LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Volume 21:8 August 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

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EFL Teachers’ Perception and Practice of Code-switching to Amharic

Megersa Bejiga

Abstract

Code-switching is a prevailing fact in countries like Ethiopia where English is a foreign language and a medium of instruction. Because of this, teachers’ perception and practices of code-switching appears to be worthy of consideration and should be taken into account in EFL research context. This study, therefore, investigated EFL teachers’ perception and practices of code-switching between English and Amharic. A case study design was employed in which interview and observation were predominantly used for data collection process. Interview was meant to assess what teachers think about switching code to Amharic, where English is supposed to be the only medium of instruction in the classroom. Whereas, observation along with audio-recording was used for witnessing the alteration made between the aforementioned languages. The research participants were eight (8) English language teachers, who were conveniently sampled from Goro Secondary School, which is found in Ethiopia, Oromia region of Adama town.

The finding indicated that regardless of some facilitative role code-switching plays in English classroom, most teachers perceive code-switching negatively, as it retard students’ English language acquisition. The interview report revealed that code-switching occurred because of students’ incompetence of understanding lessons delivered through English as a medium of instruction. This in turn, forced teachers to make switching to Amharic in order to help students understand the lesson better. They said that students’ English language incompetence was inherited mainly from lower grades, where mother tongue was used as a medium of instruction. The finding from observation also confirmed that code-switching to Amharic was substantially practiced, which aims to help students with poor English command, and make them understand the instruction better. Teachers’ code-switching practice was implemented to facilitate the classroom functions like to give instruction and clarification of difficult concepts. And also, it is used to explain unclear grammar and vocabulary structures.

Keywords: code-switching, EFL teachers’ perception, practice, Ethiopia, Amharic.

Introduction

Code-switching, the alteration of two or more languages in the same discourse, has been the focus of concern in respect to EFL learning and teaching process. The fact, however, is that there are different perceptions and classroom situations EFL teachers perceive and apply in their classroom setting. In Ethiopian EFL context, code-switching is made between the native languages and the foreign language, which is aimed to be acquired.

In order to acquire English as a foreign language, the significance of using English in EFL classroom is inculcated in the minds of most language teachers (Cook, 2001). However, relatively few studies have examined how English and native language can be used in these classes. Regarding to this, (Thompson, 2006) says, since the late 1800’s, different teaching methods and approaches have advocated how L1 and TL are being used in the classroom e.g. Grammar Translation Method, Direct Method, Audio-lingualism, and Communicative Language Teaching Method.

During the era of Grammar Translation Method, L1 was considered as an essential tool for successful second language acquisition (Cook, 2001). L1 is also used by both teachers and students for translating the reading passages and exercises, giving instructions, grammar explanation and communication (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). As a response to the GTM, the Reform Movement came out in the 1920s and its endeavor was to develop other methods in language teaching, which came to be known as a Direct Method. It recommended that the target language should be learned in the same way as the mother tongue was naturally acquired. Direct Method asserted that students’ native language was never been allowed, and linguists who supported the prevention of the MT, argue that translation will not give the exact meaning of the word (Ibid).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Megersa Bejiga
Department of English Language and literature
Institute of Languages Study and Journalism
Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia
megigreat@gmail.com
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