Teachers Use of Code-Switching in ESL Classrooms at a Chinese Vernacular Primary School

Code-switching is a phenomenon that happens naturally and is widespread among the bilingual and multilingual communities in Malaysia. The use of code-switching occurs in the education domain too. For example, English teachers employ code-switching as one of the teaching strategies in ESL classrooms. This is owing to the decline of English language proficiency among the students and English teachers. Thus, this present research aims to explore the use of code-switching by the teachers in ESL classrooms as well as their perceptions regarding the practice. The research participants were five English teachers at a Chinese vernacular primary school. Interview and survey questionnaire were used as the instruments to carry out this research. The findings indicated that the teachers had mainly used code-switching for curriculum access, followed by code-switching for classroom management discourse and finally code-switching for developing interpersonal relationships. From the teachers’ perceptions, the findings revealed that the teachers had neutral or mixed perceptions with regards to the use of code-switching in ESL classrooms. They agreed that the use of code-switching could help the students to understand the English lessons better. However, it would be best if code-switching was used only when necessary. In sum, the teachers had used code-switching rather strategically to ensure that English teaching and learning occurs smoothly in the ESL classrooms.