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General Introduction General Introduction 1. Background of the Study As human beings, we always tend to express our thoughts, ideas and emotions through languages. It is commonly agreed that the use of two or more languages in the same conversation occurs in bilingual or multilingual communities. The term that is used to describe such language contact is referred to as code –switching. Code switching is a familiar linguistic phenomenon used in countries where bilingual or multilingual speakers communicate with more than just one language or variety in everyday interactions. In fact, code switching becomes a common practice among all bilingual and multilingual societies all over the world in that in each country we may find at least two languages or varieties of language spoken. The phenomenon of code switching has been a subject of many writers, linguists and researchers such as Myers –Scotton (1991); Poplack (1980); Milroy and Muysken (1995) and so many others. Various studies have been made to investigate and scrutinize the occurrence, the reasons and the functions ,the different types of code switching and various theories have been put forth about what code switching really is and what motivates bilingual or multilingual speakers to code switch. Algeria, like any other Arab country is characterized by the existence of different sociolinguistics phenomena because of the distinct languages and the various varieties that are spoken and used by Algerians and the contact between them. In fact, code switching is one of the features that is well observed and highly used among Algerians compared to other Arab speakers to the point that if strangers visit Algeria and observe what an Algerian repertoire could consist of, they would be very surprised of the richness and the linguistic diversity in this country. Many languages and varieties are dominant in Algeria; this co existence of genetically unrelated languages makes Algeria a bilingual and even multilingual community. 1 Code switching can be seen in three fields: sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and linguistics and all of them are said to be complimentary. In the current research study, the most dominant perspective is without any doubt a sociolinguistic one. The sociolinguistic field probes into why bilingual and multilingual speakers switch code between languages and what are the reasons that push them to do so. As aforementioned, the major concern of this study is a micro-sociolinguistic investigation of the occurrences of code switching at an interactional level; this refers to code switching that takes place in verbal communication. More precisely, it aims to find out the functions of code switching in classroom interactions and the reasons for which teachers and students do so, Thus, this study will focus on code-switching in interactions where the matrix language is both Arabic and French in addition to their beliefs, opinions and attitudes about this and the types of code switching that occurs in the classroom. 2. Statement of the Problem Due to the bilingual and even multilingual education system and plurality of the society in Algeria, Algerian speakers are bound to know more than only one language. Besides acquiring their mother tongue through informal family instruction at home with their family, students also learn a second or even a third language through formal education in school. Therefore, code switching occurs between speakers of different social background in order to communicate successfully. The problem at hand has been investigated by few researchers in Algeria and those who did this investigation believe that students who study in Letters and Arabic language Department, and teachers who teach modules of Arabic language are less code switchers compared to students or teachers from other Departments as English and French. These researchers believe that those who follow the Arabic stream cannot use other languages and they have a limited knowledge of other languages since they are in touch only with Arabic. 2 Hence, there is a need for further research to know if this is true or not. Based on the researcher’s personal observation of ENSC classes at the Department of Letters and Arabic Languages, we will observe and notice if students and teachers code switch in classroom and during the lessons between the languages i.e., to see if these people use different languages in contact and whether they are doing this alternation consciously or subconsciously. Furthermore, while extensive studies have been done to explain the linguistic phenomenon and the sociolinguistic dimensions of code switching at English and French Departments, few studies have been conducted to study this phenomenon among Letters and Arabic Languages Department students. Thus this research attempts to fill this gap by investigating the reasons and functions that push Letters and Arabic languages teachers and students to code switch in classroom and their attitudes about code switching in classroom. 3. Aims of the Study Code switching is a common practice and a common linguistic behavior in bilingual speech. It occurs frequently with or without any conscious awareness of the speaker. In fact, many speakers switch from one code to another or from one variety to another, either intentionally or unintentionally and it could be for several reasons such as attracting the attention of others, showing solidarity, or expressing affection ( anger, sadness, happiness, and some other feelings and emotions). Since it has gained the consensuses of basically all linguists in the field, code switching between two or more languages is a deliberate language choice, in that it is never considered as an arbitrary linguistic behavior. The primary aim of this study is to see how letter and Arabic language students use three different languages in contact, i.e. how they use their native language (Standard Arabic and/ or Algerian Arabic) with a foreign languages French in the same discourse and to investigate the reasons why these students code switch in classroom with their classmates and instructors and why teachers do the same thing with their students during lessons. Then the 3 study will identify whether teachers and students of Letters and Arabic Languages Department code switch for the same reasons adopting Apple and Muysken’s six functions of code switching and Malik’s ten reasons for code switching. Our focus is also made on the different attitudes of teachers and students towards the use of code switching in classroom. We will identify whether students have positive or negative attitudes and whether teachers have positive or negative perceptions. This study seeks also to identify the different types of code switching that occur in classroom environment. According to Poplack, there are three types of code switching namely inter-sentential code switching, intra- sentential code switching and tag switching. By the end of this research, we will conclude which type of code switching is the most used in classroom and which one is the least used and whether code-switching in letters and Arabic language classes is a communicative strategy that facilitates communication between students and instructors. 4. Significance of the Study The significance of this study lies in the fact that no other studies have been conducted in the same setting and exploring the same reasons or objectives. When we talk about setting, we mean conducting a research in Letters and Arabic languages Department. This study will add to the existing literature on code switching and information gained from this research will provide insights on how and why code switching occurs in classrooms of Letters and Arabic languages Department. Due to the increasing interest in the studies of code switching in classes over the past two decades, this study will focus on the occurrence of code switching in the letters and Arabic language department of Arabic at ENSC school and reveal whether its use in classroom is counterproductive or not and if students studying literature and Arabic language 4 are truly less code switchers compared to other students who study English, French or Spanish languages, or from those who are in medicine, mechanic and engineering branches. 5. Research Questions This study focuses on the issue of code switching by approaching the following research questions: 1. What are the functions and reasons that push students to code switch in classroom? 2. What are the reasons for code switching as perceived by teachers? 3. Is there any correlation between the students’ and teachers’ responses? 4. What are the students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards the use of code switching in classroom? 5. What types of code switching occurrence can be observed among ENSC students when discussing or talking in classroom? 6. Hypotheses Under the problematic of the current study, a range of hypotheses come out to respond to the number of questions introduced above. There are five hypotheses behind this investigation: 1. Teachers tend to use a mixture of MSA, Algerian Arabic and French, believing that this strategy may facilitate comprehension. 2. Both teachers and students show positive attitudes towards the mixture use of MSA, AA and French in classroom. 3. Students and teachers might be unaware of certain aspects of their language behavior of code switching or might use code switching consciously to fulfill a communicative strategy. 4. Code switching in the classroom is counterproductive. 5. Both students and teachers code switch for the same reasons. 5 7. Research
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