1 level of proficiency in English according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR; Council of Europe, 2008 – see the Appendix to this chapter).

Theoretical Orientation: Reflective Practice

Having been a teacher for more than 10 years, I often wonder whether my teaching really meets students’ needs, or whether it is appropriate for each course I provide. This is particularly true when an English-only policy is applied. Such a policy is greatly emphasised in Taiwan, especially in the department where I work, so I decided to engage in reflective practice to explore the nature of classroom talk. I decided to focus specifically on how I can use more than one language to accomplish multiple lesson objectives.

Reflective practice, first introduced by Dewey in 1933, is defined as an ‘active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or support form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends’ (Dewey, 1933: 118). This schema was later extended by Schön (1983), who distinguished between reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Reflective practice has been fashionable in the United States since the late 1970s and early 1980s but it fell out of favour in the late 1990s (Farrell, 2004). Nevertheless, it is still favoured and practised in the educational field in many countries (Ashraf & Rarieya, 2008; Leshem & Trafford, 2006; McGarr & Moody, 2010; Minott, 2011; Regan, 2007).

Although, according to Burton (2009), the term ‘reflective practice’ has sometimes been criticised for being merely a slogan, Finlay (2008: 2) stated that it ‘carries multi-meanings that range from the idea of professionals engaging in solitary introspection to that of engaging in critical dialogue with others’. Simply put, it refers to practitioners who learn through, and from, their own teaching experience and gain new insights as a result. Larrivee and Cooper (2006: 4) have presented the following list of definitions of reflective practice over the past two decades. Reflective practice is:

• a dialogue of thinking and doing through which one becomes more skilled;

• a process that helps teachers think about what happened, why it happened, and what else could have been done to reach their goals;

• an enquiry approach that involves a personal commitment to continuous learning and improvement;

• the practice of analysing one's actions, decisions or products by focusing on one's process for achieving them;

• a critical, questioning orientation and a deep commitment to the discovery and analysis of information concerning the quality of a professional's judicious action;

• a willingness to accept responsibility for one's professional practice;

• a systematic and comprehensive data-gathering process enriched by dialogue and collaborative effort;

• the use of higher-level thinking, such as critical enquiry and meta-cognition, which allows one to move beyond a focus on isolated facts or data to perceive a broader context for understanding behaviour and events;

• the capacity to think creatively, imaginatively and, eventually, self-critically about classroom practice;

• an ongoing process of examining and refining practice, variously focused on the personal, pedagogical, curricular, intellectual, societal and/or ethical contexts associated with professional work.

The definitions provided in the list above show that reflection involves the need for perspicacious thinking about how a teacher engages in teaching through the skills of self-enquiry and critical thinking. For this study, to reflect on the course which I am most concerned with I have adopted Burton's (2009: 219) succinct investigative questions of reflective action, which are: ‘What do I do

’, ‘How do I do it

’ and ‘What does this mean for me and those I work with and for

’ Additionally, Richards (1998) proposed a range of reflective procedures, such as using autobiographies, reaction sheets, journals, language learning experience, audio- or video-recordings, when conducting research into self-reflection practices. For the present study, I used audio-recordings of my ordinary regular classes in order to explore the nature of classroom talk, focusing specifically on how I use more than one language to accomplish lesson objectives within classroom instruction.

Setting and Participants

This study was conducted during September 2011 in a linguistics class where the participants were mainly from the College of Language and Communication. I am a full-time lecturer who has taught English at several universities for 16 years. There were 76 student participants in this study (32 males and 44 females), most of them sophomores. They were from the Department of Applied English and were taking the course ‘Introduction to Linguistics’, and each class lasted three hours. Apart from seven exchange students from mainland China, the participants were considered to be bilingual speakers of both Mandarin and Taiw...

Table of contents

• Coverpage
• Titlepage
• Copyright
• Contents
• Contributors
• Transcription Conventions in Data Extracts
• Introduction
• Overview: Where Should We Be Going With Classroom Codeswitching Research
• 1 Codeswitching in a University in Taiwan
• 2 Codeswitching in Two Chinese Universities
• 3 Codeswitching in Two Japanese Contexts
• 4 Codeswitching in Universities in Thailand and Bhutan
• 5 Codeswitching in Universities in Vietnam and Indonesia
• 6 Codeswitching in Universities in Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia
• 7 Codeswitching in Universities in Singapore and the Philippines
• 8 Codeswitching by Korean Students in New Zealand and Lecturers in Korea
• Afterword
• Index