Code Switching in Primary Mathematics Classrooms

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2011-04
Authors
Neo, Klan Sen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The medium of instruction for mathematics and science in Malaysia is English. Available empirical research findings have shown that although Malaysian teachers comply with the official language policy for the teaching of these two subjects, the students' first languages (Malay, Chinese and Tamil) are still used, leading to the phenomenon of code-switching in the classrooms. However, information about the nature of the phenomenon of code-switching remains scarce. This study examined the issues of what tyP.es, when, and why code-switching occurred in national and Chinese primary mathematics classrooms in Kelantan. The teaching of mathematics in 16 classes from two types of school was observed and video-recorded. Of the 16 classrooms, eight were from two national schools (SK) and the other eight were from two Chinese primary schools (SJKC). Within the four classrooms of each school, two were Standard 2 and the other two were Standard 5. The duration of each observed class varied from half an hour to an hour. Interviews with teachers and six students in Standard 5 from each of the participating classes were conducted immediately after each classroom observation but separately and consecutively. The language used in the interviews at the SK schools was Malay, whereas at the SJKC schools, interviews were conducted in Mandarin. Each interview was audio-recorded. All video-recorded and audio-recorded data were transcribed verbatim. The research data showed that most primary mathematics teachers resorted to code-switching in teaching, from the beginning to the end of the lessons. -It was found that in mat'hematics classroom discourse, mathematics teachers at SK resorted to code-switching to the students' first language ( 42.46%) more often than SJKC teachers did (40.43%). Alternation of languages served as a useful communicative resource, tool and strategy. Pedagogical considerations gave rise to the use of intrasentential and intersentensial code-switching among the teachers observed. The nine communicative functions of language use proposed by Clark (1974) and the tentative guiding scale developed by the researcher for assigning the Clark's communicative functional values were found to be feasible and useful in examining the patterns and purposes of codeswitching. Besides achieving the nine communicative functions for fulfilling the needs of students' cognitive development, teachers occasionally code-switched to students L I to achieve textual, conversational, affective, social and managerial purposes, such as appealing to the literate and the illiterate (L I & L2), capturing attention, emphasizing a point and other ends. Besides, classroom video recorded data also showed that classes became less active when teacher used English to teach mathematics. This finding suggests that teachers' code-switching is an important teaching strategy when dealing with Limited English Proficient learners. Among the most important implications is that mathematics teachers should be encouraged to use the students' L I, in addition to the official language, as use of the students' L 1 can make teaching more effective, and classroom discourse more relevant to students' needs, specifically through encouraging active involvement in the learning of mathematics.
Description
Keywords
Code Switching , Mathematics
Citation