Language Use in the Foreign Language Classroom

Abstract: Students' first and target language are often used by both teachers and students during instruction in the foreign language classroom (Levine, 2011). In this study, the frequency of and reasons for students' and teachers' use of English or Spanish were analyzed using video recordings of 40 class sessions taught by eight randomly selected Spanish 102 teachers and by eight randomly selected Spanish 202 teachers. All of the videos were transcribed, and a word count was made to determine the overall use of Spanish and English by the students and teachers. The relationship between the number of code-switches by teachers and students and the overall use of Spanish and English in the classroom were analyzed. Finally, the code-switches between languages were categorized and counted to determine if students or teachers initiated the switch and under what circumstances, as well as the influence of code-switching on the interlocutor's subsequent language choice. The results indicate that teacher-initiated code-switches had the most influence on students' subsequent language choice and that teachers code-switched more often, even though students used a higher overall percentage of the first language. In addition, there was a strong positive relationship between the number of code-switches and the overall use of Spanish and English during instruction.Key words: Spanish, code-switching, first language, language use, target languageIntroductionStudents' first and target language are often used by both teachers and students during instruction in the foreign language classroom (Levine, 2011). Changes from one language to another, called code-switching, have been defined in a variety of ways. Timm (1993) defined code-switching as the alternating of two different languages at the word, phrase, clause, or sentence level (p. 94). Coste (1997) defined code-switching as alternating between two languages in either oral or written expression. Often, the expression is used interchangeably with terms such as code mixing, language switching, or language alternation, although each term has a slightly different meaning depending on the researcher. Code-switching research has tended to look at more advanced bilinguals, while less consideration has been given to code-switching in the foreign language classroom and especially these interactions between students and teachers.Research to date has not considered how the initiator of the code-switches may influence other interlocutors and how the type and quantity of code-switching in a classroom may affect overall language use. In addition, studies have failed to consider the impact of the students' code-switching on the teacher's language choices. In this study, researchers examined the overall use of Spanish and English in the classroom by both the students and the teachers. In order to better understand the influence of code-switching on overall language use, the number of code-switches by teachers and students were examined, focusing on the initiator of the code-switch and subsequent language use. In addition, teacher and student code-switching behaviors, including the point of initiation of each code-switch, the context surrounding it, subsequent language choices, and how the class level and the frequency of code-switches affected the overall use of Spanish and English in the classroom, were also studied to better understand first and target language use in the classroom. Too often research has looked only at student or teacher use and failed to connect the linguistic behaviors between the two groups within the language classroom to fully understand the language choices that are made and how choice of language may be influenced, which can thus lead to a better understanding of the dynamic of language use in the foreign language classroom as well as the factors that impact language use by both students and teachers.Literature ReviewRecommendations for Language Use in the ClassroomIn 2010, ACTFL recommended that "language educators and their students use the target language as exclusively as possible (90% plus) at all levels of instruction during instructional time and, when feasible, beyond the classroom" (ACTFL, 2010, p. …