HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS’ CODE SWITCHING BELIEF AND PRACTICE

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DAO THI NGOC

HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS’ CODE-SWITCHING:
BELIEF AND PRACTICE
(Hoạt động chuyển mã ngôn ngữ của giáo viên tiếng Anh Trung học
Phổ thông: Từ quan điểm đến thực tiễn)

M.A. THESIS

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 8220201

THAI NGUYEN – 2019


THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DAO THI NGOC

HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS’ CODE-SWITCHING:
BELIEF AND PRACTICE
(Hoạt động chuyển mã ngôn ngữ của giáo viên tiếng Anh Trung học
Phổ thông: Từ quan điểm đến thực tiễn)

M.A. THESIS
(APPLICATION ORIENTATION)

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 8220201
Supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Trong Du

THAI NGUYEN – 2019


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I hereby declare that this submission of the minor thesis entitled “high school
English teachers’ code switching: Belief and practice” is my own work. To the best
of my knowledge, it contains no materials previously published or written by another
person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award
of any other degree or diploma at SFL or any other educational institutions. The thesis
has not been submitted to any other examining body and has not been published. Any
contribution made to the research by others is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis.

Thai Nguyen, July 2019

Dao Thi Ngoc

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Dr. Nguyen Trong Du

Date: July, 2019


ABSTRACT
This thesis presents the findings of a study which aims to investigate how

teachers of English at Vu Van Hieu high school switch between English and
Vietnamese in their classrooms and how this practice match with their beliefs on the
use of both languages in EFL teaching. In order to achieve those objectives, the study
relies on two methods of data collection namely classroom observation and interviews.
During classroom observation, observation sheets were used in combination with audio
– recordings. Interviews were conducted with the participation of both teachers and
students. Data collected were transcribed, grouped into themes, and explain in details.
Results show that the teachers switched between English and Vietnamese with different
levels of frequency and in different types. The teachers’ code-switching has some
functions such as: to draw attention of students to the lesson, to check whether students
get clear about what they are supposed to do next, to explain the meaning of vocabulary
and the usage of grammatical phenomenon, and to deliver instructions and tighten the
mutual relationship between teachers and students. These findings go quite well with
what the teachers and students say about code – switching. On the other hand, both
teachers and students believe that using Vietnamese is necessary for the effectiveness
of the teachers’ instructions. Moreover, they both agreed that the amount of Vietnamese
used in EFL classrooms should be reduced to minimum and should be based on
students’ competence.



Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Introduction
Nowadays English is considered as a global language, and the majority of people
who use it as a tool of communications are non-native, i.e. most of the users are bilingual
or multilingual. It is commonplace to see English being used and studied without a
linguistic environment beside classroom hours; English is rarely used in their real life.
Therefore, in English teaching and learning context, code-switching is also seen as
inevitable either on purpose or by chance.
Code-switching in classrooms has been discussed for several decades

worldwide, and research on this case is often conducted to find out how code-switching
takes place between English and another language such as: Chinese, Spanish,
Vietnamese, Turkish and German and so forth (for instance, Auer, 1998, Ferguson,
2003; Flyman, 1991; Marcaro, 2009; Sert, 2005; a well-known Vietnamese Nguyen T.
N, 2016; and other teachers of English. It can be said that nowadays, code-switching is
one of the most emerging trends in linguistic field, particularlyin bilingual or
multilingual environments.
During the history of the matter as Macaro (2013) proclaimed, the major issues
in code-switching debated include causes, types and its roles in teaching and learning
English. Additionally, researchers keep a close eye on how teachers’ perceive and
practice their code-switching in the reality or whether code-switching serves as a
functioning tool in assisting learners or appear to be stumbling blocks for them in
acquiring language skills. Consequently, publicized reports often mention the
weaknesses as well as the strengths of code-switching.
In line with the academic study trend of code-switching worldwide, there have
been voices from Vietnam in the form of conference reports, articles, master and
doctorate thesis, which are popular with research conducted by teaching staff from
universities throughout Vietnam as well as oversea Vietnamese linguists. Many of the
researchers specialized in this field have focused on analyzing theoretical matters as
well as exploring the ongoing facts.
1.2. Rationale
English is widely regarded as one of the key languages that help Vietnam
integrate into the world; therefore, studying English plays an important role in almost
1


all Vietnamese school curricula. However, in the classroom where English is treated as
a foreign language (EFL), as a teacher of English and after years of teaching, I have
realized that many Vietnamese teachers face several challenges in their attempt to make
their students comprehend. This issue has raised heated discussions among teachers

over the problem of how and how much Vietnamese should be exploited in order to
assure students’ understanding as well as to achieve the goals set in teaching procedures.
Therefore, the aim of this study mainly focuses on figuring out how teachers’ belief
matches with what they do within their teaching practice at Vu Van Hieu high school.
This is the reason that leads to the study proposal entitled “High school English
teachers’ code switching: belief and practice.” The study is expected to help high
school teachers investigate the code-switching in depth as it can shed light on the beliefs
and practices of code switching in the teaching of English as a second language in
bilingual classrooms.
1.3. Aims of the study
This study deals with high school English teachers’perception and their codeswitching between English and Vietnamese in the classoom and aslo uncovers how
much their realities match their perception, i.e, between their belief and their practice.
1.4. Research questions
Based on the aims set up above, the study tries to answer the following two
questions:
1. How do teachers of English practice code-switching in their English classes?
2. How do their practices of code-switching match with their perception and
students’ opinions about the use of English and Vietnamese in their English classes?
1.5. Significance of the study
This study asserts the key factors including the culprits, the effects and the aims
of code-switching of the teaching process, and the relationship between beliefs and
practice of teachers in the classroom.
Furthermore, in this study, it is hoped that the findings will give me some
experience of teaching English as well as equip myself with up-to-date knowledge in
code-switching with my colleagues.
1.6. Scope of the study
The study focuses on the teachers’ opinions about using both languages (English
2

and Vietnamese) and their common practice of using them. In other words, it places
focus on what they say and what they do with regard to their use of languages in their
instructions of English.
1.7. Design of the study
The thesis consists of five chapters as follows:
Chapter I: Introduction. This chapter includes the rationales of the study, the aims and
scope of the study as well as the research questions.
Chapter II discusses the previously conducted research by both foreign and domestic
authors to give the whole picture of the matter. This this chapter, key definitions are
brought forward including bilingualism, code-switching as well as their types and
categories and so on.
Chapter III is composed of methodology which consists of the key methods of
collecting and analyzing data. Also, in this chapter participants and procedure of the
thesis are mentioned and analyzed in depth.
Chapter IV analyses the data obtained from interviews as well as classroom observation.
Chapter V concludes the findings of the present study as well as the suggestions for
further study and the shortcomings of this thesis.

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Previous studies
The pioneers in this field in the 1970s can be mentioned such as Fishman, Platt&
Platt with the studies published in 1971 and 1975 respectively. Those described and
discussed the situation of individual cases and code-switching patterns. In the later
3


decade, linguistics including Romains (1989) and Poplack (1980) classified two main
constraints of code-switching: morpheme and equivalence in syntax. In the last decade
of the twentieth century, linguists paid more attention to causes of code-switching and
role of teachers in the classroom where code-switching took place. This movement has

resulted in projects concerning classroom context of bilingualism, such as English and
French by Flyman and NicolasBurenhult (1991) with the study named “Code-switching
in second language teaching of French”. The role of code-switching lied in the heart of
focus. Undoubtedly, in Flyman’s research, switching codes was used a tool of emotion
expression (anger, sympathy), topic change, misunderstanding avoidance. In the period
of that decade, the core of linguists’ attention appeared the frequency and the area in
which teachers’ speech was code-switched, for instance, Martin-Jones, M. (1995)
claimed that code-switching in the classroom context was notably between English and
Spanish. Additionally, it served various functions.
Since the twenty first century has benchmarked a booming era of code-switching
studies in which many other languages are the subjects of examination, for instance,
code-switching between English (the most common language) and Malay, Chinese,
Japanese, African languages and so forth. Discussions among scholars upon the use of
mother tongue, types and functions of code-switching have been raised and heated.
However, the above mentioned study findings just made a list of code-switching types,
reasons or purposes regardless of explaining the advantages or disadvantages of codeswitching in the classroom. On the contrary, others reasoned that code-switching was
beneficial towards students’ learning.
Nowadays, code-switching is widely accepted as a teaching method, thus,
attitudes expressed by students and teachers have been the subjects of focus.
In terms of code-switching history in Vietnam, it surely first officially started
when French settlers opened schools. The majority of studies concentrate on codeswitching behaviours and patterns in the classroom and nearly most of the studies are
of ten years of age; typically, the researchers are both domestic and oversea teachers,
lecturers and linguists, such as Nguyen, T. N (2016), Nguyen, H. Q. (2011) and others.
It is suggested from the above revision that code-switching be an integral part of
teaching process. More or less, it still exists, and as a result, it is even accepted as a
teaching method. Even several linguists have admitted its effectiveness and benefits in
4


teaching and learning although others emphasized its negative effects.

2.2. Bilingualism and code-switching
Grosjean (1982, p.18) pertained bilingualism as “the regular use of two or more
languages” regardless of levels of proficiency. Bilingualism is categorized in three types
by Weinrich (1953) including compound, coordinate and subordinate.
Code-switching is viewed differently by bilingual researchers, whereas it is
generally accepted as switching from a language to another. In the classrooms, codeswitching, the common standpoint amongst researchers often links it with the usage of
mother tongue or source language (L1) and the foreign language, in other words, target
language (L2).
2.3. Code-switching in teaching and learning context
2.3.1. Definition of code-switching in teaching
Teachers’ code-switching has been categorized into two broad groups, namely,
classroom management and content transmission by Canagarajah (1995). Later on,
Ferguson (2003) developed the idea to part of curriculum access, classroom
management and interpersonal relations.
In the classroom context where code-switching is not an exception, it is widely
accepted that using two languages alternatively is code-switching. Teachers of foreign
languages are the ones who use code-switching in classrooms as a teaching aid in their
lessons.
In teaching context, code-switching relates to how often and types of code
switching are employed by teachers and how it affects the learning result of students.
Some other notable definitions of code-switching can be seen as “the mixing of words,
phrases and sentences from two distinct grammatical (sub) systems across sentence
boundaries within a speech event” (Bokamba, 1989, p.279).
In conclusion, code-switching is still a controversial issue among researchers.
However deeply it is studied, there will not be a single definition. It is obvious in
previous studies that code-switching is used intentionally in the classroom. The reasons
are diverse, however, the final purpose is to “help students to learn English” (Lee,
2010, p.256).
2.3.2. Purposes and types of code-switching
Code-switching is a common activity in the English lessons led by teachers in

5


both multilingual and bilingual classes. In fact, this phenomenon is employed to serve
the following purposes:
It is believed that there is plethora of sorts of code-switching including,
according to classification by various researchers and, afterwards, listed by Rebecca
(2010, p.3) in four main types as teaching grammar, checking comprehension, social
reasons and time pressure.
Code-switching, in the contention of Appel and Muysken (1987) is classified
into two types, including intrasentential and intersentential. i.e. intrasentential codeswitching occurs within a sentence; however, intersentential happens among
sentences.Based on the results of studies by Poplack (1980), Nguyen, T.H. (2013)
summarized code-switching into the three following types:
Extra-sentential (equals to intersentential) or tag-switching in which teachers
insert tags including fillers (ah, uh, hm and so forth), besides, the tags can appear at the
end or in the middle of the sentences.
Intrasentential code-switching is composed of supplementing the sentence of the
target language with parts of speech of teachers’ mother tongue whilst not violating the
target language’s grammatical rules or vice versa.
Intersentential code-switching, according to Poplack (1980) (as cited by Nguyen,
T. H.) occurs within a clause or a sentence.
2.3.3. The importance of Code-switching in teaching context
In Norrish’s (1997) opinion, code-switching was employed when the
information in the text book was beyond students’ acquisition ability, in addition, when
teachers could not find any better methods to adapt complicated knowledge to students’
level.

Cole (1998) emphasized the pivotal part of code-switching as a tool to enhance
students’ awareness and responsibility in learning, as a result, the classroom atmosphere
would be free of anxiety. It surely brought about better results. Therefore, it is essential

to perceive the functions of code-switching as Sert (2005) noted “will obviously lead to
better instruction by either eliminating it or dominating its use during the foreign
language instruction” (Sert 2005, p.56).
In the aspect of the necessity, Cook (2001) highlighted that teachers should use
6


their first language; however, in a relevant amount, to clarify their instructions of
activities that benefit students.
According to Badruh (2009) code-switching is crucial since, psychologically
speaking; it provides a conductive environment in the classroom whistle satisfies
students in their learning process.
The role of code-switching was indicated by many researchers and scholars, such
as: Flyman (1999), Lui (2001), Ahmad (2009), Xu (2010), Lee (2010) and so on.
Ciprinani (2001) claimed code-switching can be used by teachers to repeat .i.e. when
the teacher facilitates a task management, he or she can use L1 (mother tongue) to
emphasis the task. When Zabrodjkaja (2007) observed the teaching and learning at a
university, she drew a conclusion in which teachers switched between two languages
(mother tongue and English) but in case of necessity, to praise students. Gearon (2011,
p.148) pointed out that code-switching was an important strategy to “assist learners in
immersion programs”.
There have been numerous research conducted worldwide that appreciated codeswitching. For instance, a study by Badrud and Kamaruzaman (2009) shows that nearly
75% of the respondents asserted their teachers’ code-switching was to check
understanding.
A questionnaire on the role of code-switching handed out in a study by
IsratJahanShichi&A.B.M. Shafiqul Islam (2016) has revealed that teachers switch
codes in order to: compare syntax problems in teaching grammar, show relationship or
differences between languages, clarify key words in the lessons, make the class more
interactive, make class discussions lively, make sure students have got the right
meaning of new words, get students penetrate into the lessons.

It is undeniable that code-switching has assisted students interpret classroom
instructions at the beginning, helped them to understand the meaning of words,
especially, abstract connotations or concepts. Above all, code-switching has led to
students’ proficiency improvement.
2.3.4. Teachers’s beliefs and practices
One of the key factors that considerably impact on the effectiveness of students’
learning and teachers’ teaching in the classroom context appears to be teachers’ beliefs
7


in their teaching in the classroom.
In terms of foundation, beliefs of teaching are formed on the basis of teachers’
experience as instructors at work and as learners at university previously. In other
words, teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning are formed during their study at
university and thence, their professional activities after graduation
Teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning activities play an important role
in their latter practice owing to what they bear in mind, therefore, beliefs are often
episodic and are not generally tested and proved true for all teachers.
Teachers’ beliefs is composed of, according to Kindsvatter and many other
researchers, experience as a learner in their early stage at university, theory gained from
books, practical activities at work as well as their personality.
How do teachers feel about practicing code-switching in their classrooms?
From Richard’s viewpoint (1998, p.94), teachers are “information, attitudes,
values, expectations, theories and assumptions about teaching and learning”. With
regard of belief, Burn (1992) referred that what teachers believed would effect on their
teaching. However, there are teachers who are pessimistic about their code-switching.
In the study conducted by Rebecca (2010), she pointed out the feeling of a teacher
participant when using the mother tongue in English class as “not the right way”.
In the aspect of frequency, the majority of teachers agreed that mother tongue

should be use sometimes in the classroom. In the reasons why mother tongue was used
in the classroom, the researchers summarized five main culprits which were: it
contributed in assisting comprehension, it was time-saving, it made students more
comfortable and confident, managed behaviors of students and established rapport.
To summarize, code-switching is beneficial when relaxing students, giving
feedback, assessment, establishing relationship with the learners, explaining
unequivalent structures, proving cultural knowledge. The code-switching activities
depend very much on how the teachers see their own code-switching in the classroom
context.
2.3.5. Relationship between teachers’ code-switching beliefs and practices
In terms of relationship between practice and beliefs of teachers in their
classrooms, Johnson (1994, p.439) reveals that teaching practice is influenced by
teacher’s belief; therefore, “understanding teachers’ belief is essential to improving
8


teaching practices”.
To be more detailed, types of code-switching, the causes and the time when this
phenomenon happens and the relation between code-switching and bilingualism are
studied in my study.
Researchers, such as Richards and Weber (1985), approved teachers’ codeswitching as a way to facilitate communication, and they argued that teachers switched
codes to improve the learning process. Johnson (1992) found out that teachers’ concept
about teaching English via mother tonguecan help student shape their own learning
style.
Researchers used various forms to identify how beliefs and practice are linked
to each other, such as: class observations, interviews (Jones and Fong, 2007), (Yon,
2012), lesson plan analysis (Johnson, 1992).
However, many reseachers have found the negative relationship between the two
above mentioned aspects. Although the purpose of the lessons were communicative
approach, the practices were rules based on grammatical rules.

2.3.6. Functions of code-switching in the classroom
Although code-switching is still a controversial matter in which several linguists
approve while others discourage, it is a tool of teaching in many cultures or circles of
bilingualism. As mentioned in many studies as targets of researchers, code-switching
serves the following functions:
Flyman (1991) categorized code-switching in five major functions including
linguistic insecurity, topic switch, affective functions (i.e. teachers switch codes to show
their feelings), socializing functions (to maintain relationship, solidarity etc), repetitive
functions (to make sure students understand teachers’ instructions). Gibson F. (2003,
p.38) revised the code-switching functions as a tool to assist students’ comprehension,
to manage the classroom activities and to ensure relationship in the classroom. Nguyen
T.N. in his study’s review quoted some researchers’ opinions, such as Garcia’s,
Moodley’s view on the function of code-switching as a tool to spread teacher’s
knowledge, check understanding and feedback; boost relationship between teachers and
students and so forth.

9


In sum, in spite of the difference in the number of kinds in code-switching, the
above mentioned researchers seemed to adopt code-switching as a useful tool in
teaching activities in the classroom.
2.3.7. Definitions of terms
Code Switching: There are numerous of definitions of code-switching,
however, according to Soodeh (2012, p.219) “Code switching is the communicative
exchange between two languages codes among people who contribute to those specific
codes.”
Bilingualism: It is stated in the study published by Verplaetse (2010, p.559) that
“bilingualism is defined as a speaker’s ability to use two languages for
communication”. Students and teachers at Vu Van Hieu high school are comprehensive

bilingual, thus, code-switching is unavoidable.

Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Research Design
The study is qualitative research and narrative analysis. To find out the teachers’
beliefs and practices of code switching applied in EFL classrooms at Vu Van Hieu high
school, both observations and interviews, namely group-focus interviews, are chosen as
methods for my thesis. Three teachers and three students from my school at all grades
were selected as participants. Data is explained, evaluated to comprehend the teachers'
beliefs and the way they put their opinions into practice.
3.2. Instruments of data collection
There are numerous tools of collecting data for a scientific research, such as,
questionnaires, interviews, surveys and so forth.
In order to gain the most reliable results, I used two instruments to collect data,
including observation and group interviews.

10


3.2.1. Classroom observation
In order to find the answer to the question “How do teachers practice their codeswitching?” Observation was conducted at random throughout the 2018-2019 academic
year. Of course, prior to choosing a lesson, the thesis author had been permitted by
teachers who took part in this study. In the observed lessons, an observation sheet is a
must-have for the researcher to write down every detail that serves the purpose of the
observer as Masoumeh stated “an observer should write down everything he or she sees
and hears”. Therefore, a classroom observation sheet was designed and it was assisted
by a recording. Before the observation took place, teachers and the thesis author had a
brief discussion about the lesson, the aims and the place of the observer.
3.2.1.1. General concepts
As Reed and Bergemann (2001, p.6) reclaimed classroom observation “the

bridge between the worlds of theory and practice”, therefore, theory, in this case beliefs
of qualified teachers, can be examined in certain and specific situations.
Another view about classroom observation proclaimed by Mathew T. Hora
(2013) is that it is a method which helps observe directly and recurs in real time
Peer observations are one of the most popular methods in Vietnam in which
fellow colleagues accumulate information in terms of teaching methods, the accuracy
of the content. For the sake of the thesis’ purpose, the researcher of this thesis mostly
uses peer observations since its participant teachers feel much more confident and more
relaxed when being observed.
Classroom observations provide rich data on which administrators and fellow
teachers rely on their assessments and evaluations. The achieved data can also be used
for research as well as for professional development activities in the successive teaching
practice.
3.2.1.2. Procedure
Pham, V. H. (2004) drew four steps of conducting classroom observation
including collecting material, preparation, observation and feedback. In the third stage,
in the classroom the observer collects data selectively and focuses on choosing materials
and document that are able to answer the preset questions. Feedback is normally
understood the final step when observers and teachers sit together and discuss about the

11


strengths and weaknesses of the teaching method applied in the lesson. Afterwards, both
sides have an opportunity to overtly and frankly speak out their views and beliefs.
For effective observations, there are a few things to be prepared beforehand, such
as, field notes which mark time and procedure of the lesson; the observer must think
twice about the most suitable seating; checklist which ensures the observers do not get
out of track as well as do not miss anything; a follow-up conversation is a “must” in
order to facilitate both sides to explain and discuss.

3.2.2. Focus group interviews
A focus group interview is one of the effective methods in a qualitative research.
Anderson (1990, p.241) defined it as “a group comprised of individuals with
characteristics who focus discussions on a given issue or topic.”
As a group interview is regarded time-consuming, to arrange a meeting for a
focus group interview I had to ask for permission of every member including teachers
and students.
3.3. Participants
For the purpose of the thesis, the participants are picked up at random (for
students), namely, for each class, a representative is selected in regard of their study
reports, diversity of levels, grades, age groups.
The chosen participants are divided into two groups including teachers group
and students group. In the teachers group, there are three experienced teachers using the
latest teaching materials. In students group, there are three of them coming from
different classes and representing three grades at the school.
3.3.1. Teachers
The central role of this thesis is played by the three teachers at Vu Van Hieu high
school. Due to the small amount of number, all the three my co-workers are willing to
participate in the study. However, all of the teachers-participants urge to be anonymous
in the study, hence, their names are numbers from one (T1) to three (T3). Moreover,
their teaching lessons are not allowed to be published beyond this study. Several lessons
which have been chosen at random to be observed are under their permission.
3.3.2. Students
Students are guaranteed to hide their real names and encouraged to tell the truth
about their feelings towards English lessons as well as their teachers’ code-switching
12


during the lessons in general, not just code-switching in the observed lessons. They are
only informed about the interview shortly after the observation but fully provided with

information of the interview. They are all informed that the content would be recorded.
Some of the selected are under eighteen years of age; hence, the agreement of the
principal appears decisive.
3.3.3. The moderator
I work as the moderator of the interview in order to ensure the interview will not
get out of track. Also, I myself am a fellow teacher of the participants. Hence, the
interview is believed to be a talk among co-workers speaking out the common issues
emerging in teaching.
3.5. Data collecting procedures
+ Preparation for the observations
For classroom observations, observation sheets, field notes, a recorder are
always in a full ready state. In order to confirm the legacy of the observations, all the
documents, such as, confirmation letter, agreement letters have been signed before the
official class hours. Each of the recorded lessons is the final result of the agreement
between observed teachers and the author of this research. In case of not missing any
precious and valuable details of the observed lessons, field notes can be used to register
emotional responses in the classroom.
The content of the lessons is critically transcribed in written form which,
afterwards, becomes a primary source for the upcoming analysis.
+ Preparation for the interviews:
Before and at the beginning of the interview, both all the fellow teachers and
students are informed about the purpose, activities of the talk. Adequate preparation can
guarantee the smoothness of the talk; as a result, the outcome was more reliable.
Place for the meetings are registered and keep secret in order not to disturb others
at the school. Additionally, the place of interviews is in the school’s campus and it takes
place after working hours.
Prior to the interview to take place, a list of most possible questions has been
chosen in advance.
3.5. Data analysis
In the thesis, the deductive thematic method has been used for the following

reasons:
13


Firstly, the resources are limited since the number of interview participants are
small (three teachers) although the student population at school is great. In order to
balance the two numbers in each group as well as balance the group size between them,
the number of student population is limited to three only. Time is another key factor as
when this study was conducted, teachers were busy preparing for their professional
teaching competition, particularly, students were engrossed into their review for a
finally test in English as well as other subjects.
To begin with, the observation sheets and field notes will be the first resource to
be looked at. Next, the recordings of the observed lessons were listened, transcribed and
finallyanalyzed. The most trustworthy data is stored in the audio recordings;
nonetheless, the background noise turns out the most challenging stumbling blocks.
Secondly, after looking at all the transcription texts, sentences with codeswitching were screened and selected to serve as illustration for the findings.
In the final stage, reports and suggestions were put forward for further studies.
Overall, these documented materials are used and analyzed to serve the findings in the
concrete case of code-switching at Vu Van Hieu high school.
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Code-switching in the English lessons at Vu Van Hieu high school:
realities.
The units which have been observed were:
No

Unit

Title of the unit

skills

Class

T

hour(s)
1

9

Undersea world (grade 10)

5 skills

10

1 &2

2

12

The Asian Games (grade

Language

1

3

11)

focus

Films and Cinema (grade

Reading

1

1

10)

Speaking

1

2

The Association of

writing

1

3

3

4

13

16

Southeast Asian Nations
(grade 12)

14


5

15

international organization

Reading

1

3

Speaking

1

3

(grade 12)
6

10

Preserving the environment
(grade 10)

Table 4.1: Observed units at Vu Van Hieu high school
In total, the number of observed units was 16 class hours, in addition, each of
the unit was taught in five periods including reading, speaking, listening, writing and
language focus or grammar in other words. For the purposes of enlightening the
research’s aims, each of the lesson’s code-switching activities will be truly described,
compared and etc.
The below table shows the comparison between the two teachers T1 and T2 in
terms of code-switching in their listening sections:

Unit 9

T1 (times)

T2 (times)

Undersea World

16

18

(Lesson 3: Listening)

Table 4.2: Frequency counted in the listening lesson conducted by T1 and T2
Over all, the total code-switching times used by T1 and T2 in the whole unit 9:
Undersea world in 10 class hours can be summarized as:
Unit 9:

T1 (times)

T2 (times)

Reading

14

12

Speaking

26

20

Listening

16

18

Writing

22

26

Language focus

25

31

Undersea World

Table 4.3: Code-switching frequency in unit 9 by T1 and T2

Teachers

Frequency of code-switching appearance in each skill’s time
(on average)

15


Reading

Speaking

Listening

writing

Language

focus

T1

14

26

16

22

25

T2

12

20

18

26

31

T3

14

22

/

26

28

Table 4.4: The average code-switching frequency of three teachers
And, afterwards, some initial conclusions can be drawn from the observations as
below:
The teachers switched codes all the vocabulary of the pre-reading task.
Furthermore, they also switched codes to make the instructions clear. They even
stressed on the usages of structures practiced in the lesson. All the examined teachers,
more or less, used code-switching as an effective tool in managing class, giving
instructions, explaining. Above all, code-switchingwas present at any time, and in any
period of the lessons.From my observation, it can be summarized that code-switching
in classroom context seems unavoidable. It is obvious that the types of this teacher’s
code-switching were rather varied.
By and large, as far as I can see, the more experienced the teacher is, the more
she switches codes. In addition, the younger the teacher is, the more English language
is used in the classroom. In fact, teaching activities in a bilingual environment, it is
unavoidable for teachers to switch between codes. The matter lies in the adoptable
amount of code-switching in the situation of the classroom.
Code-switching occurred most often in the language focus and writing period as
teachers seemed to try to make their lessons more comprehensive and explain clearly
for their students understand the lesson to do exercises.
Types of Code-switching from the observation at Vu Van Hieu high school
Typically in unit 9: Undersea World by T1 and T2 alone, the types of codeswitching was prescribed as illustrated in the table below.
Types of code-switching

Parts of a sentence

T1

T2

(times)

(times)

45

47

16


Whole sentences

33

35

Fillers

17

18

Tags

8

7

Table 4.5: Types of code-switching in Unit 9 by T1 and T2
In the total examined class hours, the code-switching by three teachers on
average was displayed as:
Types of code-

T1

T2

T3

switching

(times)

(times)

(times)

Parts of a sentence

51

54

36

Whole sentences

38

40

30

Fillers

17

19

16

Tags

9

10

8

Table 4.6.the average frequency of code-switching in types by three teachers
From the classroom observation, it can be concluded that teachers’ codeswitching functions to: Draw attention of students to the lesson; Assign tasks to
students; Check whether students get clear about what they are supposed to do next;

Explain the meaning of vocabulary and the usage of grammatical phenomenon; Deliver
instructions in a game or a speaking task; Convey teachers’ emotions via fillers; Tighten
the mutual relationship between teachers and students, therefore, student more actively
take part in the lessons.
4.2. Code-switching perceptions of teachers of English (Data obtained
from the interviews)
In sum, none of the teacher in the interview denied the role of code-switching in
their teaching activities. On contrary, they seemed rather optimistic towards the future
code-switching and the used of their mother tongue in teaching process.
It can be concluded based on the above interview that all the teachers perceived
the importance of the use of Vietnamese and the role of code-switching in their teaching
activities. They share the same view of maintaining the use of Vietnamese and codeswitching activities because they highly appreciated the benefits their code-switching
had brought about in supplying students with interpretation. They also admitted that the
17


frequency of the use of Vietnamese in code-switching was rather high while hoping to
reduce this in the future. Obviously, the teachers’ beliefs matched their real when they
switched codes, as a result, their students seemed active, excited and they were willing
to take part in the designed activities in class. Their perception about code-switching
was rather practical, however, they did better than they had expected. In comparison
with the data in the observation sheets and from my direct observation I learnt that their
code-switching was exploited to deliver instructions, eliciting vocabulary, explaining
grammatical structures, manage the classroom, draw students’ attention and so forth.
4.3. Teachers’ code-switching in the eyes of students
Upon answering question number one about the situations in which codeswitching occurred, students confirmed that teachers used Vietnamese when eliciting
new vocabulary, highlighted more concretely when assured that Vietnamese was used
to make the vocabulary clear to classmates who are not very good at lexisand focused
on the situation when appeared hard exercises or structures. All the three students
admitted the level was “enough” and did not express any other different ideas. To

answer question number three which required the students to comment about teachers’
code-switching’s effect on the students’ comprehension, all of the students revealed that
the use of Vietnamese in the classroom had imposed positive effect on the
understanding. When suggesting the usage of Vietnamese in the future, all of the three
students completely agreed to reduce the amount of Vietnamese in order to provide
students more chances to practice English. In response to question six about the trend
of complete English in English lessons nowadays, none of the students approved the
elimination of mother tongue in teaching English. They all thought of the
ineffectiveness of a complete English lesson. Students pointed out that Vietnamese was
commonly used in the speaking and listening class hours.
Like all the interviewed teachers, all the students looked at the bright side of
using Vietnamese in conjunction with English in class hours. It can be deduced that
Vietnamese or, in other words, code-switching is an integral part of teaching activities
as well as a way to acquire language knowledge for students.

18


Chapter 5. CONCLUSION
5.1. Recapitulation
The thesis has mentioned three main types of code-witching, including
insentential, intrasentential and intersentential, afterwards, has found out the two most
common types among teachers at Vu Van Hieu high school: within sentences, fillers/
tags insertion. All the types above match with the findings and conclusions by other
Vietnamese as well as international researchers in the field.
Teachers’ view about the role of Vietnamese perfectly matched with reality.
From the observation, the author of this thesis has learned that there were still some
students seemed to be put behind in the lesson in which English was the dominant
language. It is undoubted that the opinion of teachers about using code-switching basing
on the classroom situation matched with the suggestions from interviewed students.

From the side of students, code-switching was still encouraged and approved, yet, they
recommended that teachers provide more chances for students to be exposed to English.
In this case, teachers also figured out the necessity of code-switching. However, like
their students, they hoped to reduce the amount of Vietnamese in their classes.
19


5.2. Implications
The findings of my research can be a reference for teachers who are in service
and also for those who are teachers-to-be. The findings help teachers have an insight
into the benefits of code-switching; besides, teachers can explore these findings when
they tend to use code-switching activities as a teaching tool. Utterances provided by
teachers in their code-switching activities can be used as samples in any other studies
and exploited as evidence for reasons of code-switching.
5.3. Limitations
The thing that I feel most regretful about when conducting this research is that I
could not commence my observation earlier in order to have a more insightful setting
into the matter.
Apart from the above mentioned limitation, the choice of students to take part in
the interview would be greater if more students had been informed. Moreover, time did
not do this study a favour since the school year was approaching the end-of-term test.
Our teachers and students were busy preparing for their finally examination;
consequently, we did not have enough time to discuss the matter of code-switching in
depth.
In terms of the textbook used at Vu Van Hieu high school, the coursebooks,
which are not widely used nowadays in Vietnam, are rather traditionally designed.
Hence, more concret comparison of code-switching activities with other teachers at
other high school appears difficult.
5.4. Suggestions for further research
This thesis only studies about high school English teachers on the beliefs and

practices of code switching in the teaching of English as a second language in bilingual
classrooms. Therefore, in the further studies, it is suggested that the researchers should
study about the positive and negative impact of code switching on language practice
(English) ability of high school students in bilingual classrooms.

20