“I started the class in English… y la continué en Español”: an auto-ethnographical, qualitative and quantitative research study on the teacher’s code-switching in the EFL classroom
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Fecha
2014-11
Autores
Cabrera, Martha
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
University of St Mark and St John
Resumen
Descripción
The
use
of
the
target
language
only
for
English
Language
Teaching
(ELT)
has
been
a
debate
within
professional
discussion.
It
has
been
assumed
that
English
is
best
taught
without
the
use
of
the
learners’
L1.
Recently,
however,
this
English-‐only
assumption
has
been
increasingly
questioned
and
the
role
of
L1
as
a
tool
for
learning
ELT
is
being
reassessed.
Apart
from
this
belief
and
assumption,
there
exists
a
personal
interest
on
my
part
in
discovering
my
students’
attitude
toward
the
target
language
only
use.
Because
I
grew
up
code-‐switching
from
a
young
age
it
seems
natural
to
me
to
do
it
in
everyday
conversation
and
this
reflects
purpose
and
logic.
This
switch
happens
quite
often
in
my
everyday
communication
at
home
and
very
much
so
in
my
EFL
classes.
The
data
reports
on
two
questionnaires
and
audio
recording
of
samples
of
possible
functions
for
code-‐switching
in
class.
The
questionnaires
were
applied
to
my
students,
and
the
other
to
my
EFL
colleagues.
The
questionnaire
to
the
students
was
intended
to
find
out
whether
they
were
aware
of
their
teacher’s
code-‐switching
in
the
classroom
and
whether
they
held
a
positive
or
negative
attitude
towards
it.
The
questionnaire
to
the
EFL
teachers
was
intended
to
compare
and
contrast
my
code-‐switching
with
my
colleagues’
and
identify
their
attitude
towards
this
L1
use.
Although
there
is
variation
between
students
and
teachers
findings,
the
questionnaires
revealed
that
my
students
and
colleagues
did
see
a
range
of
useful
functions
to
the
use
of
L1
in
their
teaching
and
hold
a
positive
attitude
towards
it.
Further
research
is
suggested
for
the
extent
to
which
the
L1
should
be
used
in
the
ELT
classes.
El uso exclusivo del idioma meta en la docencia del inglés como segunda lengua (L2) ha sido tema de debate dentro de la profesión. Se ha asumido que es mejor enseñar el inglés sin recurrir a la lengua nativa (L1) del alumno. Sin embargo, se ha cuestionado recientemente esta creencia en el uso exclusivo de la L2, y se está revalorando el papel de la L1 como herramienta para aprender el inglés. Mi interés personal en descubrir la actitud de los alumnos ante el uso exclusivo de la L2 se debe a que me crié en la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos, en una cultura donde es común el “code-switching”, o alternancia entre códigos, que tiene una lógica y unos propósitos identificables.
Para este trabajo apliqué cuestionarios a alumnos y colegas para conocer su actitud ante la alternancia entre códigos. También grabé en audio partes de la clase para tratar de discernir las funciones que perseguían sus cambios de idioma. Los alumnos y colegas expresaron una actitud positiva hacia la alternancia entre códigos, pues le veían varias funciones.
Palabras clave
English Language Teaching, Code-switching, Docencia del Inglés, Alternancia entre Códigos
Citación
Cabrera, M. (2014) “I started the class in English… y la continué en Español”: An Auto-‐ethnographical, Qualitative and Quantitative research study on the Teacher’s code-‐switching in the EFL classroom. Master of Arts by advanced study in Education (special field: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), University of St Mark and St John