cesses and cannot devise lesson plans
based on the balanced use of languages (Hamers, & Blanc 1989). So, it
is essential to make teachers and educators understand the utility and benefits of code-switching in the EFL classrooms. These are just some of the
ways in which bilingual teachers and
learners negotiate their way through
classroom interactions as they attempt
to make sense of each other’s contributions. Martin-Jones (2003, p.7) explains that “with the passage of time,
particular interactional routines get
established, class by class, and bilingual teaching/learning events take a
particular shape”. It has been found
that participant-related switching by
learners in classroom interaction often
consists of what Lipski (1978, p.76)
describes as “an attempt to override
communicative stumbling blocks by
falling back on L1”. Participant-related
switching is also used by teachers in a
“hater
of
facilitative”
capacity
(Romaine, 1989) anticipating that
learners would not understand an upcoming utterance if it were in the target language, they fall back on L1. Indeed, participant –related codeswitching has been found to predominate
among both learners and teachers in
classrooms as diverse as bilingual education programs for linguistic minority
children in the United States (Zentella,
198.)
Conclusion Based on the results,
it was found that it was an unavoidable and inevitable phenomenon because teachers’ codeswitching was
mainly in the ISS. In the EFL classrooms, intercalants must focus on the
content and the language of the discourse. And for this purpose, teacher
must know how he has to focus on
language and contents without breaking links of the classroom discourse.
During the analysis of the sessions, it
was observed that all the teachers
followed the self-determined course
for the use of codes and due to this
reason the number of switched utterances vary at a higher level. In Pakistani system of education, English also
serves a dual role: As a compulsory
subject and as a medium of instruction. In public sector schools, English is
used as a content subject and its use
as a medium of instruction is not clear
in the language policy and this uncertainty results in code- switching among
the intercalants of EFL classrooms.
Therefore, after analyzing the situation
in the EFL classrooms, the researchers
recommend more conscious and cognizant use of inter-sentential switches
particularly at the level of proficient
bilinguals. Focusing on the indications
of the results, it can be recommended
that a clear language policy should be
devised for the promotion of effective
interactional patterns in the EFL classroom. The same can be substantiated
from the above outlined literature
review that code switching may facilitate language development as a mechanism for providing language samples
and may also be utilized as a teaching
method for teaching second languages. Irrespective of the benefits of
ISS, these switches can cause interference in the acquisition of the target
language code if they are not used
carefully only as a teaching method/
aid. However, this situation demands
immediate attention of the policy planners to determine the prerequisites of
ISS for the better development of interactional patterns in the EFL classrooms. Accordingly, the nature of ISS
patterns of interaction should be further traced out to understand the interactions between teachers and students. In this paper, the researchers
have laid a foundation for future researches that may explore further dimensions of teachers’ and students’
talk in the EFL classrooms. Finally, a
meaningful language use in the context and flexibility of the curriculum
are underlined as a crux of the study.
The most outstanding recommended
actions are as follows: Teachers must
be aware of students’ proficiency level
because the sensible combination of
native and target languages can enhance the learning competence of the
students. Furthermore, a language
philosophy values any language variation for human communication; hence
dual use of language is the only way to
establish a point of deviation from TL
in an EFL classroom if based on the
urgent needs of the learners. Instructional activities for linguistically diverse
students must not only be interactive
24
in nature but also be rich in cultural
context for comparative and contrastive analyses of native and target language connections.
Therefore, after analyzing the
situation in the EFL classrooms, the researchers recommend more conscious and
cognizant use of intersentential switches particularly at the level of proficient
bilinguals. Focusing on the
indications of the results, it
can be recommended that a
clear language policy should
be devised for the promotion
of effective interactional
patterns in the EFL classroom.
The same can be substantiated from the above outlined
literature review that code
switching may facilitate language development as a
mechanism for providing language samples and may also
be utilized as a teaching method for teaching second languages. Irrespective of the
benefits of ISS, these switches
can cause interference in the
acquisition of the target language code if they are not
used carefully only as a teaching method/aid.