Published

2020-07-01

Exploring the Code-Switching Behaviours of Chilean EFL High School Teachers: A Function-Focused Approach

Exploración de las conductas de cambio de código lingüístico en profesores de lengua extranjera de secundaria: una perspectiva enfocada en las funciones

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v22n2.81152

Keywords:

code-switching, English as a foreign language teaching, functional analysis, L1 use (en)
análisis funcional, cambio de código lingüístico, enseñanza del inglés, uso de L1 (es)

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The present study sought to assess and characterise the amount of first language use that two English as a foreign language teachers used to accomplish a number of functions in two classroom modes. An adapted version of the Functional Language Alternation Analysis of Teacher Talk scheme was used to analyse teacher talk in six English as a foreign language classes at a public high school. Results showed that the first language holds a hegemonic presence in these classrooms across a wide range of pedagogical functions. It is argued that initiatives that present prescriptive approaches to foreign language use need to take into account linguistic, contextual, and idiosyncratic factors in the English as a foreign language classroom.
El presente estudio buscó evaluar y caracterizar la cantidad de lengua materna que dos profesoras de inglés como lengua extranjera utilizaron para completar una serie de funciones en dos modos de clase. Se usó una versión adaptada del instrumento “Análisis Funcional de la Alternancia del Lenguaje del Profesor” para analizar el discurso de las profesoras en seis clases de inglés, en una institución de educación secundaria. Los resultados mostraron que la lengua materna tiene una presencia hegemónica en el aula de inglés, con una amplia gama de funciones pedagógicas. Se argumenta que las iniciativas que presenten aproximaciones prescriptivas sobre el uso de la lengua extranjera necesitan tener en cuenta los factores lingüísticos, contextuales e idiosincrásicos del aula de inglés.

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Exploring the Code-Switching Behaviours of Chilean EFL High School Teachers: A Function-Focused Approach. (2020). Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 22(2), 115-130. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v22n2.81152

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