T1 112012704 Full text
THE COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE OF CODE
SWITCHING USED BY ENGLISH TEACHERS’
COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan
Aji Utomo
112012704
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2015
ii
THE COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE OF CODE
SWITCHING USED BY ENGLISH TEACHERS’
COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM
Aji Utomo
Abstract
This study is conducted on the writer‟s interest toward communicative
purpose of code switching in classroom used by teachers in teaching and learning
process which use English as a target language being learnt. In this study, teachers
use Indonesian as the first language and English as the target language alternately
to help students in understanding teachers‟ utterances. The purpose of this study is
to find the communicative purpose of code switching used by English Teachers‟
classroom communication in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru. To come to the desired
result, the writer observed three English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru to
get the code switching dialogue or utterances transcription used by English
teacher in classroom communication. Based on Gumperz (1982) theory that a speaker
plays upon the connotation of the “we-code” to create a conversational effect, the writer
analyzed the teachers‟ utterances using theories in literature review on
communicative purpose. The result shows that teachers code switched to
justify/clarify the students‟ understanding, to check for students‟ understanding,
for Efficiency in explaining the materials, no equivalent words, affective function,
for managing class, and for communicating meaning.
Key words: Code switching, Communicative purpose.
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Introduction
According to Hamers and Blanc(2000), bilingualism is the state of
linguistic community in which two languages are in contact with the result that
two codes can be used in the same interaction and that a number of individual are
bilingual. Bilingualism is a common phenomenon in Indonesia, for example
children acquire the languages sequantially. First, they acquire mother tongue
language at home as the vencular. They grow up and go to school they begin learn
new language, so they can use more than one language in daily activities. People
who are bilingual sometimes switch languages. We can see this phenomenon in
our surroundings, like in television, movie, music and communication between
teacher and student in the class or in teaching-learning process. When people
choose more than one language and use them together alternately, this is known as
Code Switching and Code Mixing. The varieties of code switching and code
mixing in conversation occur because there are many communicative purpose in
using it.
Although the phenomenon of code switching attracts some people to
analyze the communicative purpose of code switching in conversation,
communication in classroom that involves code switching attracts my attention.
We can find the code switching in the teaching-learning process in classroom for
communication. Spratt (1998) argued that code switching goes together with the
change in the teaching methodology. Foreign language teaching used to focus on
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accuracy and drilling, but right now the focus is on fluency, group work, or
mingles. In those kinds work, the use of the first language is inevitably to happen,
especially, when the teacher wants the students to understand the lesson or teacher
utterance in the class. He added “recently there is no clear line whether the first
language should be used or not in the foreign language classroom.”
With the phenomenon above, I interested to conduct a study to find out the
communicative purpose of code switching used by English teachers in SMP
Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process. The aim of this study is to
analyze the communicative purpose of code switching used by English teachers in
SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process. Based on the aim above,
this study is to answer the following question: What are the communicative
purposes of code switching used by English teachers in classroom communication
in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru?
Literature Review
Code Switching
Hamers and Blanc (2000) writes that code swithing is a special form of
skilled bilingual behaviour. It is switching when we use two or more languages in
a conversation. Code switching is the people‟s skill to change the code or
language from one language to another language when the situation asked them to
do so. Trudgill (1974) stated that code switching is switching from one language
variety to another when situation demands. For example, English Department
students are required to use English in having consultation with their lecturters,
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but they also put some Indonesian in the conversation to make it efficient. Code
switching happens when people use more than one language in contact to
communiate other people. When a student uses English and Indonesian when they
talk with the lecturer, it is code switching.
According to Hudson (1983), code switching is a mixed up language
together in realm of conversations. In a sentence level, Hoffman (1991) states that
code switching is the changes over sentences. In a more detailed explanation,
Redouane (2005) states that:
“Code-switches will tend to occur at points in discourse where
juxtaposition of L1 and L2 elements does not violate a
syntactic rule of either language, e.i., at points around which
the surface structures of the two languages map onto each
other. According to this simple constraint, a switch is inhibited
from occurring within a constituent generated by a rule
Although the phenomena of code switching may occur at a sentence level,
they occur in the context of a discourse. Holmes (2001) said that code switching
can occur during the same conversation. It means that code switching will occur at
certain point where alanguage changes to another. So, the language will switch or
mix with other languages in the realm of conversations.
Code switching has two types; they are affective code switching and
conversational code switching. In affective code switching, there are two kinds,
situational and metaphorical code switching. Situational code switching happens
when the language used changes according to the situation in which speakers
speak one language in a situation and another language for different situation.
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However, metaphorical code switching happens when a change of topic requires a
change in language used. Unlike situational code switching, methaporal code
switching only occurs when the changes stress on the topic.
The second type is Conversational Code switching. Conversational code
switching happens when the switch of language happens in a single sentence but
they do not change the topic. It means that two languages are switched within one
utterance or between utterance (Gumperz, 1982). For example, the TV presenter
switch their languages (Indonesia to English) without changing the topic to make
it become more interesting for the audience, like, “hi, How are you guys? Kalian
baik-baik sajakan? Pastinya dong! (Are you okay? Of course!)” in this utterance
the TV presenter switched from English to Indonesia, but the topic did not
change. Another example is said by a teacher to a student: “ayo Juna silahkan
maju dikerjakan soal nomer 12, ndang Jun digarap kuwi nomer 12 (Come on
Juna, come forward and do question number 12, be quickly, do question number
12 now)”
Conversational Code switching is divided into two types, based on the
juncture or the scope of switching where languages takes place (McArthur, 1998
and Hoffman, 1991):
1. Intra-sentential Code Switching.
According to McArthur (1998), in Intra-sentential Code Switching, the
language shift is done in the middle of a clause or sentence, with no
interruption or pauses indicating a shift. Hoffman (1991) added, it happens
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when a tag from one language is inserted into an utterance, which is
entirely in another language, it occurs within a sentence. For example,
teacher in classroom said “Nenek Sihir itu jahat (the witch was wicked),
what is in English?” the teacher asked the students Don‟t talk during the
lessons about Indonesian word “nenek sihir itu jahat (the witch was
wicked)” in English, the teacher did code switching in one sentence.
2. Inter-sentential Code Switching.
In Inter-sentential Code switching, the language switch done at sentence
boundaries (McArthur, 1998). This is seen most often between fluent
bilingual speakers as when a English teacher said “I will give you a
sentence of narrative text. Dan kalian harus menerukan kalimat/cerita ini
dengan ide kalian masing-masing (and continue the story according to
your idea)”. Hoffman added, Inter-sentential Code Switching occurs when
one switches at clause or sentence boundary where one clause is being in
one language, the other clause in the other (it occurs between sentences).
A. Code switching and Communicative Purpose in teaching
Code switching is a way to communicate between teachers and the
students. According to Gumperz (1982), “A speaker plays upon the connotation of
the we-code to create a conversational effect”. Because code switching is a kind of
way to have effects on communication, it is considered to have communicative
purpose. The speaker switches the language to ease the communication, like
utilizing the shortest and the easiest route (Gumperz. 1982).
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Halliday (1975) also said “…… code switching as fulfilling the
interpersonal function of communication, the mixed language spoken plays the
role of a mediator”. Code switching uses to act as a mediator between the speaker
and the participant/the listenguer in the communicative event. As a tool of
communication, code switching has important role in communicative event,
especially in learning English. Many teachers are used code switching in
classroom activities, it is to ease in communication in the class.
There are communicative purposes of Code Switching in communication
or conversation, such as:
a. Efficiency in explaining the materials
Knight (1996) assures that there is a useful role of L1 in helping
learners gain the knowledge needed to reach a higher level of L2
performance. Whenever the teacher feel that a meaning based on L2
might be beyond the learners‟ capabilities, a small amount of L1
discussion can help to overcome the obstacles. Using the first
language may sometimes be more effective when the teacher want to
explain the concept behind the use of certain language points (Spratt
1998). Teachers switch the language in explanation to make sure the
student understand the material of the lesson easily.
b. No equivalent words
Many linguists believe that code swithing occur because of lack in
vocabulary mastery or competence. Futhermore, it also regarded as a
strategy to avoid, interference between one language to others
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(Holmes, 2001). In bilinguals society, people talk two or more
different languages subconsciously, therefore, they may be not aware
about existence of those two language. For exampe, when we do
presentation, sometimes we forgot the English word and then we use
Indonesia to replace those word.
c. Affective function (Build relation in the classroom)
Mattson and Burenhult (1999) states carries affective functions that
serve for expression of emotions. Code switching is used by the
teacher in order to build solidarity and intimate relations with the
students. It will create or support the students to speak language in
the classroom. the contribution of code switching for creating a
supportive language environment in the classroom.
d. Justify/Clarify the students‟ understanding
In this purpose, teacher uses code-switching to transfer the necessary
knowledge to the students in order to convey clarify (Mattson and
Burenhult 1999). In this case, the teachers justify or clarify the
students by repeat the important utterance, For example, when
teacher said “Bowo buy some fruits in the market, itu terjemahannya
Bowo membeli beberapa buah-buahan di pasar (the translation is
Bowo buy some fruits in the market)”.
e. Managing class (Instruction and Classroom Management)
According to Macaro (2001), the ways in which teacher organizes
the class also involve in a choice of language. Some teachers resorted
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to first language after having tried in vain to get the activity going in
target language. For example, teacher said “please make group of
four and make a circle to discuss the project”, “sekarang buat grup
terdiri dari 4 orang dan buat lingkaran untuk berdiskusi (make a
group of 4 students then make a circle for discussion)”. Spratt (1998)
also found that it may sometimes be useful on this occasion to say in
the first language the instruction that has been given in the foreign.
This action seems helpful for students to comprehend the instruction.
f. For communicating meaning
Many teachers communicating meaning of an item through
paraphrasing in the foreign language often feel unsure about their
paraphrasing. Therefore, they may use the first language, Spratt
(1998). For example, teacher said “What is fairy tale? Apa itu fairy
tale? (What is fairy tale? ) Jadi kaya donggeng atau cerita tentang
peri gitu ya (so it looks like story of fairy)”.
g. Checking for student understanding
Teachers can check for understanding in several ways, including the
use
of
oral
language,
questioning,
writing,
projects
and
performances, and tests (Fisher & Frey, 2007). For example, teacher
asks about generic structure of Simple present tense to the students
to check their understanding.
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The Study
Context of The Study
This study is a descriptive study. It analyzed descriptively the
communicative purpose of the use of code switching in the class used by English
teachers. It analyzed the phenomenon about communicative purpose of code
switching used by English teacher of SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teachinglearning process in the English class. The reason behind the use of code switching
are investigated. The following research question guides the study:
“What are the communicative purpose of code switching used by English
teacher of SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process?”
Participants
In this study, the sample data were taken from The English teachers of
SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru. The data were obtained from the teaching-learning
process which use code switching in the English class. The reason was the
teachers and students in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru used more than one language in
teaching and learning process. From this phenomenon, I was interested to conduct
a study to find out the communicative purpose of code switching used by English
teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process.
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Method of Research
This study used a qualitative method. Qualitative research involves the
researcher to interpret data by giving them meaning, translating them, or making
them understandable (Neuman, 2000). This study is required to define the details
description and explanations the phenomenon of communicative purpose of code
switching used by English Teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teachinglearning process.
Instrument and Data Collection
For the data colletion, I used two instruments to collect the data. I recorded
the conversation and took note using an observation protocol. I used observation
protocol to make my observation in recording the conversation more focused. The
recording is conducted to obtain more detail information and see directly how the
subjects or participants use code switching in teaching-learning process. I
recorded the teaching-learning process to make the data easier to transcribe it into
written form. I recorded three teaching-learning processes, where the phenomenon
of code switching occurred in English class. Interviews were done later when
more details about the recorded conversation were needed.
Data Analysis
After I finished collecting the data from recording the conversation, I
transcribed the data recording into written form. The transcription was to gain
spesific information related to the communicative purpose of use code switching.
Then, I identified the communicative purpose of code switching in teachin-
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learning process used by English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru based
Hoffman‟s (1991) and McArthur‟s (1998) shows types of code switching based
on the juncture or the scope of switching, and based on the communicative
purpose of code switching in communication or conversation according to
(Hamers & Blanc 2000), Holmes (2001), Mattson and Burenhult (1999), Spratt
(1998), Fisher & Frey (2007) and Macaro (2001).
Findings and Discussion
After collecting the data from the recorded teaching-learning process in
the classroom, I found 93 code switching utterances that occurred in my
observation in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru. The frequency occurrence of Code
Switching in regards of communicative purpose are, for efficiency is 20 times,
nothing for no equivalent words, affective function is 9 times, Justify/clarify the
students' understanding is 24 times, managing class is 12 times, for
communicating meaning is 7 times, and checking for student understanding is 21
times. Chart 1 shows frequency of occurrence of Code Switching utterances in
regards of communicative purpose.
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Chart 1: Occurrence of the communicative purpose of code switched
utterances in classroom
30
20
10
0
20
24
9
0
21
12
7
occurance
There are 7 of communicative purposes that I found before. From all of
code switching utterances in observation, the data shows that Justify/clarify the
students' understanding is the most frequently used, with the percentage of
25.80% as the majority purpose in the use of code switching in the class. The
second is checking for students understanding purpose, with 22.58%. The third
majority of communicative purpose in the classroom is efficiency in explaining
the materials, with 21.50%. For the rest of percentage occurrence of Code
Switching in regards of purpose are 0% for no equivalent words, 9.67% for
affective function, 11.16% for managing class, and 7.52% for communicating
meaning.
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From the findings, there are three of occurrences;
Justify/clarify the students' understanding
The main communicative purpose of code switching in the classroom is to
Justify/clarify the students' understanding. I found 24 code switches in teachinglearning process in classroom. From the observation, code switchings to
Justify/clarify the students' understanding are mostly used in grade VII, because
the students started learning English from this grade. The teacher code switches in
order to transfer the necessary knowledge for the students for clarify. Teachers
repeat the English utterance into Indonesian to clarify the knowledge that he/she
transfers to the students delivered well. Following the instruction in target
language, the teacher code switches to native language in order to clarify meaning
(Mattson
and
Burenhult
1999).
In
Justifying/clarifying
the
students'
understanding, the teachers makes sure that the students understand the materials
that she/he explains in the teaching-learning process. Reyes (2004) also said the
function of code switching as clarification. With this function, the code switching
gives more information to clarify an idea or the message of the speaker. Like this
two example of utterances;
Justifying/clarifying the students' understanding by switching language use
has an important role for students who start to learn English. Like in grade VII,
the students had just started to learn English. Teachers in SMP Negeri 1
Banyubiru make clarification of their utterance by repeating their utterances into
Indonesian. By repeating the utterances using first language (Indonesian), the
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teachers wanted to create effects in students‟ participation in the classroom.
According to Yevudey (2013), repetitive code switching strategy was used by
these teachers to facilitate pupils‟ understanding and to increase their participation
during lessons.
Example1
Teacher asked the student; “And finally, after problem problem
problem, come to the resolution. Apa itu resolution ? (what is
resolution) It can be happy, bisa happy ya (it can be happy) or sad”.
Teacher wanted the students understand about the meaning of resolution, so he
translated the question into Indonesian. From the teacher utterance “It can be
happy”, teacher translated the utterance into Indonesian “bisa happy ya or sad”
can help the students to understand what resolution is.
The question that
translated is to clarify the students understanding and the teacher wanted to make
clearer what he or she is talking about.
Example 2
“Clean the floor, “bersihkan lantai (Clean the floor)” Other example
is “Don‟t talk during the lessons. Apa? Jangan bicara selama
pelajaran (what? Don‟t talk during the lessons)”
The example 2 shows that the explanation is given in English language and the
teacher repeats it in the mother-tongue for the students, like the teacher‟s
utterances in English “Clean the floor” and “Don‟t talk during the lessons”. Those
utterances are translated it into Indonesian, the teacher wanted the students to
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understand and can make example of the sentence if they are asked by teacher.
The teacher applied code switching by repeating words, phrases, or sentence in
order to assist students to understand the presented utterances and Teacher also
gave a question to make them participate in classroom activities.
The students of SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru mostly start learning English in
the Junior High School. Most of the students still feel difficulty in speaking,
reading, and understanding the teacher utterances. So, teachers use code switch
almost all the way during the learning-teaching process in the classroom. From the
interview, English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru have a reason why they
justify/clarify the students' understanding. They said that they often use code
switching because the school is located in rural area in Banyubiru and most of
student begin to learn English started in junior high school, they did not get
English lessons in elementary school. So, the occurring of code switching in this
school is high.
Justify/clarify the students' understanding is for clarify the students to
understand the lesson by repeating the important part of the important utterance.
In the example 1 and example 2, the teachers repeated the important utterance,
such as, ) It can be happy, bisa happy ya (it can be happy) or sad”, and “Don‟t talk
during the lessons. Apa? Jangan bicara selama pelajaran (what? Don‟t talk
during the lessons)”. In SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru, Justify/clarify the students'
understanding is mostly use by teacher who teach VII grade students. Most of the
students started learning English in this grade, so the teacher often repeat the
important part of the lesson.
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Efficiency in explaining the materials
The next frequently occurring code switching is “efficiency in explaining
the materials”. From the observation, I found 22 code-switching in teachinglearning process. The purpose of efficiency in explaining the materials is to make
the meaning of some words be understood more efficiently if it is written or
delivered in the original or mother language. Using the first language may
sometimes be more effective when the teacher wants to explain the concept
behind the use of certain language points (Spratt 1998). Knight (1996) added that
there is a useful role of L1 in helping learners gain the knowledge needed to reach
a higher level of L2 performance. Explaining by using simple and first language
can help the student know knowledge efficiently.
Example 3
“The characters have some problem. Problem between characters, Apa
problem between character? Between or among. Kalau between antar
dua karakter kalau among lebih dari satu (between is included two
characters, and among is included many character)”
In the example 3, the teacher tried to explain as simple as possible, when teacher
asked “between or among?” the students were silent and did not answered teacher
question. For some time, the silence let the time pass without any activity. To
make the students get the idea about between and among, the teacher gave further
explanation in Indonesian (first language) “Kalau between antar dua karakter
kalau among lebih dari satu (between is included two characters, and among is
included many character).” The purpose is for efficiency in explaining and to
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make it easier to understand. As a result, the time was not wasted when the
teacher switched from English to Indonesian.
Example 4
“Wizard or witch? What is the different between wizard and witch?
Sama-sama penyihir, tapi kalau Harry potter wizard, kalau “maknya”ini witch. (both are wizard/witch, but Harry Potter is wizard, and
Harry Potter‟s mom is witch) So, apa? Bedanya apa? (So, what is the
difference?) This is man, this is women.”
The teacher added the students‟ knowledge about wizard and witch. The teacher
used Indonesian in explaining it and the students understood the idea of „wizard‟
well. Like in the teacher explanation about witch and wizard, she used the
associate word „Harry Potter‟ because all students already knew about him, and
used the word “mak-nya” (Harry Potter‟s mother), „mak-nya‟ is Javanese
language and all students know what it means. By doing so, it helps the students
to easily understand the meaning of those two words (wizard and witch).
According to the teachers in interview, Indonesian, as first language, has
an important role in explaining in the classroom. One of the teacher said “I use
Indonesian because I want the students to catch the lessons and understand what I
teach and say in the classroom” They do not always switch the language into
Indonesian only, but they also switch to Javanese if it is easier to understand in
Javanese.
The use of code switching for efficiency in explaining the materials is very
useful. It is more effective in explaining and do not waste time in teaching. The
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English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru use English and Indonesian in
teaching and learning. The aim is they do not want lost many time in explaining
and can finish the material on time.
Checking for the students understanding
The last frequently occurring code switching is for the purpose of checking
the students understanding. According Barandagh (2013), “when a class was
going through a new lesson, there were usually new words and expressions in
English that the teacher wanted the students to understand. As the teacher was
checking for the students‟ understanding, code switching occurred since the new
expressions and words were translated to mother tongue language”. To make sure
about transfer knowledge in teaching-learning process, teachers can ask them
some question or give them test. According to Hanna Yletyinen (2004) and
Flyman-Mattson and Burenhult (1999), in the teaching and learning process,
teacher must make sure all of the students know and understand all the words in
the activity. Like when the teacher checked students understanding toward the
story that was given to them. He/she must check students‟ understanding, like the
vocabulary in the text and the teacher utterances. The important part in foreign
language learning process is to learn new vocabulary, grammar, and expression.
Here two examples from teacher utterance,
Example 5
“We want to watch huge animal playing football. Huge animal itu apa
to? .(what is huge animals means?)”
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Checking for students‟ understanding by teacher can be used to check their
vocabulary. For example, the teacher wanted to check “huge animal”. Teacher
code switched when asking the question “Huge animal itu apa to? (What is huge
animal means?)” to check the students‟ understanding about new vocabulary in
text.
Example 6
“Wes mudeng yo? (do you understand?) And how about this three?
Kalau satu “fairy”, ( if it‟s one “fairy”) how about more than one?
There are three fairies. Tiga peri (three fairies)”
Writing singular and plural form may be confusing for the students, like in the
word “fairy”. The teacher gave questions to checking the students‟ understanding,
like, “how about this three?” and “how about more than one?”
From the teacher interview, teacher said “use mother tongue language
(Javanese) and first language (Indonesian) is very successful to help students
understand all the words in the activity in teaching-learning process”. In checking
the students understanding, the teacher switched the language into Indonesian and
Javanese. They give the students questions about the material to check the
students understanding.
Give questions and test in the class can help the teachers in checking for
the students understanding. Like, the teachers asked about tenses formula to the
students or give test after or before the teacher finished explain the lesson.
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Code Switching and Teaching
Code switching phenomenon commonly occurs in the teaching process.
When this phenomenon is analyzed deeper, code switching in the classroom is
actually bearing reasons for communicative purposes. From the discussion of code
switching occurring in the EFL classroom setting, the occurrences of
communicative purpose of code switching used by teacher are for clarifying the
students‟ understanding, checking for the students‟ understanding, and efficiency
in explaining the material. Based on Ahmed and Jusoff (2009), the reason of the
communicative purpose of code-switching in the language classroom is a valid
asset for low proficiency learners and that teachers‟ code-switching is connected
to learners‟ support. Not all of the students in the EFL Junior High school are
mastering English well, and it urges the teacher to code switch in classroom. Time
management strategy also influences the communicative purpose of code
switching. According to Ahmed and Jusoff (2009), code switching helps to
facilitate the flow of classroom instruction since the teachers do not have to spend
so much time trying to explain to the learners or searching for the simplest words
to clarify any confusion that might arise .
Code switching is not forbidden in learning second or foreign
language as long as it can help the teachers to deliver the knowledge to the
students. According to Sert (2005), “code switching allows the teachers to build a
bridge from unknown to known and thus is an important element in language
teaching when used effectively”. It means that, the teachers should know their
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communicative purpose of using code switching and the teachers also know that
the way they use code switching is effectively to deliver the knowledge.
Conclusion
The Findings and Conclusion chapter shows that there are occurrences of
communicative purpose of code switching utterances in classroom used by
English teacher. The first communicative purpose is justify/clarify the students‟
understanding. The teacher used code switching to justify the student by repeat the
importance utterances.
The second communicative purpose is checking for the students
understanding. Unlike the first communicative purpose, the teacher code
switching is used to question or give the students test.
The Third communicative purpose is efficiency in explaining the
materials. The teacher uses this purpose to safe the time in explaining and the
students understand the lesson quickly. For example, when the teacher explained
about singular and plural form, they switched the language into Indonesian, so
teachers‟ explanation is delivered when they only have limited time and do not
waste time.
Besides the big three occurrences of communicative purpose, there are
other communicative purpose of code switching used by English teacher in the
classroom, they are;
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No equivalent words
This communicative purpose uses when the teachers faced difficulties in
finding the words or lack of the words when they teach.
Affective function
The teacher use code switching for build relation in the classroom. The
teachers usually use Javanese (native language) to make close or build
relation between them and the students in the classroom.
Managing class
In managing class, the teacher switch the language into Indonesian, for
example in give instruction, the teacher asked the students to make a group
and do the exercise.
For communicating meaning
In this communicative purpose, the teachers switch the language when
they are not unsure about their utterance, so the students will not confuse
about the teachers utterances in learning process.
Communicative purpose of code switching in classroom communication
has implication in the teaching learning process. Based on the data, all English
teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru usually use code switching in classroom
communication. By knowing the communicative purpose of code switching, they
can easily switch the language to the student‟s native language. It can make the
explanation clearer for the learners since the explanation is delivered in a
language that the students familiar with. So, code switching can help the students
as young learner in understanding and mastery English well. It help the students
22
because they just started learn English in Junior High School. Slattery (2001)
acknowledges that occasionally native language may still be useful for the
learners.
This study gives us a little understanding of communicative purpose of
code switching. However, due to small size sample in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru.
The finding may have different result for others Junior High School. This study is
only dealt with English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru.
The use of the native or mother tongue language in English lesson is
helpful as long as it is used appropriately. The teacher who teaches a foreign
language should know the communicative purpose of code switching to help the
teacher to communicate with the students, and when the teacher transfer foreign
language knowledge to the students.
The writer is also expected that this study can contribute new knowledge
about communicative purpose of code switching in the classroom for anyone who
interest to conducting the similar research. Hopefully, other students can learn
about communicative purpose of code switching and enrich their knowledge.
Acknowledgement
This thesis would not have been completed without the help and support
from many people, so it is a pleasure to thank those who helped this thesis
possible. I wish to express my special appreciate to my supervisor, Mr Christian
Rudianto, who has abundantly helpful and offered invaluable assistance,
23
encourage, support, and guidance. It is an honor for me to thank all beloved
English Department lectures for their knowledge. Special thanks also go to my
family, especially my parents, brothers and sisters, and also to all my friends who
encourage and support me during my thesis writing.
References:
Ahmed, B. H., & Jusoff, K. (2009).Teachers‟ code-Switching in classroom:
Instructions for low English proficient learners. English Language
Teaching.
Barandagh, S, G. 2013. An Investigation of Teachers and Learners' Use of
English-Persian
Code.
Retrieved
from
http://textroad.com/Old%20version/pdf/JBASR/J.%20Basic.%20Ap
pl.%20Sci.%20Res.,%203%287%29876-883,%202013.pdf
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2007). Checking for understanding: Formative
assessments for your classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Flyman-Mattsson, A. &Burenhult, N. (1999).Code switching in Second
Language Teaching of French. Lund University, Dept. of Linguistics
Working Papers,
Gumperz, John J. 1982. Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Halliday, M. A. K. (1975). Learning How to Mean: Explorations in the
Development of
Language. London: Edward Arnold
Hamers, J. F., & Blanc, M. H. A. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism.
United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Hanna, Y. (2004).The FunctionsofCode switchingin EFL Classroom
Discourse: UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ
Holmes, J. (2001). An Introduction to Sociolinguistic. Malaysia: Pearson
Education Ltd.
Hoffman, C. (1991). An Introduction to bilingualism.New York: Longman.
24
Hornby, A. S. (1995) Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. Berlin: Oxford
University Press.
Hudson, R. A. (1983). Sociolinguistic. Australia: Cambridge University Press.
Knight, T. (1996). Learning vocabulary through shared speaking tasks. The
Language Teacher, 20(1), 24-29
Macaro, E. (2001). Code Switching in the L2 Classroom: a Communication and
Learning Strategy. United States of America: Springer
Mattson, A & Burenhult-Mattsson, N. (1999). Code-switching in second
language teaching of French. Working Papers 47: 59-72.
McArthur, T. (1998).Code mixing and code switching.Retrieved January 14, 2010
from Encyclopedia.com:http://www.emcylopedia.com/doc/1O29-CODE
MIXINGANDCODESWITCHING.html
Neuman, W. L. (2000) Social Research Methods. United States of America: Allyn
and Bacon.
Redouane, R. (2005). Linguistic Constraints on Code Switching and Code Mixing
of Billingual Morrocan Arabic-French Speakers in Canada. Proceedings
of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualsm.
Reyes, I. (2004).Functions of code switching in schoolchildren‟s conversations.
Bilingual Research Study, 28, 77-98.
Sert, O. (2005). The Functions of Code Switching in ELT Classrooms. The
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Sertinternet
TESL
Journal.
From
CodeSwitching.html
lattery, M. & Wilis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers: A handbook of
activities& classroom language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Spratt, M (1988). English for The Teacher . Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
Yevudey, E. (2013). The Pedagogic Relevanc.e of Code switching in the
Classroom: Insight from Ewe-English Code switching in Ghana. Retrieved
from http://www.ajol.info/index.php/gjl/article/viewFile/103237/93450
25
SWITCHING USED BY ENGLISH TEACHERS’
COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan
Aji Utomo
112012704
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2015
ii
THE COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE OF CODE
SWITCHING USED BY ENGLISH TEACHERS’
COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM
Aji Utomo
Abstract
This study is conducted on the writer‟s interest toward communicative
purpose of code switching in classroom used by teachers in teaching and learning
process which use English as a target language being learnt. In this study, teachers
use Indonesian as the first language and English as the target language alternately
to help students in understanding teachers‟ utterances. The purpose of this study is
to find the communicative purpose of code switching used by English Teachers‟
classroom communication in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru. To come to the desired
result, the writer observed three English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru to
get the code switching dialogue or utterances transcription used by English
teacher in classroom communication. Based on Gumperz (1982) theory that a speaker
plays upon the connotation of the “we-code” to create a conversational effect, the writer
analyzed the teachers‟ utterances using theories in literature review on
communicative purpose. The result shows that teachers code switched to
justify/clarify the students‟ understanding, to check for students‟ understanding,
for Efficiency in explaining the materials, no equivalent words, affective function,
for managing class, and for communicating meaning.
Key words: Code switching, Communicative purpose.
iii
Introduction
According to Hamers and Blanc(2000), bilingualism is the state of
linguistic community in which two languages are in contact with the result that
two codes can be used in the same interaction and that a number of individual are
bilingual. Bilingualism is a common phenomenon in Indonesia, for example
children acquire the languages sequantially. First, they acquire mother tongue
language at home as the vencular. They grow up and go to school they begin learn
new language, so they can use more than one language in daily activities. People
who are bilingual sometimes switch languages. We can see this phenomenon in
our surroundings, like in television, movie, music and communication between
teacher and student in the class or in teaching-learning process. When people
choose more than one language and use them together alternately, this is known as
Code Switching and Code Mixing. The varieties of code switching and code
mixing in conversation occur because there are many communicative purpose in
using it.
Although the phenomenon of code switching attracts some people to
analyze the communicative purpose of code switching in conversation,
communication in classroom that involves code switching attracts my attention.
We can find the code switching in the teaching-learning process in classroom for
communication. Spratt (1998) argued that code switching goes together with the
change in the teaching methodology. Foreign language teaching used to focus on
1
accuracy and drilling, but right now the focus is on fluency, group work, or
mingles. In those kinds work, the use of the first language is inevitably to happen,
especially, when the teacher wants the students to understand the lesson or teacher
utterance in the class. He added “recently there is no clear line whether the first
language should be used or not in the foreign language classroom.”
With the phenomenon above, I interested to conduct a study to find out the
communicative purpose of code switching used by English teachers in SMP
Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process. The aim of this study is to
analyze the communicative purpose of code switching used by English teachers in
SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process. Based on the aim above,
this study is to answer the following question: What are the communicative
purposes of code switching used by English teachers in classroom communication
in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru?
Literature Review
Code Switching
Hamers and Blanc (2000) writes that code swithing is a special form of
skilled bilingual behaviour. It is switching when we use two or more languages in
a conversation. Code switching is the people‟s skill to change the code or
language from one language to another language when the situation asked them to
do so. Trudgill (1974) stated that code switching is switching from one language
variety to another when situation demands. For example, English Department
students are required to use English in having consultation with their lecturters,
2
but they also put some Indonesian in the conversation to make it efficient. Code
switching happens when people use more than one language in contact to
communiate other people. When a student uses English and Indonesian when they
talk with the lecturer, it is code switching.
According to Hudson (1983), code switching is a mixed up language
together in realm of conversations. In a sentence level, Hoffman (1991) states that
code switching is the changes over sentences. In a more detailed explanation,
Redouane (2005) states that:
“Code-switches will tend to occur at points in discourse where
juxtaposition of L1 and L2 elements does not violate a
syntactic rule of either language, e.i., at points around which
the surface structures of the two languages map onto each
other. According to this simple constraint, a switch is inhibited
from occurring within a constituent generated by a rule
Although the phenomena of code switching may occur at a sentence level,
they occur in the context of a discourse. Holmes (2001) said that code switching
can occur during the same conversation. It means that code switching will occur at
certain point where alanguage changes to another. So, the language will switch or
mix with other languages in the realm of conversations.
Code switching has two types; they are affective code switching and
conversational code switching. In affective code switching, there are two kinds,
situational and metaphorical code switching. Situational code switching happens
when the language used changes according to the situation in which speakers
speak one language in a situation and another language for different situation.
3
However, metaphorical code switching happens when a change of topic requires a
change in language used. Unlike situational code switching, methaporal code
switching only occurs when the changes stress on the topic.
The second type is Conversational Code switching. Conversational code
switching happens when the switch of language happens in a single sentence but
they do not change the topic. It means that two languages are switched within one
utterance or between utterance (Gumperz, 1982). For example, the TV presenter
switch their languages (Indonesia to English) without changing the topic to make
it become more interesting for the audience, like, “hi, How are you guys? Kalian
baik-baik sajakan? Pastinya dong! (Are you okay? Of course!)” in this utterance
the TV presenter switched from English to Indonesia, but the topic did not
change. Another example is said by a teacher to a student: “ayo Juna silahkan
maju dikerjakan soal nomer 12, ndang Jun digarap kuwi nomer 12 (Come on
Juna, come forward and do question number 12, be quickly, do question number
12 now)”
Conversational Code switching is divided into two types, based on the
juncture or the scope of switching where languages takes place (McArthur, 1998
and Hoffman, 1991):
1. Intra-sentential Code Switching.
According to McArthur (1998), in Intra-sentential Code Switching, the
language shift is done in the middle of a clause or sentence, with no
interruption or pauses indicating a shift. Hoffman (1991) added, it happens
4
when a tag from one language is inserted into an utterance, which is
entirely in another language, it occurs within a sentence. For example,
teacher in classroom said “Nenek Sihir itu jahat (the witch was wicked),
what is in English?” the teacher asked the students Don‟t talk during the
lessons about Indonesian word “nenek sihir itu jahat (the witch was
wicked)” in English, the teacher did code switching in one sentence.
2. Inter-sentential Code Switching.
In Inter-sentential Code switching, the language switch done at sentence
boundaries (McArthur, 1998). This is seen most often between fluent
bilingual speakers as when a English teacher said “I will give you a
sentence of narrative text. Dan kalian harus menerukan kalimat/cerita ini
dengan ide kalian masing-masing (and continue the story according to
your idea)”. Hoffman added, Inter-sentential Code Switching occurs when
one switches at clause or sentence boundary where one clause is being in
one language, the other clause in the other (it occurs between sentences).
A. Code switching and Communicative Purpose in teaching
Code switching is a way to communicate between teachers and the
students. According to Gumperz (1982), “A speaker plays upon the connotation of
the we-code to create a conversational effect”. Because code switching is a kind of
way to have effects on communication, it is considered to have communicative
purpose. The speaker switches the language to ease the communication, like
utilizing the shortest and the easiest route (Gumperz. 1982).
5
Halliday (1975) also said “…… code switching as fulfilling the
interpersonal function of communication, the mixed language spoken plays the
role of a mediator”. Code switching uses to act as a mediator between the speaker
and the participant/the listenguer in the communicative event. As a tool of
communication, code switching has important role in communicative event,
especially in learning English. Many teachers are used code switching in
classroom activities, it is to ease in communication in the class.
There are communicative purposes of Code Switching in communication
or conversation, such as:
a. Efficiency in explaining the materials
Knight (1996) assures that there is a useful role of L1 in helping
learners gain the knowledge needed to reach a higher level of L2
performance. Whenever the teacher feel that a meaning based on L2
might be beyond the learners‟ capabilities, a small amount of L1
discussion can help to overcome the obstacles. Using the first
language may sometimes be more effective when the teacher want to
explain the concept behind the use of certain language points (Spratt
1998). Teachers switch the language in explanation to make sure the
student understand the material of the lesson easily.
b. No equivalent words
Many linguists believe that code swithing occur because of lack in
vocabulary mastery or competence. Futhermore, it also regarded as a
strategy to avoid, interference between one language to others
6
(Holmes, 2001). In bilinguals society, people talk two or more
different languages subconsciously, therefore, they may be not aware
about existence of those two language. For exampe, when we do
presentation, sometimes we forgot the English word and then we use
Indonesia to replace those word.
c. Affective function (Build relation in the classroom)
Mattson and Burenhult (1999) states carries affective functions that
serve for expression of emotions. Code switching is used by the
teacher in order to build solidarity and intimate relations with the
students. It will create or support the students to speak language in
the classroom. the contribution of code switching for creating a
supportive language environment in the classroom.
d. Justify/Clarify the students‟ understanding
In this purpose, teacher uses code-switching to transfer the necessary
knowledge to the students in order to convey clarify (Mattson and
Burenhult 1999). In this case, the teachers justify or clarify the
students by repeat the important utterance, For example, when
teacher said “Bowo buy some fruits in the market, itu terjemahannya
Bowo membeli beberapa buah-buahan di pasar (the translation is
Bowo buy some fruits in the market)”.
e. Managing class (Instruction and Classroom Management)
According to Macaro (2001), the ways in which teacher organizes
the class also involve in a choice of language. Some teachers resorted
7
to first language after having tried in vain to get the activity going in
target language. For example, teacher said “please make group of
four and make a circle to discuss the project”, “sekarang buat grup
terdiri dari 4 orang dan buat lingkaran untuk berdiskusi (make a
group of 4 students then make a circle for discussion)”. Spratt (1998)
also found that it may sometimes be useful on this occasion to say in
the first language the instruction that has been given in the foreign.
This action seems helpful for students to comprehend the instruction.
f. For communicating meaning
Many teachers communicating meaning of an item through
paraphrasing in the foreign language often feel unsure about their
paraphrasing. Therefore, they may use the first language, Spratt
(1998). For example, teacher said “What is fairy tale? Apa itu fairy
tale? (What is fairy tale? ) Jadi kaya donggeng atau cerita tentang
peri gitu ya (so it looks like story of fairy)”.
g. Checking for student understanding
Teachers can check for understanding in several ways, including the
use
of
oral
language,
questioning,
writing,
projects
and
performances, and tests (Fisher & Frey, 2007). For example, teacher
asks about generic structure of Simple present tense to the students
to check their understanding.
8
The Study
Context of The Study
This study is a descriptive study. It analyzed descriptively the
communicative purpose of the use of code switching in the class used by English
teachers. It analyzed the phenomenon about communicative purpose of code
switching used by English teacher of SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teachinglearning process in the English class. The reason behind the use of code switching
are investigated. The following research question guides the study:
“What are the communicative purpose of code switching used by English
teacher of SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process?”
Participants
In this study, the sample data were taken from The English teachers of
SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru. The data were obtained from the teaching-learning
process which use code switching in the English class. The reason was the
teachers and students in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru used more than one language in
teaching and learning process. From this phenomenon, I was interested to conduct
a study to find out the communicative purpose of code switching used by English
teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teaching-learning process.
9
Method of Research
This study used a qualitative method. Qualitative research involves the
researcher to interpret data by giving them meaning, translating them, or making
them understandable (Neuman, 2000). This study is required to define the details
description and explanations the phenomenon of communicative purpose of code
switching used by English Teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru in teachinglearning process.
Instrument and Data Collection
For the data colletion, I used two instruments to collect the data. I recorded
the conversation and took note using an observation protocol. I used observation
protocol to make my observation in recording the conversation more focused. The
recording is conducted to obtain more detail information and see directly how the
subjects or participants use code switching in teaching-learning process. I
recorded the teaching-learning process to make the data easier to transcribe it into
written form. I recorded three teaching-learning processes, where the phenomenon
of code switching occurred in English class. Interviews were done later when
more details about the recorded conversation were needed.
Data Analysis
After I finished collecting the data from recording the conversation, I
transcribed the data recording into written form. The transcription was to gain
spesific information related to the communicative purpose of use code switching.
Then, I identified the communicative purpose of code switching in teachin-
10
learning process used by English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru based
Hoffman‟s (1991) and McArthur‟s (1998) shows types of code switching based
on the juncture or the scope of switching, and based on the communicative
purpose of code switching in communication or conversation according to
(Hamers & Blanc 2000), Holmes (2001), Mattson and Burenhult (1999), Spratt
(1998), Fisher & Frey (2007) and Macaro (2001).
Findings and Discussion
After collecting the data from the recorded teaching-learning process in
the classroom, I found 93 code switching utterances that occurred in my
observation in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru. The frequency occurrence of Code
Switching in regards of communicative purpose are, for efficiency is 20 times,
nothing for no equivalent words, affective function is 9 times, Justify/clarify the
students' understanding is 24 times, managing class is 12 times, for
communicating meaning is 7 times, and checking for student understanding is 21
times. Chart 1 shows frequency of occurrence of Code Switching utterances in
regards of communicative purpose.
11
Chart 1: Occurrence of the communicative purpose of code switched
utterances in classroom
30
20
10
0
20
24
9
0
21
12
7
occurance
There are 7 of communicative purposes that I found before. From all of
code switching utterances in observation, the data shows that Justify/clarify the
students' understanding is the most frequently used, with the percentage of
25.80% as the majority purpose in the use of code switching in the class. The
second is checking for students understanding purpose, with 22.58%. The third
majority of communicative purpose in the classroom is efficiency in explaining
the materials, with 21.50%. For the rest of percentage occurrence of Code
Switching in regards of purpose are 0% for no equivalent words, 9.67% for
affective function, 11.16% for managing class, and 7.52% for communicating
meaning.
12
From the findings, there are three of occurrences;
Justify/clarify the students' understanding
The main communicative purpose of code switching in the classroom is to
Justify/clarify the students' understanding. I found 24 code switches in teachinglearning process in classroom. From the observation, code switchings to
Justify/clarify the students' understanding are mostly used in grade VII, because
the students started learning English from this grade. The teacher code switches in
order to transfer the necessary knowledge for the students for clarify. Teachers
repeat the English utterance into Indonesian to clarify the knowledge that he/she
transfers to the students delivered well. Following the instruction in target
language, the teacher code switches to native language in order to clarify meaning
(Mattson
and
Burenhult
1999).
In
Justifying/clarifying
the
students'
understanding, the teachers makes sure that the students understand the materials
that she/he explains in the teaching-learning process. Reyes (2004) also said the
function of code switching as clarification. With this function, the code switching
gives more information to clarify an idea or the message of the speaker. Like this
two example of utterances;
Justifying/clarifying the students' understanding by switching language use
has an important role for students who start to learn English. Like in grade VII,
the students had just started to learn English. Teachers in SMP Negeri 1
Banyubiru make clarification of their utterance by repeating their utterances into
Indonesian. By repeating the utterances using first language (Indonesian), the
13
teachers wanted to create effects in students‟ participation in the classroom.
According to Yevudey (2013), repetitive code switching strategy was used by
these teachers to facilitate pupils‟ understanding and to increase their participation
during lessons.
Example1
Teacher asked the student; “And finally, after problem problem
problem, come to the resolution. Apa itu resolution ? (what is
resolution) It can be happy, bisa happy ya (it can be happy) or sad”.
Teacher wanted the students understand about the meaning of resolution, so he
translated the question into Indonesian. From the teacher utterance “It can be
happy”, teacher translated the utterance into Indonesian “bisa happy ya or sad”
can help the students to understand what resolution is.
The question that
translated is to clarify the students understanding and the teacher wanted to make
clearer what he or she is talking about.
Example 2
“Clean the floor, “bersihkan lantai (Clean the floor)” Other example
is “Don‟t talk during the lessons. Apa? Jangan bicara selama
pelajaran (what? Don‟t talk during the lessons)”
The example 2 shows that the explanation is given in English language and the
teacher repeats it in the mother-tongue for the students, like the teacher‟s
utterances in English “Clean the floor” and “Don‟t talk during the lessons”. Those
utterances are translated it into Indonesian, the teacher wanted the students to
14
understand and can make example of the sentence if they are asked by teacher.
The teacher applied code switching by repeating words, phrases, or sentence in
order to assist students to understand the presented utterances and Teacher also
gave a question to make them participate in classroom activities.
The students of SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru mostly start learning English in
the Junior High School. Most of the students still feel difficulty in speaking,
reading, and understanding the teacher utterances. So, teachers use code switch
almost all the way during the learning-teaching process in the classroom. From the
interview, English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru have a reason why they
justify/clarify the students' understanding. They said that they often use code
switching because the school is located in rural area in Banyubiru and most of
student begin to learn English started in junior high school, they did not get
English lessons in elementary school. So, the occurring of code switching in this
school is high.
Justify/clarify the students' understanding is for clarify the students to
understand the lesson by repeating the important part of the important utterance.
In the example 1 and example 2, the teachers repeated the important utterance,
such as, ) It can be happy, bisa happy ya (it can be happy) or sad”, and “Don‟t talk
during the lessons. Apa? Jangan bicara selama pelajaran (what? Don‟t talk
during the lessons)”. In SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru, Justify/clarify the students'
understanding is mostly use by teacher who teach VII grade students. Most of the
students started learning English in this grade, so the teacher often repeat the
important part of the lesson.
15
Efficiency in explaining the materials
The next frequently occurring code switching is “efficiency in explaining
the materials”. From the observation, I found 22 code-switching in teachinglearning process. The purpose of efficiency in explaining the materials is to make
the meaning of some words be understood more efficiently if it is written or
delivered in the original or mother language. Using the first language may
sometimes be more effective when the teacher wants to explain the concept
behind the use of certain language points (Spratt 1998). Knight (1996) added that
there is a useful role of L1 in helping learners gain the knowledge needed to reach
a higher level of L2 performance. Explaining by using simple and first language
can help the student know knowledge efficiently.
Example 3
“The characters have some problem. Problem between characters, Apa
problem between character? Between or among. Kalau between antar
dua karakter kalau among lebih dari satu (between is included two
characters, and among is included many character)”
In the example 3, the teacher tried to explain as simple as possible, when teacher
asked “between or among?” the students were silent and did not answered teacher
question. For some time, the silence let the time pass without any activity. To
make the students get the idea about between and among, the teacher gave further
explanation in Indonesian (first language) “Kalau between antar dua karakter
kalau among lebih dari satu (between is included two characters, and among is
included many character).” The purpose is for efficiency in explaining and to
16
make it easier to understand. As a result, the time was not wasted when the
teacher switched from English to Indonesian.
Example 4
“Wizard or witch? What is the different between wizard and witch?
Sama-sama penyihir, tapi kalau Harry potter wizard, kalau “maknya”ini witch. (both are wizard/witch, but Harry Potter is wizard, and
Harry Potter‟s mom is witch) So, apa? Bedanya apa? (So, what is the
difference?) This is man, this is women.”
The teacher added the students‟ knowledge about wizard and witch. The teacher
used Indonesian in explaining it and the students understood the idea of „wizard‟
well. Like in the teacher explanation about witch and wizard, she used the
associate word „Harry Potter‟ because all students already knew about him, and
used the word “mak-nya” (Harry Potter‟s mother), „mak-nya‟ is Javanese
language and all students know what it means. By doing so, it helps the students
to easily understand the meaning of those two words (wizard and witch).
According to the teachers in interview, Indonesian, as first language, has
an important role in explaining in the classroom. One of the teacher said “I use
Indonesian because I want the students to catch the lessons and understand what I
teach and say in the classroom” They do not always switch the language into
Indonesian only, but they also switch to Javanese if it is easier to understand in
Javanese.
The use of code switching for efficiency in explaining the materials is very
useful. It is more effective in explaining and do not waste time in teaching. The
17
English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru use English and Indonesian in
teaching and learning. The aim is they do not want lost many time in explaining
and can finish the material on time.
Checking for the students understanding
The last frequently occurring code switching is for the purpose of checking
the students understanding. According Barandagh (2013), “when a class was
going through a new lesson, there were usually new words and expressions in
English that the teacher wanted the students to understand. As the teacher was
checking for the students‟ understanding, code switching occurred since the new
expressions and words were translated to mother tongue language”. To make sure
about transfer knowledge in teaching-learning process, teachers can ask them
some question or give them test. According to Hanna Yletyinen (2004) and
Flyman-Mattson and Burenhult (1999), in the teaching and learning process,
teacher must make sure all of the students know and understand all the words in
the activity. Like when the teacher checked students understanding toward the
story that was given to them. He/she must check students‟ understanding, like the
vocabulary in the text and the teacher utterances. The important part in foreign
language learning process is to learn new vocabulary, grammar, and expression.
Here two examples from teacher utterance,
Example 5
“We want to watch huge animal playing football. Huge animal itu apa
to? .(what is huge animals means?)”
18
Checking for students‟ understanding by teacher can be used to check their
vocabulary. For example, the teacher wanted to check “huge animal”. Teacher
code switched when asking the question “Huge animal itu apa to? (What is huge
animal means?)” to check the students‟ understanding about new vocabulary in
text.
Example 6
“Wes mudeng yo? (do you understand?) And how about this three?
Kalau satu “fairy”, ( if it‟s one “fairy”) how about more than one?
There are three fairies. Tiga peri (three fairies)”
Writing singular and plural form may be confusing for the students, like in the
word “fairy”. The teacher gave questions to checking the students‟ understanding,
like, “how about this three?” and “how about more than one?”
From the teacher interview, teacher said “use mother tongue language
(Javanese) and first language (Indonesian) is very successful to help students
understand all the words in the activity in teaching-learning process”. In checking
the students understanding, the teacher switched the language into Indonesian and
Javanese. They give the students questions about the material to check the
students understanding.
Give questions and test in the class can help the teachers in checking for
the students understanding. Like, the teachers asked about tenses formula to the
students or give test after or before the teacher finished explain the lesson.
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Code Switching and Teaching
Code switching phenomenon commonly occurs in the teaching process.
When this phenomenon is analyzed deeper, code switching in the classroom is
actually bearing reasons for communicative purposes. From the discussion of code
switching occurring in the EFL classroom setting, the occurrences of
communicative purpose of code switching used by teacher are for clarifying the
students‟ understanding, checking for the students‟ understanding, and efficiency
in explaining the material. Based on Ahmed and Jusoff (2009), the reason of the
communicative purpose of code-switching in the language classroom is a valid
asset for low proficiency learners and that teachers‟ code-switching is connected
to learners‟ support. Not all of the students in the EFL Junior High school are
mastering English well, and it urges the teacher to code switch in classroom. Time
management strategy also influences the communicative purpose of code
switching. According to Ahmed and Jusoff (2009), code switching helps to
facilitate the flow of classroom instruction since the teachers do not have to spend
so much time trying to explain to the learners or searching for the simplest words
to clarify any confusion that might arise .
Code switching is not forbidden in learning second or foreign
language as long as it can help the teachers to deliver the knowledge to the
students. According to Sert (2005), “code switching allows the teachers to build a
bridge from unknown to known and thus is an important element in language
teaching when used effectively”. It means that, the teachers should know their
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communicative purpose of using code switching and the teachers also know that
the way they use code switching is effectively to deliver the knowledge.
Conclusion
The Findings and Conclusion chapter shows that there are occurrences of
communicative purpose of code switching utterances in classroom used by
English teacher. The first communicative purpose is justify/clarify the students‟
understanding. The teacher used code switching to justify the student by repeat the
importance utterances.
The second communicative purpose is checking for the students
understanding. Unlike the first communicative purpose, the teacher code
switching is used to question or give the students test.
The Third communicative purpose is efficiency in explaining the
materials. The teacher uses this purpose to safe the time in explaining and the
students understand the lesson quickly. For example, when the teacher explained
about singular and plural form, they switched the language into Indonesian, so
teachers‟ explanation is delivered when they only have limited time and do not
waste time.
Besides the big three occurrences of communicative purpose, there are
other communicative purpose of code switching used by English teacher in the
classroom, they are;
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No equivalent words
This communicative purpose uses when the teachers faced difficulties in
finding the words or lack of the words when they teach.
Affective function
The teacher use code switching for build relation in the classroom. The
teachers usually use Javanese (native language) to make close or build
relation between them and the students in the classroom.
Managing class
In managing class, the teacher switch the language into Indonesian, for
example in give instruction, the teacher asked the students to make a group
and do the exercise.
For communicating meaning
In this communicative purpose, the teachers switch the language when
they are not unsure about their utterance, so the students will not confuse
about the teachers utterances in learning process.
Communicative purpose of code switching in classroom communication
has implication in the teaching learning process. Based on the data, all English
teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru usually use code switching in classroom
communication. By knowing the communicative purpose of code switching, they
can easily switch the language to the student‟s native language. It can make the
explanation clearer for the learners since the explanation is delivered in a
language that the students familiar with. So, code switching can help the students
as young learner in understanding and mastery English well. It help the students
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because they just started learn English in Junior High School. Slattery (2001)
acknowledges that occasionally native language may still be useful for the
learners.
This study gives us a little understanding of communicative purpose of
code switching. However, due to small size sample in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru.
The finding may have different result for others Junior High School. This study is
only dealt with English teachers in SMP Negeri 1 Banyubiru.
The use of the native or mother tongue language in English lesson is
helpful as long as it is used appropriately. The teacher who teaches a foreign
language should know the communicative purpose of code switching to help the
teacher to communicate with the students, and when the teacher transfer foreign
language knowledge to the students.
The writer is also expected that this study can contribute new knowledge
about communicative purpose of code switching in the classroom for anyone who
interest to conducting the similar research. Hopefully, other students can learn
about communicative purpose of code switching and enrich their knowledge.
Acknowledgement
This thesis would not have been completed without the help and support
from many people, so it is a pleasure to thank those who helped this thesis
possible. I wish to express my special appreciate to my supervisor, Mr Christian
Rudianto, who has abundantly helpful and offered invaluable assistance,
23
encourage, support, and guidance. It is an honor for me to thank all beloved
English Department lectures for their knowledge. Special thanks also go to my
family, especially my parents, brothers and sisters, and also to all my friends who
encourage and support me during my thesis writing.
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