Students and Teachers’Points of View on Code-Switching in EFL Classes - A Balance or Imbalance Paradigm?

Oct 15, 2026

This study clarifies whether language alternation in EFL instruction presents strengths or limitations from both teachers’ and students’ perspectives. Qualitative evidence comes from structured interviews with 23 teachers, and survey data uses a five-point Likert questionnaire with 226 students, supported by structured forms from 92 teachers across 34 cities in Turkey. SPSS descriptive analyses report percentages and frequencies and show broad agreement between groups. Students value teachers’ code-switching efforts, while teachers emphasize balanced language switching for communication skills.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Code-switching definitions and debate

Bilingual education and international perspectives

Abstract

Students and Teachers’Points of View on Code-Switching in EFL Classes: A Balance or Imbalance Paradigm? İslam YILDIZ1 Amasya University Ayfer SU-BERGİL2 Amasya University Abstract This study aims to clarify whether the implementation of language alternation in the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) has strengths or limitations from both teachers and students'points of view. By making use of both qualitative data which was conducted through structured interviews with 23 teachers in one of the provinces of Turkey as well as applying structured forms to 92 teachers from 34 cities in Turkey and quantitative data containing five-point Likert scale questionnaire collected from 226 students, the current research reports students’ stances towards teacher code-switching in EFL classrooms in Turkish secondary and high school context, and teachers’ language choice causes with inferable results. The data from the questionnaire were collated, and the SPSS program was used to calculate the descriptive calculations involving percentages and frequencies. The results of the study reveal that students and teachers tend to agree on the majority of questions. While students welcomed the teachers’ code-switching efforts in English lessons, the teachers advocated the balanced conduct of language switching, especially in terms of communication skills. Keywords: Code-switching, Mother Tongue, English Language, EFL Teachers, Learners DOI: 10.29329/epasr.2021.383.1 1MA Candidate, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Amasya University, Amasya, Turkey, ORCID: 0000-0001-8846-9740 Correspondence: [islam_yildizz@hotmail.com](islam_yildizz@hotmail.com) 2 Assist. Prof. Dr., Faculty of Education, Amasya University, Amasya, Turkey, ORCID: 0000-0002-9277-2862 Email: [ayfersubergil@amasya.edu.tr](ayfersubergil@amasya.edu.tr) Introduction From time to time, bilingual or multilingual people switch back and forth between two or more different languages and that is called Code-Switching (CS). Even though there has recently been much attention on the reasons for EFL teachers’ code-switching in their lessons there are few studies that shed light upon whether the use of mother tongue or only English in the classroom has facilitating or debilitating effect from the perspective of students’ feelings, thoughts, and beliefs. The technical examination of bilingualism with both improved technology and novel approaches on language teaching in educational areas have led to a new perspective towards language learning and teaching phenomenon. When the Bilingual Education Act (BEA) was enacted in the 1960s, the term codeswitching, shifting between two or more languages in the classroom, appeared as a controversial issue in the United States. While some of the scholars (Akkaya & Aydin, 2019; Auer, 2016; Eldridge, 1995; Rezvani & Rasekh, 2011; Sert, 2005; Yao, 2011) were in the opinion that the use of mother tongue in foreign language teaching classrooms has a facilitating effect on the learning and teaching process, the others (Hua, 2008; Jingxia 2010; Moore, 2002; Sridhar, 1996) asserted the contrary. Krashen’s (1987) comprehensible input theory had a significant effect on some researchers, and they argued that total immersion is favorable for language learning and its acquisition. Nurhamidah et al. (2018) concluded that the minimization of the first language from language classrooms may have a hindering outcome and a systematic principle for obtaining mother tongue to ease language learning was proposed by them. When these approaches are taken into account, there are strong views backing up the usage of English as a medium of instruction or both employment of target language and L1 in the EFL context. The findings of most studies that investigate the alternation of language in English teaching classrooms indicate that code-switching is a prevalent circumstance in bilingual and multilingual educational environments (Enama, 2015; Paradowski,

FAQs

What is the main purpose of this study on code-switching in EFL classes?

The study examines whether language alternation in EFL teaching has strengths or limitations based on teachers’ and students’ viewpoints.

How were teachers’ and students’ data collected for the research?

Qualitative data were obtained through structured interviews with 23 teachers, and quantitative data were gathered using structured forms from 92 teachers and a five-point Likert scale questionnaire from 226 students.

What overall finding does the study report about students and teachers?

Students and teachers generally agree on most questions; students welcome code-switching in English lessons, while teachers advocate a balanced approach, especially for communication skills.

Oct 15, 2026

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