Finnish EFL teachers’ perceptions of classroom code-switching
Kulmakorpi, Iina (2020)
2020
Englannin kielen ja kirjallisuuden maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in English Language and Literature
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-05-12
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004243734
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004243734
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to understand how Finnish EFL teachers perceive code-switching and the use of the L1 in their foreign language classrooms. The primary aim is to shed light on how EFL teachers view code-switching in general terms and in which situations they assume they use the L1. This thesis also aspires to see whether certain demographic features, namely the teachers’ age and the level of teaching, affect their views on code-switching.
The data for this thesis were collected by using an electronic questionnaire including multiple-choice and open-ended questions, and it was directed at secondary school and upper secondary school English teachers in Finland. The survey reached a total of 59 respondents from all over Finland, ranging from recently graduated teachers to those close to retirement. Since the questionnaire combined both quantitative and qualitative data, different methods for analysing the data were exploited: descriptive statistics were used for analysing the responses to the multiple-choice questions, and the grounded theory was applied in the analysis of the open-ended responses.
The results of the study display that all of the respondents used code-switching in their classes, and that code-switching was mostly viewed as a natural part of the foreign language classroom interaction. With only a few exceptions to the rule, nearly all respondents claimed to teach grammar in the L1, and the use of the L2 was repeatedly promoted in communicative activities and exercises. Most commonly the L1 was used for clarifying and translating something the students have trouble understanding in the L2. Although there were little differences between the responses of teachers representing certain demographic features, some patterns could be detected. Teachers with older age perceived classroom code-switching more negatively more often than their younger colleagues, and respondents working in secondary schools viewed code-switching slightly more positively than those working in upper secondary schools.
The data for this thesis were collected by using an electronic questionnaire including multiple-choice and open-ended questions, and it was directed at secondary school and upper secondary school English teachers in Finland. The survey reached a total of 59 respondents from all over Finland, ranging from recently graduated teachers to those close to retirement. Since the questionnaire combined both quantitative and qualitative data, different methods for analysing the data were exploited: descriptive statistics were used for analysing the responses to the multiple-choice questions, and the grounded theory was applied in the analysis of the open-ended responses.
The results of the study display that all of the respondents used code-switching in their classes, and that code-switching was mostly viewed as a natural part of the foreign language classroom interaction. With only a few exceptions to the rule, nearly all respondents claimed to teach grammar in the L1, and the use of the L2 was repeatedly promoted in communicative activities and exercises. Most commonly the L1 was used for clarifying and translating something the students have trouble understanding in the L2. Although there were little differences between the responses of teachers representing certain demographic features, some patterns could be detected. Teachers with older age perceived classroom code-switching more negatively more often than their younger colleagues, and respondents working in secondary schools viewed code-switching slightly more positively than those working in upper secondary schools.