FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIETY Department of Culture, Languages, and Media Degree Project with Specialization in English Studies in Education 15 Credits, Second Cycle Code-Switching in the Upper Secondary School EFL Classroom in Sweden Kodväxling i gymnasieskolans engelskklassrum i Sverige Moa Torvaldsdotter Master of Arts/Science in Education, 300 credits Examiner: Chrys Malilang English Studies in Education Supervisor: Shaun Nolan 7 June 2020 Abstract Code-switching has been shown to be beneficial for students’ language learning and for strengthening their identities. Despite this, it can be interpreted that code-switching is not encouraged in the syllabus for English in upper secondary school in Sweden. Because of this potential disagreement, this study aims to broaden the knowledge of how upper secondary school teachers relate to code-switching in their different classrooms. Thereby, this study seeks to examine some upper secondary school EFL teachers’ understanding of code-switching as well as the use of code-switching in their different classrooms. In this qualitative study, four upper secondary school teachers of English participated in semi-structured interviews followed by classroom observations. The teachers represent all courses of English at upper secondary school level and they represent schools with different programs and students with different first languages. The results show that the teachers have limited knowledge of code-switching and that they believe that a large amount of target language use in the classroom is favorable. Nevertheless, the results also show that the teachers as well as their students use code- switching both intentionally and unintentionally for various purposes, but none of the participating teachers seem to use code-switching as a strategy to promote long-standing language acquisition. However, the results indicate that the teachers seem to effectively adapt their code-switching behavior to their student group. The findings of this study are in line with earlier research where it, for instance, is argued that code-switching is more suitable for classes with students with lower language proficiency. Keywords: Code-switching; English language teaching; Multilingual classrooms; Upper secondary education 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4 2. Aim and Research Questions ................................................................................ 6 2.1. Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 6 3. Background: Theory, Policy Documents, and Recent Research ............... 7 3.1. Monolingual and Multilingual Education ................................................................... 7 3.2. Code-Switching .................................................................................................................... 8 3.2.1. Code-Switching in Foreign Language Education ............................................................... 9 3.2.2. Difference Between Code-Switching and Translanguaging ....................................... 11 3.2.3. The Place of Code-Switching in the Steering Documents ........................................... 11 3.3. Recent Research on Code-Switching in the Classroom ....................................... 12 4. Method ....................................................................................................................... 15 4.1. The Participants .............................................................................................................. 15 4.2. Materials and Procedure .............................................................................................. 16 4.2.1. Semi-Structured Interviews .................................................................................................... 17 4.2.2. Observations .................................................................................................................................. 18 4.3. Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 19 4.4. Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................... 19 5. Results and Discussion ........................................................................................ 20 5.1. EFL Teachers’ Awareness of Code-Switching ......................................................... 20 5.2. EFL Teachers’ and Their Students’ Usage of Code-Switching ........................... 24 5.2.1. Intentional Code-Switching ..................................................................................................... 24 5.2.1.1. Focalization on Form ............................................................................................................ 24 5.2.1.2. Communication Effectiveness .......................................................................................... 25 5.2.1.3. Relational Purposes .............................................................................................................. 28 5.2.1.4. Convenience ............................................................................................................................. 29 5.2.2. Unintentional Code-Switching ................................................................................................ 30 5.3. Difference in the Use of Code-Switching Depending on the Students’ Language Level ............................................................................................................................. 31 6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 34 7. References ................................................................................................................ 36 8. Appendix ................................................................................................................... 39 3 1. Introduction Up until recently, the generally accepted approach to foreign and second language (henceforth FL and L2) education was the monolingual approach, which advocates the target language (TL) being the only language used in the classroom (García & Wei, 2013; Lundahl, 2019; Cummins, 2007). Within this approach, the use of students’ first language (L1) is often seen as a failure and a sign of language deficiency (Cummins, 2007; Liebscher & Dailey-O’Cain, 2005). However, in an article by Cummins (2007) it is stated that there is minimal pedagogical evidence supporting the exclusive use of the TL in FL teaching. And as the world has become more globalized, the monolingual approach has been questioned (García & Wei, 2013). Many researchers now perceive students’ L1 as a resource in both language teaching and learning (Lundahl, 2019; Cummins, 2007). Furthermore, it has been shown that code-switching, the switch between two or more languages within a sentence or conversation, is a natural phenomenon in bilingual speakers’ language use (Poplak, 1980). Using code-switching as an educational approach in the FL classroom is to encourage students to use their whole language repertoire, and it has not only been shown to be beneficial for students’ language learning (Moore, 2002; Liebscher & Dailey-O’Cain, 2005) but also for strengthening their identities (McKay, 2012). Although much research on code-switching has been done internationally, there is a lack of studies regarding code-switching in English language education in a Swedish context. Therefore, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of code-switching in this context. Lundahl (2019), however, states that the use of code-switching is dependent on the students’ language level and, therefore, it might not be a beneficial approach in the English language education in countries like Sweden where the students’ linguistic levels are high. This view has also been prevalent within the courses of English in my teaching training, where it has been conveyed that one should only use the TL in the English classroom at upper secondary level. Furthermore, it can be interpreted that code-switching is not encouraged in the syllabus for English in upper secondary school in Sweden as it is stated that “Teaching should as far as possible be conducted in English” (Skolverket, 2011a). However, in the commentary material for the subject English provided by Skolverket (2011b), the National Agency for Education, it is 4 expressed that on occasion, elements of other languages may occur in the classroom but that it is dependent on the teachers’ professional judgment of the students’ need for support. This clarification is in line with Lundahl (2019) highlighting that code- switching could be used in classrooms with students with a lower linguistic language. In contrast to the negative view of code-switching in the courses of English in my teacher training, it has been viewed more positively within the courses of Swedish as an L2 in the same teacher training. One possible explanation for this is that the syllabus for Swedish as a second language (Skolverket, 2011c) emphasizes the importance of multilingualism more explicitly, and it is, for example, stated that multilingualism is an asset both for individuals and for the society. As such, there seems to be a disagreement in the attitude towards code-switching within the subjects English