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b To build intimate interpersonal relationships among members of a
bilingual community.
In this case, code switching is seen as a tool for creating linguistic solidarity especially between individuals who share the same ethno-cultural
identity. The following is the example of the dialogue between the Maori-English bilinguals.
[16] Sarah: I think everyone’s here except Mere. John: She said she might be a bit late but actually I think that’s her
arriving now. Sarah: You’re right. Kia ora Mere. Haere mai. Kei te pehea koe? Hi
Mere. Come in. How are you? Mere: Kia ora hoa. Kei te pai Hello my friend. I am fine. Have you
started yet? Holmes 1992, p. 275
From the dialogue, we can observe that Sarah and Mere switch code from English to Maori during the conversation. The code switching these people do reflects
their ethnic identity. The code switching that they perform functions as the tool to strengthen their relationship and solidarity.
3. The Functions of Code Switching According to Mattson and Burenhult
If Sert 2005 categorized the functions of code switching in the discourse of bilingual individuals, Mattson and Burenhult 1999, p. 61 categorized the
functions of code switching based on the point of view of the teacher. Mattson and Burenhult 1999, p.
61 classified the functions of teacher’s code switching
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into three categories. These functions are listed as topic switch, affective functions, and repetitive functions.
a Topic Switch
In topic switch, code switching occurs when there is a change of the topic discussed in the classroom. Teachers switch code
hisher language to students’ mother tongue and make use of students’ native language to talk about
grammatical items. Here, code switching is seen as a bridge to transfer a new content by making use of the students’ mother tongue. The following is the
example. [17] Ok. We have finished this chapter. Sekarang kita akan membahas
tentang kalimat langsung dan kalimat tidak langsung Now we are
going to discuss about direct and indirect speech. The example above shows that the teacher does code switching to transfer a new
content to the students . It can be seen from the teacher’s statement: Sekarang kita
akan membahas tentang kalimat langsung dan kalimat tidak langsung . In this
case, we can see that the teacher is making use of the students’ mother tongue to
talk about a new content. Thus, it can be concluded that the change of topics discussed in the classroom can be the reason of code switching.
b Affective functions
In affective functions, teachers switch code to build solidarity and intimacy with the students. In this sense, code switching gives contribution to
create a supportive language environment in the classroom. Here is the example from an Indonesian-English bilingual.
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[18] Kamu kenapa? What happened with you? Are you tired? Having analyzed the example above, we can see that the teacher is asking
students’ condition. From the example [18], it is obvious that the teacher uses code switching as a tool to show affection to the students.
c Repetitive functions
In this case, teachers use code switching to transfer the necessary knowledge to the students for clarity. Following the instructions in the target
language, the teachers switch code to the students’ native language to clarify
meaning. However, the repetition of the instruction in native language may lead to undesired students behavior since the students who have already sure with the
instructions will lose interest in listening the instructions. Here is the example: [19] Please open page thirty. Sekarang buka halaman tiga puluh Please
open page thirty The example above shows that the teacher translates the English sentence to
Indonesian in order to clarify the meaning of the English sentence.
3. Code Switching in Language Classrooms
