Teacher’s Code Switching in EFL Undergraduate Classrooms in Libya: Functions and Perceptions

Abstract

There has been an increasing interest in the topic of code switching (CS) for the past two decades. This ethnographic exploratory study uncovers the status quo of classroom CS in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in Libyan universities. It aims to investigate how EFL teachers code-switch to facilitate teaching/learning process. Six EFL instructors and their students participated in this study from three universities in Libya. Fifteen hours of classroom observation were carried out and 24 students were interviewed. The results revealed that first language (L1), Arabic, was occasionally used by classroom participants for different pedagogical and social functions. Those functions are labeled as follows: Clarification, Repetition, Recapitulation, and Socialization. Both teachers and students hold positive attitudes toward the use of the teacher’s CS to tackle pedagogical and social issues.