Discourse analysis of language choice and code-switching: Classroom strategies.

摘要

There is an ever-increasing trend in the world today to adopt English as the language of instruction in higher education. The increase is in part due to the views that such adoption constitutes the key to competitiveness in a globalized higher education market. Thus, a growing number of universities in non-English-speaking countries switch to English as their language of instruction. As a result, code-switching (CS) becomes a pervasive reality in the classroom, and thus, a powerful strategy at both the students' and the lecturer's disposal.;This research examines discourse strategies of language choice and CS in the context of a content class at undergraduate level, in which English is the language of instruction. The study theoretically situates itself at the juncture of group communication, interactional sociolinguistics, and conversation analysis. Over six hours of classroom talk in a consumer behavior course were audiotaped and transcribed. Three major categories of discourse strategies of CS are proposed. The first category, task-oriented strategies of CS, refers to ways of speaking that help achieve the group's ultimate goal of the development of understanding of the course content. The second category, management-oriented strategies of CS, refers to ways of speaking that manage footing as well as the direction and the progression of classroom talk. The third category, social strategies of CS, refers to ways of speaking to maintain the group's cohesiveness and to manage self-presentation. Each strategy is analyzed in relation to the sequential environment in which it occurs and other contextualization cues such as paralinguistic features.;Apart from the divide between policy and practice, the findings of this study provide a detailed account of the specific interactional goals classroom CS serves to accomplish. Specifically, the findings suggest that the local functions each strategy performs are largely determined by the sequentiality and the situatedness of discourse. The study contributes to a relatively new line of research into CS in academic settings, and to the extensive body of research into institutional talk.