Analysis of Code Switching Used in a Class at Harvard Cinderella English Course.

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ABSTRACT

Tugas akhir ini merupakan sebuah penelitian yang membahas tentang fungsi dan alasan seorang guru untuk melakukan alih kode atau alih bahasa. Alih kode dapat terjadi dalam interaksi dua bahasa atau lebih, namun dalam penelitian ini saya hanya membahas alih kode dalam interaksi kelas di sebuah tempat kursus Bahasa Inggris di Bandung.

Penelitian ini dilandaskan pada teori dari Liu Aichun yang membahas tentang alih kode yang terjadi selama proses belajar-mengajar di kelas. Menurut Liu Aichun, ada lima fungsi alih kode, yaitu owing to teacher’s linguistic

competence and insecurity, for ease of expression, for translating of new and

unfamiliar words and expression, repetitive functions, dan socializing functions.

Dalam penelitian ini, saya mendapatkan bahwa alasan seorang guru dalam melakukan alih kode merupakan pilar penting penelitian ini. Teori saja tidak dapat menentukan alasan sebuah alih kode dibuat. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ada pola tertentu ketika guru Bahasa Inggris yang saya teliti beralih kode ke Bahasa Indonesia. Salah satu polanya adalah ketika guru tersebut menggunakan

repetitive functions, atau fungsi pengulangan, setiap kali ia hendak menekankan

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background of the Study

It is a general fact that we live in a society, and we need a language to communicate with each other, so we can deliver and receive messages from each other. The study of the relationship between society and language is known as Sociolinguistics. According to Ronald Wardhaugh (2010), “Sociolinguistics investigates the relationships between language and society with the goal being a better understanding of the structure of language and how languages function in communication” (p. 88). In other words, Sociolinguistics studies a community and

language.

There is a chance that in a society two or more languages are used; for example, in tourism, mixed marriages, language class, etc. In such society, people who “have access to two codes, and who for one reason or another shift back and

forth between the two languages as they converse by code-switching”

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multilingual speakers. Therefore, the terms bilingual and multilingual are concerned with the number of languages spoken by a speaker. “People with multilingual ability usually decide to switch from one code to another or to mix codes even within sometimes very short utterances and thereby create a new code in a process known as code-switching” (p. 88). That is how code switching occurs in a bilingual or multilingual society.

According to Ronald Wardhaugh (2010), it is possible to refer to a language or a variety of a language as a code. “It is like the switch between languages, but we call it the switch between codes because the term codes can be used to refer to any kinds of system that two or more people employ for communication” (p. 88). In the briefer definition, “Code switching is a

phenomenon that exists in bilingual societies where people have the opportunity to use two or more languages to communicate” (Johannson, 2013, p. 1)

Since code switching is studied from so many perspectives, in this thesis, I will limit the area into the code switching used in EFL (English as Foreign Language) classroom because “Code switching in EFL class begins to receive growing attention around the world” (Aichun, 2014, p. 3). There are a lot of

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Indonesia. It seems that the code switching itself has not been seriously analyzed as a part of the teaching learning process. Meanwhile, according to Liu Aichun

Codeswitching between English and Chinese in English-as-Foreign-Language

Classroom, doing observation of the use of code switching can help the teacher

have a better understanding of teacher’s code switching phenomenon and help to develop the use of code switching as one of the tools during the class.

Based on the explanation above, I choose to analyze code switching as the topic of this thesis. The title of this thesis is “Analysis of Code Switching Used in a Class at Harvard Cinderella English Course”.

I took Harvard Cinderella English Course because I found a bilingual society in which an EFL classroom is taught by Mr. Wildan. “People who are bilingual or multilingual do not necessarily have exactly the same abilities in the languages” (Wardhaugh, 2010, p. 96). Both parties, the teacher and the students, are considered bilingual speakers, in fact, both parties’ target language is English

and they are not the native speakers of English. Their native language is actually Indonesian, with dialect varieties. Consequently, code switching can occur during the teaching learning process.

In class, I also find some different purposes of code switching, and the lack of awareness of the functions of it. Even the teacher that I observe admits the phenomenon. In addition, one may wonder why sometimes the teacher of EFL switches codes although it is strictly regulated that the classroom only accepts English as the communication tool.

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gather approximately 20 data in one session. Each session is held for about two hours. The data used are selected based on the ones that represent the function of code switching.

I hope, by presenting this topic, EFL classroom teachers will become more aware of the actual use of code switching in improving the teaching learning activities. As a result, I hope my thesis can be beneficial for the improvement of the English teaching and learning activity in Indonesia.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

The problems of my thesis are formulated in the following: 1. What are the code switching items made by the teacher? 2. What are the actual purposes of the teacher’s code switching?

3. What are the functions of the teacher’s code switching based on Liu Aichun’s theory?

1.3Purpose of the Study

The purposes of the thesis are:

1. To identify the code switching items made by the teacher. 2. To know the purposes of the teacher’s code switching.

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1.4Method of Research

First, I studied Liu Aichun’s theory on code switching. Second, I searched

for a teacher who is a native Indonesian, teaching English to Indonesian students. After I found the teacher, I recorded the interaction in class, and then I transcribed the recording. Furthermore, to get the actual reason behind the code switching, I interviewed the teacher. Finally, I analyzed the data.

1.5Organization of the Thesis

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CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, I will discuss some important points that I find in the analysis. In the previous chapter, I find that Mr. Wildan, the observed teacher, has done all functions of code switching in various frequencies, following his own reasons in doing it. At the first sight the data can be perceived as one of Liu Aichun’s categories in code switching, but after analyzing the teacher’s reasons

for doing the switch, the category expected maybe different. The reason of this difference is because the data mainly relies on the teacher’s reason in code switching. After that, I relate it with the expert’s theory.

After analyzing the teacher’s reasons and which theory fits best the data, I discuss the main feature of the reason for each function. By mentioning the main feature of the reason, I also conclude the general reason why the teacher does certain functions of code switching.

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the quantity because I just take the best examples to find the teacher’s pattern in code switching.

Considering the frequency, the teacher uses repetitive functions and

translation of new and unfamiliar words and expressions the most. The reason

behind repetitive functions is easy to understand since all of the switched codes are either very important concepts or too basic to miss. That is why the students have to pay special attention to them. In explaining grammar, it is essential that the students understand some important points or basic concepts well. In grammar explanation, understanding the formula of certain tenses and the function of the formula is very important. That is reason the teacher always uses code switching with repetitive functions whenever he wants to stress the grammar formula or how to use it.

Translation of new and unfamiliar words and expressions is the second

most commonly used function of code switching. When there are words or expressions that cannot be translated directly into a native language, or the ones which are not familiar in the native language, this function of code switching can be used. In the analysis, three data show that the teacher’s reason of doing this

kind of code switching is to make sure that the students have the same concepts as the teacher does. The teacher is concerned about this because the English terms for the subject are not common in Indonesian. To make sure that the students are talking about the same subject with the teacher, the teacher always does the code switching in interrogative sentences. In the analysis, we can see that the teacher asks if his description can be understood by the students; for example, Art,

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Kesenian, Keterampilan, dan Budaya (Art, Skill, and Culture). Another data

shows what the teacher means by water jug is actually kendí, and future

arrangement is rencana (plan). The teacher always does the code switching for

translation of new and unfamiliar words and expressions when describing a certain word with the intention to make the students have the same concept of the word as he does.

Another use of code switching is ease of expression. Generally, the reason behind this code switching is the teacher wants to simplify the explanation. What is common in the three data of this kind of code switching is that those three data occur when the teacher is comparing two different materials. The material compared includes the different grammar formula or grammar function. He either directly or indirectly compares the materials since both of the students and the teacher know that they are moving to a different material.

Another function of code switching is owing to teacher’s linguistic

competence and insecurity. There are only two data using this function. Both

data show the teacher’s failure in recalling what he really wants to say. For example, the teacher says,” Action is progress, the past, kejadian masa lalu yang

masih terjadi, (past events that is still happening) past continuous …” that

between phrases are not related, like blabbering from one phrase to another phrase. In the other data, the teacher also fails in recalling what he really wants to say by saying,” … umm, what is it... sebagai keterangan, sebagai keterangan

waktunya (as an adverb, as an adverb of time)”. We can see that before the

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switches the code into Indonesian to define the discussed words or phrase. We can also see that the phrase he switches is the function of grammar material he is explaining, which in this case are passive voice and past continuous tense. These actions show that the code switching occurs whenever the teacher is thinking of what he wants to say, especially in defining the function of grammar.

The least used function of code switching is socializing functions, which is only used once. This is also the only data that considers the student’s previous

saying to relate to the context. The student’s previous utterance is important as a reminder of the teacher’s reason of doing this switch. Referring to the transcript, this is the only moment when a student can have such a big misunderstanding between two different important grammar materials. In correcting the student’s mistake, the teacher uses socializing functions as the substitution of being angry in a serious way. This particular data means that the teacher only uses socializing functions when he wants to correct the student’s misunderstanding without

discouraging them.

This research ends with the conclusion that every code switching occurs for reasons that lead to the function of code switching. Firstly, the teacher uses repetitive function whenever he wants to stress the grammar formula. Secondly, he uses translation of new and unfamiliar words and expressions whenever the context is describing something. Thirdly, he also uses ease of expression functions in comparing materials. Fourthly, he applies owing to teacher’s linguistic competence and insecurity when he is thinking. Finally, he uses socializing functions to correct the student’s misunderstanding. Every function of code

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This means that code switching is used purposely as a technique to face a certain kind of situation in Mr. Wildan’s EFL class.

As a closing remark, I suggest that EFL teachers will be more aware of the code switching they use, since it can help teaching and learning process. It can ease the explanation in grammar, emphasize an important message, or even become closer to the student I hope that this research can be beneficial for further researchers dealing with a similar topic of code switching.

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ANALYSIS OF CODE SWITCHING USED IN A

CLASS AT HARVARD CINDERELLA ENGLISH

COURSE

a thesis

submitted to the English Department of the Faculty of Letters

in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the ‘Sarjana’ degree

MARIA FELICITA NURINDRO 1041023

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS

MARANATHA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY BANDUNG

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank God because of the amazing grace, I am able to accomplish the thesis entitled Analysis of Code Switching Used in a Class at Harvard Cinderella

English Course very well. Along the time I write this thesis, I also got so much

help from people around me, especially:

1. Hendra Liem, S.S., M.Hum as the Supervisor I who has given not also critics, suggestions, but also makes me filled with joy along the process of writing the thesis.

2. Edward A. Lukman, M.Hum as the Supervisor II who kindly checks my grammatical mistakes with a friendly approach.

3. Wildan as the research subject who lets me record his teaching speech. 4. My parents, who give me moral support and never-ending prayers.

5. My beloved brother, Alfonsus Albert Nurindro for the fun approach in giving me support.

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7. Edwin Nicholas and Sofyan Effendi as my co-workers who help my business a lot when I am not available during my thesis writing. My business owes both of you a lot.

8. Samuel Cahyawijaya, who supports me to make this thesis neater. Thank you for the supportive words too.

9. Monica, Patricia Agnes Melissa, Benardi Atmadja, Cahya Handoyo, Komang Ming Xiu, Stevanus Ivan, Maranatha Christian University Choir, Guang Xian Fo Tang, who give me support, happiness and prayers.

10. People who help me in te writing of this thesis that I cannot mention one by one.

I am fully aware that there are flaws, but I use my best intention to write this thesis. Therefore, feedback is warmly welcome. I hope this thesis is useful for the sake of knowledge.

Bandung, October 2016

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aichun, L. (2014). Codeswitching between English and Chinese in

English-as-Foreign-Language Classroom. Beijing: Beijing Foreign Studies

University.

Johannson, S. (2013). Code-switching in the English Classroom: What Teachers Do and What Their Students Wish They Did.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2015, from

Merriam-Webster Online: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multilingual