Tasks: Code Switching
Work with a partner, or in a group. Talk about the questions below.
- How often do you code switch?
- In what situations do you code switch?
- Do you code switch deliberately?
- Have you observed your classmates code switching?
- Do you have friends who often code switch?
- Have you observed the teacher code switching?
- Do you know anyone who never code switches?
Work with a partner. Study the examples of code switching found in the box below. Where in these examples is code switching happening? What is the reason for code switching in each example?
Examples of code switching:
- Gracias for the lovely gift. Está genial!
- Skal vi bare spise pizza og chille i kveld?
- Sarah laughed and tossed her hair back. She said: –He is the guy for me, tres French, tres, tres handsome.
- Han er en dedikert gamer.
- The man put the shovel down and stared at both of us. –New Yorkers, huh? he asked. – You talkin' to me? – You talkin' to me? – You talkin' to me? He guffawed hugely and said: –Y’all better come up to the house, grandpappy’ll want to meet you, and it’s blowin’ up a storm.
- I was walking down the street, just outside the park, you know, and these young whippersnappers walked up to me and said – Where you goin' bruv? As you can imagine, I was quite terrified.
Create a survey to find out more about code switching. Make a survey asking people how often they code switch, and what reasons they have for code switching.
You may survey just your classmates, students at your school, employees at your school, or you can make a digital survey to reach a larger audience online. Work in groups.
- Having good questions is the most important part of a survey. Start by brainstorming which questions to include.
- Choose a survey method. Will you conduct interviews, hand out a questionnaire, use a survey tool like Survey Monkey, Easy Fact, or Google Forms, or will you use another method?
- Conduct the survey using the method you have chosen.
- Analyse the data you have collected. What do the results of the survey tell you?
- Present your findings to the rest of the class. This can be done in an oral presentation, by creating a wall poster, or as a research article. Agree with your teacher on which presentation method to use. Think about how to make the presentation clear, interesting, and useful to your audience.
Make your own examples of code switching. Make at least five examples.
Share your examples with a partner, and explain the reason for code switching in each of your examples.