Content area
This study was inspired by the observation that code-switching is often discouraged in foreign language schools, where the target language and native language are strictly separated, with the target language designated as the 'official' language of instruction. The study sought to examine instances of code-switching in English as a First Additional Language (EFAL) among Sesotho native speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. Furthermore, it sought to illustrate the application of tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching in English First Additional Language (EFAL) education for Sesotho native speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. Focus was on a multilingual phenomenon, code-switching. While other language alternation behaviours exist, code-switching is the most popular in additional language contexts in South Africa. This research was founded on a literature review of code-switching in additional language contexts. The paper examined the three roles of code-switching: repetition, emotional, and floor-holding. It also provided instances of how tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching might be utilised by Sesotho home language learners to improve their comprehension of EFAL. One finding of the study is that, like translanguaging, code-switching fosters a sense of belonging and ownership among learners, and it makes it generally more accessible for the EFAL student to acquire knowledge from familiar concepts to unfamiliar ones. Another conclusion is that learners' restricted engagement in academic activities, attributable to their inadequate language proficiency, also impacts their motivation. The study advocates the implementation of code-switching to improve learners' classroom involvement as they utilise their native language in the acquisition of a second language. The impact of code-switching on Sesotho home language learners' comprehension of EFAL in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa remains undetermined, necessitating further investigation into this important issue.
Keywords:
Code-switching, code-mixing, bilingualism, translanguaging, English first additional language
JEL Classification:
O15
ABSTRACT
This study was inspired by the observation that code-switching is often discouraged in foreign language schools, where the target language and native language are strictly separated, with the target language designated as the 'official' language of instruction. The study sought to examine instances of code-switching in English as a First Additional Language (EFAL) among Sesotho native speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. Furthermore, it sought to illustrate the application of tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching in English First Additional Language (EFAL) education for Sesotho native speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. Focus was on a multilingual phenomenon, code-switching. While other language alternation behaviours exist, code-switching is the most popular in additional language contexts in South Africa. This research was founded on a literature review of code-switching in additional language contexts. The paper examined the three roles of code-switching: repetition, emotional, and floor-holding. It also provided instances of how tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching might be utilised by Sesotho home language learners to improve their comprehension of EFAL. One finding of the study is that, like translanguaging, code-switching fosters a sense of belonging and ownership among learners, and it makes it generally more accessible for the EFAL student to acquire knowledge from familiar concepts to unfamiliar ones. Another conclusion is that learners' restricted engagement in academic activities, attributable to their inadequate language proficiency, also impacts their motivation. The study advocates the implementation of code-switching to improve learners' classroom involvement as they utilise their native language in the acquisition of a second language. The impact of code-switching on Sesotho home language learners' comprehension of EFAL in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa remains undetermined, necessitating further investigation into this important issue.
©2024 by the authors. Licensee SSBFNET, Istanbul, Turkey. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Introduction
Language is essential for communication, enabling speakers to share knowledge and express ideas, opinions, and emotions. In social contexts, individuals use language to facilitate the transmission and reception of messages interpersonally. All human activities need communication for their existence within society (Abrejo et al., 2019). Language enables individuals to establish and sustain social relationships, as it represents a form of communicative action. Individuals can express their thoughts and emotions utilising both verbal and non-verbal language. Language also serves as an ethnographic communication function, through analysis of the interplay between language and society, particularly in the context of multilingual speakers within their discourse communities. The family environment, community environment, and school environment are essential factors in the acquisition of human language (Charolina, 2020).
Bilingualism has emerged as a prevalent phenomenon in contemporary society, attributed to the increasing linguistic villagisation. In bilingual societies globally, speakers frequently switch between languages to meet communication requirements. Code-switching is a phenomenon, alongside code-mixing and translanguaging, that describes language change, particularly in English First Additional Language (EFAL) teaching and learning contexts. This paper analyses the role of code-switching as a pedagogical tool in South African EFAL contexts, specifically within the Intermediate Phase. This study explored the application of tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching in English First Additional Language (EFAL) learning among Sesotho home language speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. The study sought to address the subsequent enquiries: What are the instances of code-switching observed in English as a First Additional Language (EFAL) learning context among Sesotho home language speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa? What is the role of tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching in English First Additional Language (EFAL) learning for Sesotho home language speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa?
Literature Review
This literature section is segmented into sub-sections, the first of which discusses the relationship between language and culture, followed by the definition of code-switching, the monolingual approach, types of code-switching, and the reasons for code-switching in class.
Society and language
Language users involved in language education should have a basic awareness of the connection between language and culture. Understanding the varied perspectives on the relationship between language and culture can be helpful for both language teachers and language learners in general (Salim, 2017). It can shed light on a variety of viewpoints regarding language use. Furthermore, understanding different views can benefit first- and second-language learners, and make it possible to examine how language and culture affect individuals' cosmology, and how they view the world and apply their linguistic and cultural understanding to evaluate diverse perceptions. Understanding how language affects other people can provide valuable perspective and direction for both language education and interpersonal connections (Elmes, 2013).
Society and language have a symbiotic and mutual existence. The diversity of languages used by teachers and students in EFAL classroom interaction represents the existence of a bilingual or multilingual community. Charolina (2020) observes that language selection is not random but determined by social, cultural, and contextual factors. Culture plays an important role in teaching or learning a foreign language since words and phrases refer to internal meanings of culture and embody a reality and a well-defined semantic relationship between language and culture.
Language teachers know that learning an additional language requires learning about another culture. This is, in fact, one of the primary reasons for learning languages-to experience a different culture from the inside, to empathise with a broader community, and to enrich one's ability to appreciate varied human experiences (Kim, 2020). The most successful language learners learn culture and language together, such that teaching language and teaching culture cannot be separated (Choudhury, 2013). Learning a language requires mastery of vocabulary and syntax, but language teachers sometimes underestimate the value of teaching culture, such that the potential of language learning for creating cultural understanding is not realised (Kim, 2020).
We argue that in the South African education system, English home language learners are advantaged as they study in a language that embodies their own culture, allowing for connections between language and culture as noted by Elmes (2013). However, for EFAL learners, the scenario is different as the cultural intricacies and understandings are situated well beyond the textbook and other reference materials. An understanding of language assumes a different form, which explains why they tend to use code-switching to manage EFAL in the Intermediate Phase, which is the focus of this paper. This paper shows that, because some learners' circumstances separate the school language from their culture, there is need to interrogate the implications such separation brings, mostly in EFAL settings in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa (Elmes, 2013).
Several definitions of culture have been propounded, but there is no single agreed-upon definition, as confirmed by (Tang, 2006). The concept of culture is all-embracing of human aspects, some of which are practised in the classroom. We argue that an additional language should not be taught as a compendium of rules through drills. Dema and Moeller (2012) add that the true content of an additional language course is not the language's grammar and vocabulary, but the culture expressed through that language. This implies that if learners are consciously involved in the culture of the language they are learning, they can understand the language better and improve their academic performance. Because learners keep wanting to go back to their home languages that resonate with their cultural beings as they navigate the precarity of language use in a multilingual classroom (Ditiro & Sibanda, 2024), the next sections shed light on why code-switching is an inevitable phenomenon in a multilingual context and what code-switching is.
Code-switching inevitable
The rise of multilingualism has drawn the attention of language researchers and teachers in second language learning settings to various phenomena observed in multilingual speakers. Such learners develop knowledge on how and when to use their languages depending on the interlocutors involved in the conversation, the topic of the conversation, and the social context. This paper explores the functions of code-switching in English additional language (EFAL) learning among Sesotho home language speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. It also demonstrates how tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intrasentential code-switching can be used in EFAL learning among Sesotho home language speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa
The globalisation trend is set to continue with bilinguals and multilinguals emerging in even in once traditionally conservative and monolingual countries. The globe is populated by people who speak different languages at the same time, necessitating consideration of code-switching in EFAL learning among Sesotho home language speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. There is a growing trend to learn new languages, and maintain contact with people who speak different languages is a common issue. Code-switching is making inroads in novels, newspapers, songs, television programmes, and movies, to mention a few.
What code-switching is
Distinguishing between code-switching and code-mixing is not an easy undertaking. In this paper, we used operational definitions to minimise misunderstandings between authors and readers (Mohammad Rizki, 2022). Scholars and linguists often manifest unfavorable perceptions of codeswitching and overlook its hidden positive semantic aspects in EFAL teaching and learning environments. Ditiro and Sibanda (2024, 10) attribute the anti-code-switching sentiment to "...the assumption that it is not an ideal but a last-resort communication repair or compensatory strategy due to learners' limited linguistic competence...."
According to Wardhaugh (2010: 98), a code is a dialect or language one chooses to use on any occasion, allowing communication between two or more parties. The author asserts that most speakers have a command of several varieties of any language they speak, and that bilingualism or multilingualism is the norm for many people throughout the world rather than unilingualism is. It is thus, the norm for speakers in multilingual societies to mix and switch codes according to certain personal and social conditions governing their communication. Novriansyah (2023) defines code-mixing as mixing various linguistic units (morphemes, words, modifiers, phrases, clauses, and sentences) primarily from two participating grammatical systems within a sentence. Besides, code-mixing is intrasentential and is constrained by grammatical principles. Code-mixing occurs when the interlocutors combine small units (words or short phrases) from one language to another. It is mostly an unintentional act, usually at word, rather than sentence level. This implies that when people code-switch, they do not alternate the whole sentence but use mainly one or two words.
When people choose to communicate, a specific code (a language, dialect, register, style, or variety) must be used. In speech, more than one code may be used, especially by individuals proficient in more than one language. People can change from one code to another as needed. This practice is known as code-switching. In bilingual communities globally, where two or more languages co-exist, speakers frequently switch from one language to another to meet their communication needs. Shartiely (2016) indicates that code-switching is the use of two languages during a conversation. In most, but not all, cases when a teacher immediately uses more than one language to explain a single concept during teaching and learning, the teacher will be employing code-switching. Sibanda (2021: 28) however adds a power dynamic to the languages involved in code-switching when he defines it as ""the momentary switching into alternate language(s) and back to the base form." In code-switching, there must be a recognisable base or matrix form and the switch to a different code is momentary. Because, in the majority of South African classroom contexts, English is the base form, such differential power statuses render African languages minority languages despite their numerical advantages over English in terms of home language speaker populations (Sibanda, 2021).
Bhatti, Shamsudin and Said (2018) say the alternation between two languages is known as code-switching. In addition, Sulistyawati (2022) defines code-switching as a transition in language use. However, it still adapts to situations and occurs between languages and between varieties of a language, unlike code-mixing, which is an insertion of one language code within a whole sentence in the dominant language. It is the practice of switching from one language to the other in the middle of speech while both individuals recognise the same language. Also, code-switching occurs in the same conversation for information sharing or other purposes. Besides, it can be found within a sentence (intra-sentential switches) or across sentences (inter-sentential ones). Similarly, Macswan (2019) defines codeswitching as language mixing; it occurs intrasententially, or within sentences, and intersentientially, or between sentences. Previously, it has been studied in a wide range of language pairs, typically among simultaneous (rather than sequential as in South Africa) bilinguals and their communities. Code-mixing as a piecemeal way of mixing of words from a second language (additionally language), which is mostly the English language in the South African education system, into the mother language, which could be any of the official languages in South Africa. It involves the mixing of words and varieties of two or more languages in a single discourse. Simply, it is the mixing of languages and language varieties in communication, whereas code-switching implies a wholesome shift of one language into another in conversation. It is the sliding from one language to another by keeping the conversational context the same in oral or written text (Ahmad, Mahmood & Shahid, 2023). This further buttressed the socio-cultural prestige of language and its usage through varied linguistic choices which are not merely linguistic modifications, but socio-cultural phenomena.
Code-switching is a linguistic and cultural practice used by bilinguals in writing and speaking, and a communicative necessity for bilinguals/multilinguals in a speech community to express themselves without inhibitions. Similarly, Hernandez (2019) argues that for multilingual speakers, switching between two or more languages is not an arbitrary act, nor is it simply an attempt to mimic the speech of their communities. Code-switching results from a conscious decision to create a desired effect and to promote the validity of their heritage languages.
Code-switching is very widespread in daily life, especially in most bi/multilingual South African educational institutions where EFAL is the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT). In other words, code-switching is inevitable in an EFAL classroom, particularly in a context where teachers and learners share the same home language. Moreover, code-switching, not only frequently appears in bilingual adults' discourses, but also in bilingual children's communication as early as 2.0 to 2.6. They then acquire subtler sociolinguistic or pragmatic abilities only later, some as late as age 5.0 (Wang, 2024). The fact that the monolingual instruction is still dominant in practice and preference by teachers, learners, and parents makes it worth considering in discourses on code-switching.
Monolingual approach
The monolingual ideology-which Yildiz (2012) sees as a framework through which multilingualism is currently refracted (pp. 2- 3)-poses a complementary challenge to code-switching literacy. The monolingual paradigm, or the assumption that monolingualism is natural or normal in modern social life, has dominated education, particularly literacy education. Lee (2016) defines monolingualism as "the ideology that contains languages from contact with each other, associating language mixing with contamination and lack of proficiency" (p. 177). Monolingualism, therefore, presents language as fixed, discreet, and acontextual- a conception deeply antithetical to translingualism and, therefore, a challenge to its adoption in literacy education.
Unlike the bilingual/multilingual approach, the monolingual approach emphasizes the use of the target language and the exclusion of learners' home language so that learners can think in the target language without their home language interference (Cummins, 2007). Proponents of such thinking believe that bilingual phenomena like code-switching, code-mixing, and translanguaging disrupt the flow of communication in language teaching and learning. The monolingual principle assumes that languages influence each other. Monolingual thinking finds expression in the direct method, which does not allow home language use in the classroom. Learners should learn the target language in the same way the home language was acquired. Such an approach disadvantages many South African EFAL learners because the target language is not their home language but is (target language) used as both a medium of instruction and a means for language learning.
Adherents of the monolingual approach acknowledge that code-switching is on the rise among bilinguals and multilinguals, making it a powerful feature of informal communication in EFAL learning, especially in South Africa. It is a reality that schools and higher education institutions are spaces of contact between speakers of different language varieties. Since schools and higher education institutions are now more linguistically and culturally diverse due to globalisation and other factors, there is a need to shift from monolingual purist practices towards bilingual or multilingual approaches to cater to the learners' multiple linguistic backgrounds. Code-switching affords, what Sibanda (2021: 28) calls "... a less disruptive of language purism ideals (as it recognises the independence of the named languages and their standard forms)."
Types of codeswitching
In this paper, we only discuss three types of code-switching, as shared by Fitria (2014). Fitria (2014) states that cases of code-switching can be classified under two different classifications: grammatical and contextual classification. However, due to the scope of the paper, we only discussed the grammatical classification of code-switching where, in the sentence or utterance, the switching appears. The contextual classification of code-switching, which is based on why bilinguals switch, is covered under a different section, reasons for code-switching, and not as a type of code-switching.
Holst's (2021) grammatical classification birthed three types of code-switching, namely tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intrasentential code-switching. Tag code-switching occurs when a bilingual inserts short expressions (tag) from a different language at the end of his/her utterances. For example, a Sesotho bilingual switches from English to Sesotho:
I suggest we go now, u nahana eng?
Inter-sentential code-switching occurs when there is a complete sentence in a foreign language uttered between two sentences in a base language. For example, a Sesotho bilingual switches from Sesotho to English:
Pula e tshepisa ho na.
Honestly, I love this weather.
Kajeno ha ho na moya
Intra-sentential code-switching happens when a word, a phrase, or a clause of a foreign language is found within the sentence in a base language. For example, English bilinguals switch from English to Sesotho:
That house, ntlo eo is nicely painted.
Why code-switching in EFAL classrooms?
This is a synopsis of the advantages of using code-switching in EFAL classrooms. However, we briefly share why some scholars dismiss code-switching in additional language-learning contexts. Code-switching could harm students' language learning process as it can make them reluctant to use the target language in the class and be more dependent on switching the code. Dykhanova (2015) reports that code-switching does not elevate the learners' level of proficiency but reduces the practice of the target language in the classroom. Such criticism stem from the obsession with maintain language purity as well as an assumption that the language of teaching and learning is of superior quality and should be developed even at the expense of learners' home languages.
Regardless of this criticism against code-switching, its pros outweigh its perceived disadvantages. In most EFAL classrooms in South Africa, the target language is expected to be the main language in the classroom. Nonetheless, the use of L1 and the switch from one to the other is often seen in foreign language classrooms. Although some stakeholders may consider this situation as negative, it is inevitable. The unavoidable circumstances in which students and teachers are involved in code-switching are very understandable because teachers and students come from different cultural backgrounds. Code-switching is helpful in any EFAL environment, despite the criticism levelled against it, as a speaker may similarly switch to another language to signal group membership and shared ethnicity with an addressee, a finding Ditiro and Sibanda (2024) made in their study.
In a classroom context study by Lee and Lo (2017), a relationship was established between motivation (Ideal L2 Self) and students' attitudes towards classroom language choice, with learners who scored higher on the scale of motivation favouring the exclusive use of the L2 in the classroom. Code-switching is a sophisticated phenomenon associated with highly proficient learners and a synonym of 'intellectual advantage', since 'to code-switch effectively, learners must possess a high level of understanding of the two cultures, as well as a deep understanding of the underlying structures and purposes of two language systems' (Hughes, Shaunessy, Ratliff& Alvarez McHatton, 2006: 7).
Most of the time, EFAL teachers are aware of their learners' struggles from merely analysing the results of their assessment tasks. In such cases, teachers try to 'smoothen' the teaching and learning process by resorting to the learners' home languages through codeswitching. Similarly, whenever learners seem not to understand the taught materials, Uys and Van Dulm (2011) state that codeswitching is needed because it is considered a tool for enhancing learners' understanding of the content under discussion in an EFAL setting.
Code-switching improves class engagement, bridges social and cultural barriers, helps students express themselves, and builds solidarity and intimate relations with students. Besides, code-switching is time saving because teachers do not waste time explaining or searching simple words to simplify any confusion that arises. Code-switching helps learners overcome their fears and express themselves more freely (Sameen, Farid & Hussain, 2021). In this paper, we only considered three functions of code-switching; repetition (Alzahrani, 2023), affective (Ghaderi, Morady Moghaddam & Ostovar-Namaghi, 2024), and floor-holding (Rahmat, 2021).
Repetition serves to clarify what is said, amplify or emphasise a message, or mark a joke by repeating the language in the other code. Besides, repetition aims to make the message clearer and more understandable to the listener (Masruroh & Rini, 2021). Following a statement in the target language, the teacher can code-switch to the native language, and clarify the meaning. The speaker repeats the speech in their home language, say in Sesotho, in the form of a sentence or phrase, while the initial sentence is in English. Repetition is done to emphasise speech in terms of the elements of language used to align the two forms of meaning in different languages so that the interlocutors understand a phrase spoken by the speaker in their interactions. Therefore, code-switching serves communicative purposes in the transference and clarity of meaning. For example, a Sesotho bilingual switches from English to Sesotho:
I think I will bring the book tomorrow, Ke nahana hore ke tla tlisa buka hosane.
Code-switching also serves affective functions of expressing emotions. It is used by the teacher to build solidarity and intimate relations with the students or to create a supportive language environment in the classroom. For example, in a bid to motivate Grade 6 EFAL learners battling with essay writing, the teacher may code-switch and share her experiences as a primary school learner when she could not easily manage essay writing until she was only advised by her teacher to read many novels and other reading materials like newspapers because her vocabulary base was narrow. After implementing the teacher's strategy, she found essay writing quite manageable. In this example, when the teacher uses some of the learner's home language here and there, it is a rich way to show affection and emotion built into communication, unlike using the target language only. The effect it has on the learner would be greater. Another example of the affective function of codeswitching is shown when the teacher shares some code-switched sentences just entertain the students. By using this mechanism, the teacher aims to create an amusing situation in the teaching and learning process, breaking the ice, as well as building friendships with the students.
Floor-holding is another function of students' code-switching while conducting a conversation in the target language. In the floor holding case, the learners fill the stopgap in the target language with their native language structure as a mechanism to avoid deficiency in communication (Putera, Yuningsih & Amin, 2021). Simply, code-switching deriving from the need to hold the floor indicates a lack of fluency in the target language or an inability to recall the appropriate target language structure or lexicon. For example, the teacher says to the class in both English and Sesotho:
Kajeno , ke tlo le bontsha ditaelo tse o tlamehang ho di latela ha o ngola moqoqo. (Today, I will introduce you to essay writing processes). Kea tseba hore bongata ba lona le a sokola ho ngola. (I know that this has been a challenge for the majority of you). Ke batla ho le nnetefatsa hore kamora thuto ya kajeno, kaof ela le tlabe le kgona ho ngola moqoqo. (I want to assure you that after this lesson, you will all be excellent essay writers).
Discussion
The paper has highlighted that it is an undeniable responsibility of an EFAL teacher to provide learners with a plethora of classroom opportunities while developing an equivalent level of English in reaching the level of English teaching (Lehti-Eklund, 2013), and code-switching is one of the bilingual/multilingual phenomena that can be used. Besides, the paper, through the repetition, affective, and floor-holding functions of code-switching, highlighted how code-switching supports the claim that L1 assists in developing L2 positively towards their language attainment. EFAL teachers should meet students' affective needs and provide opportunities for repetition and floor-holding through code-switching to ensure a rich classroom experience that saves teaching and learning time and reduces learners' stress in processing EFAL.
We argue that the use of code-switching will enable learners to participate more actively in EFAL learning processes as they enrich each other's understanding through effective interaction via collaborative activities planned by the teacher. Teachers need to take a leading role by supporting the subsequent implementations of code-switching in their classroom settings to make the learners gain confidence when communicating with other interlocutors, either inside or outside the classroom. There are numerous purposes that EFAL teachers can use codeswitching for in their classroom, including maintaining a positive learning atmosphere that does not promote the English-only policy in the classroom, and enabling more meaningful social interactions with the learners and among the learners themselves when accomplishing particular learning tasks.
Language is an empowerment tool. Thus, affording these learners code-switching opportunities is a telling way of giving a voice to the often voiceless. Just like translanguaging, code-switching helps in giving the learners a sense of belonging and ownership. Making use of the learners' prior linguistic knowledge in learning EFAL in South Africa should be commendable because it enhances mastery of an additional language. It is always easier for the EFAL to learn from the known to the unknown. In this paper, the known is their home language, and the unknown is the target language, EFAL.
Based on our teaching experiences, we add that EFAL teachers in South Africa should prioritise code-switching because it is a way of promoting independent learning among learners. After all, code-switching is common when learners are engaged in interactive activities like pair work and group work. Similarly, ER and Özata (2020) assert that code-switching will enable learners to be more autonomous and enjoyable in additional language learning processes since they can compensate for their learning deficiencies in the target language through the utilisation of their first language. We believe that learning can be enjoyable as learners employ codeswitching based on the need to finish the given task given by the teacher correctly and quickly, socialising among themselves, showing group members' solidarity and having fun by telling jokes or funny things. Autonomous learning makes EFAL learners develop a liking of the subject, leading to improved academic performance in EFAL. In teaching-learning practices, the use of codeswitching will also lead the learners to develop their communicative competencies to the utmost since they have already discovered their communicative objectives, although they could still be struggling to improve their target language skills.
Conclusions
This paper examined the functions of codeswitching as a teaching and learning tool in South African EFAL environments, particularly at the Intermediate Phase level. This study demonstrated the application of tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching in English First Additional Language (EFAL) learning among Sesotho home language speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. The study kdiscuused the utility of code-switching in enhancing English First Additional Language (EFAL) learning by providing examples corresponding to each function of code-switching. Additionally, the paper presented examples of tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching in the context of teaching English First Additional Language (EFAL) to learners whose home language is Sesotho. There is a prevalent tendency to discredit code-switching, stemming from the belief that switching to an alternate language indicates insufficient knowledge of the initial language used in the utterance. Even sociolinguists examining code-switching as a significant multilingual phenomenon have identified that extra-linguistic factors-such as topic, setting, participant relationships, community norms, and values, alongside societal, political, and ideological developments-impact learners' language choices in face-to-face interactions (Suurmeijer, Parafita Couto & Gullberg, 2020).
The extent to which code-switching enhances Sesotho home language learners' understanding of EFAL in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa remains undetermined, necessitating further research into this important issue. It is recommended that EFAL teachers implement teaching and learning activities that cater to learners' affective needs, while also providing opportunities for repetition and floor-holding through code-switching. This approach aims to enhance the classroom experience, optimise teaching and learning time, and alleviate learners' stress in processing EFAL.
Acknowledgement
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, K.Z.; methodology. K.Z., J.S.validation, J.S.; formal analysis, K.Z.; investigation, J.S.; resources, K.Z.; writing-original draftpreparation, J.S..; writing-review and editing, K.Z and J.S.
Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
* Corresponding author. ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4767-3109
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