A Study On Teachers’Code-switching In Senior High School

Code-switching usually refers to “ using two or more language varieties when we communicate with others”. It has been a hot topic since 1960 s at abroad. And in 1968, classroom code-switching was conducted to study at first. However, based on the recent researches, the studies on classroom code-switching mainly focus on the universities and less researchers work on exploring the situation of the senior high school, so this thesis tries to study the current situation of code-switching in senior high school English class. The author hopes that the study could give more suggestions for the code-switching research, meanwhile, it could improve the English teaching level and make English teaching better and better.This thesis adopts three instruments: classroom observations, questionnaires and interview. Besides, it mainly uses quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis to explore the following four research questions:(1)What is the frequency of teachers’ code-switching in senior high school? It aims to make a clear of the proper amount on code-switching so that the teachers can avoid the overuse of the target language in English class.(2)What attitudes teachers and students hold towards code-switching in English class including the attitudes toward to the frequency, the amount and the types of code-switching.(3)What functions do Chinese codes have in English class? Various functions of code-switching were summarized, such as translation function, meta-linguistic function and communicative function and so on.(4)What factors will influence teachers’ code-switching in class?Based on the research findings, we find that code-switching is a common phenomenon which exists in senior high school English class, almost all English teachers use code-switching in their classes. Both teachers and students hold a positive view towards code-switching and think that it is helpful for students’ learning and teachers’ teaching. The functions of Chinese code are translation function, meta-linguistic function and communication function. The teachers’ code-switching mainly is influenced by the following factors: the students’ English basis, the teachers’ and the students’ cognitive factors, the teachers’ attitudes towards code-switching and the limited teaching time and so on.On the basis of this research findings, teachers could use code-switching in English class, but they should use it properly and avoid the overuse of it. Besides, it is necessary for teachers to make clear about the students’ overall English level and make sure to switch their own languages flexibly.