Students Perceptions towards Code-Switching in EFL Classroom

Abstract

Code-switching is a linguistic phenomenon that occurs in multilingual academic societies around the globe. In Pakistan both (Urdu and English) languages are used in government departments, corporate sectors, and education. People switch or mix languages while interacting and communicating with each other. Aimed of the present study was to explore the perceptions of EFL College level learners towards code-switching. The researcher selected 562 students (from both genders) enrolled in the intermediate secondary year at Degree colleges located in Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan. These respondents were selected through simple random sampling. A pretested and valid close-ended questionnaire was used for data collection from the students. The students feel confident (M=4.14) and motivated (M=4.21) to learn. Some students also believed that using code-switching by the teachers encourages them to participate in classroom activities (M=3.98). The EFL 1st years learners had a better attitude toward code-switching than 2nd years EFL learners.