USING CODE-SWITCHING AS THE TEACHING STRATEGY

IN CLASSROOM FOR LOW ENGLISH PROFICIENCY

LEARNERS

Herawati*
Siti Sarah Fitriani

Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study is aimed to find the function of teachers’ code-

switching (CS) to support low proficiency learners in learning English
and to determine the benefits of CS practiced by the teachers in the
EFL learning. The data of this study were obtained from two English
teachers at Junior Islamic Boarding School of Darul Ihsan, Aceh
Besar. The observation sheet and questionnaire were used to collect
the data. Two English classes were observed in two sessions
respectively. All of the conversation in the classroom was recorded
and the code-switching parts were then transcribed and analyzed. The
results showed that the teachers used CS for clarification, explaining
difficult grammatical terms, building connections between teacher and
students, quoting specific terms that is not available in English, adding
specification, repeating message which previously said in English,
explaining message qualification, and emphasizing a particular issue.
The results of the questionnaires showed several benefits of
implementing CS for students, such as enjoying communication
during learning activities, feeling satisfied and comfortable in the
learning situation, feeling less tense and rigid, focusing more on the
lesson, improving their ability to understand new words, and helping
them understand difficult concepts and grammar in English.

Keywords: code switching, EFL classroom, teaching strategy.

*
Corresponding author, email: hera_saleh@yahoo.com

https://doi.org/10.24815/eej.v12i4.19109
Received 17 December 2020; Revised 25 October 2021; Accepted 16 November 2021
Available online 31 December 2021
 ENGLISH EDUCATION JOURNAL (EEJ), 12(4), 540-557, October 2021

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, learning a foreign language in a formal classroom is
the most visible form of learning English in Indonesia. Árva and
Medgyes (2000) suggested that in the EFL classroom, significant
differences can be found in teaching behavior of both native and non-
native speaking teachers in terms of communicative competence and
subject matter. In other words, the classroom is a basis to gain
comprehensible input, which is now developing not only inside the
classroom but also on the outside. As such, English teachers in
Indonesia are faced with many challenges and must have the best
strategy to teach their students. One way of overcoming these
challenges is to switch languages from English to the mother tongue
during the teaching in order to attract the learners’ attention on the
target language. Hence, teachers are required to use code-switching for
instruction to complete the tasks. They employ CS strategy as a means
of providing opportunities for students to communicate and enhance
their understanding.
Code-switching refers to “a situation in which a speaker uses a
mixture of distinct language varieties as discourse process. This occurs
quite commonly in everyday speech…” (Akmajin, et al., 2003, p. 209).
Fromkin, Rodman, and Hymas (2011, pp. 461-462) defined CS “as a
unique speech style to bilinguals, in which fluent speakers switch
languages between or within sentences”. Dimyati and Mudjiono (2013)
described CS as a linguistic situation in which a speaker will use an
alternative language code with others who have a similar linguistic
repertoire.
Many researchers claimed that using code-switching is necessary
in the classroom. It plays an important function to giving instruction,
explaining difficult context, and controlling class atmosphere. Greggio
and Gill (2007) believed that CS can be a useful tool in language
teaching and learning process. Teachers can use code-switching to help
students understand the teaching instruction and manage the time. The
students can answer or respond to the instruction without consuming
much time to analyze the meaning of the instruction. It also implies that
using L1 in an EFL classroom is not always an indication of the limited
language mastery.
Tien and Liu (2006) stated that low proficiency students consider
CS as a helpful strategy for thorough comprehension as well as better
learning instruction. In the ELT classroom, CS is used either in the
teachers’ or the students’ discourses (Sert, 2005). It implies that

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students who have difficulties expressing their ideas in one language

may switch to other languages to help them communicate in the
classroom. This view believes that CS is one of the important reasons
for switching languages.
Martin (1999) as cited in Nordin et al. (2013) stated that there are
some reasons why teachers need to switch during the teaching process,
such as a signal of the transition between preparing for a lesson and the
start of the lesson, to distinguish ‘doing and lesson’ from talking about
the lesson, question from a written text, classroom management, and
bring out the voices of different characters in a narrative. Teacher also
used CS for beginners to tackle grammar explanation, class
instructions, students monitoring/assisting and activities correction, and
attracting learners’ attention (Greggio and Gill, 2007).
Ahmad and Jusoff (2009) in their study on teachers’ code-
switching for low English proficient learners in giving instruction
found that the switch helped learners to enjoy their learning since
they’re able to comprehend the input. The comprehensible input toned
down their level of stress and helped them be more comfortable in
learning. It implies that psychological support put the learners at ease
during the class. When they feel that they can follow the lesson, and do
not feel lost, they would look forward to learn more about English.
Furthermore, a study conducted by Sehiling and Setiawan (2014)
on the students’ attitudes toward the instructor’s CS in the EFL
classroom found that low proficiency students were not confident to
communicate in English with the CS practiced by teachers. They prefer
to use Indonesia because they were afraid of making mistakes.
However, the students did try to speak in English when they were
spoken to their teachers, and they will switch back to Indonesia when
they encounter an unfamiliar word. The results also showed that the
students preferred the teacher to use more Indonesia than English. They
admitted that they faced difficulties in understanding the meaning of
the speech when the instructor used full English during teaching.
Ngaisah (2013) conducted a study on CS in the first grade
students of SMPN 1 Karangrejo. The data showed that there were four
kinds of CS that were used by teachers during the learning process:
inter-sentential switching, intra-sentential switching, emblematic
switching, and establish continuity. The purposes of CS ranged from
strengthening the request, giving motivation, giving further
explanation, explaining the meaning of new words, testing the students'
understanding.

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In general, the study about CS has been done by many linguistic

experts in Indonesia. However, there has never been any research that
focuses on the low proficient learners in Aceh, especially Aceh Besar.
Thus, the writer is interested in conducting research on code-switching
that occurred in an EFL classroom.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Code-switching (CS) has been defined in many ways by different

researchers over time depending on the point of view of their study.
Trousdale (2010) refers code-switching to a situation in which a
speaker uses alternative code between two varieties (codes) in
conversations with other people who have similar linguistic repertoires.
It means that code switching requires similar linguistic knowledge
among the speakers in order to have the same understanding toward the
switched code. This shared knowledge links the communicative choice
to which codes to use and switch to/with (Romaine, 2000). The
knowledge also links the communicative code to which strategies to
employ to build or destroy group boundaries (Wardhaugh, 2006) in
order to evoke interpersonal relationships between people who share
similar language backgrounds. The function of code switching in this
situation is to assist the conversation flowing that usually involves
language transition (Chaer & Agustina, 2004), and to express an
appropriate social meaning (Gumperz, 1983, as cited in Mukti,
2016). In short, code switching refers to a language transition from one
code to another.
In teaching learning context, code switching is used to overcome
the common problems of communication gab (Modupeola, 2013) such
as students’ lack of understanding toward certain explanations. It
provides students the opportunity to speak and understand the concepts
and facilitating the flow of teaching in classroom, clarifying,
emphasizing meaning, and emphasizing the importance of content. A
teacher, in this case, tends to look for other utterances in other
languages that are more familiar to students to help them understand
the teaching material. It is a teaching strategy that is used to ensure the
interaction and communicative event in the language classroom.
Isaac (2011) sees code switching as a necessity in class
instruction to improve the learning process. When students are faced
with lack of adequate vocabulary of the target language, they tend to

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proficiency learners (Herawati & S. S. Fitriani)

alternate the word with a new lexicon to get communication flows.

Brown (2000) stated that permitting the use of several words from a
student's first language can make the class move forward. By allowing
students to express themselves using L1, the class will be more fun and
help them mastering the new L2 vocabulary with the help of L1
concept. Cook (2000) believed that allowing L1 in L2 classrooms is a
humanistic approach towards the learners, where they have the
opportunity to speak their mind without the deficiency of not knowing
the right vocabulary and the fear of making mistakes. In this way, CS
plays its main functions to help students have a better grasp of
understanding on the subject and encourage them to speak freely in
English.
Poplack (2000) clarified three types of code-switching: inter-
sentential code-switching, intra-sentential code-switching and tag-
switching.

Table 1. Poplack’s (2000) clarification of code-switching categories

Languages and
No. Type of CS Example
Speakers’ Orientation
Inter-sentential; - Two languages Itula. Mama dah agak
Occurs in a sentence or flow fluently. dah. Adik ni demam ni.
between speakers’ turns - Speakers follow the Pity you. Your voice
(Eldin, 2014). rules of the two was also different
languages already.
1 “That’s why. I knew it.
You are having a fever.
Pity you. Your voice
sounds different”
(Stapa & Khan, 2016).
Intra-sentential; - Two languages Sometimes I’ll Start a
- Occurs at clausal, flow fluently. Sentence in English Y
sentential, and - Speakers follow the termino en espanol.
2 word level. rules of the two “Sometimes I’ll Start a
- More complex than languages. sentence in English and
inter-sentential finish it in Spanish”
(Cakrawarti, 2011).
Tag-switching - Happens among Common English tags
Inserting a ’tag’ in one low proficiency such as; I mean, you
3 language into a phrase bilinguals. know, and I wish
that is entirely in - Inserting a tag.
another language.

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In the bilingual and multilingual contexts of knowledge transfer

to learners, CS is one of the common educational strategies that can be
used to help learners acquire proficiency of a second language. Within
the scope of appropriate implementation, it can empower learner,
describe bilingual and multilingual speakers’ ability to express
themselves in two languages and to demonstrate its sociolinguistic
impact among people who use it (Auerbach, 2016). In the classroom
context, the teacher and student switch their language to find the most
effective way of delivering materials. Thus, it’s important that both
parties have the same linguistic background or language mastery.
Otherwise, listener with different L1 will fail to get the points of the
conversation.
The reason behind code-switching in the language classroom is
vary. In everyday context, some people use CS because they are unable
to express themselves adequately in one language hence its necessity to
us CS to keep the communication flowing. Others use it to show
connections within a social group or to exclude a certain speaker from
the group. In this situation, CS is a symbol of inclusion within certain
background identity. Additionally, it can also be used as the signal of
the speakers’ attitudes toward the listener and personality whether he is
friendly, irritated, distant, ironic, humorous, or so forth (Crystal, 2003).
Cook (2000) mentioned several reasons why code-switching
exists in a classroom. She believed that CS is a systematic switching
that happens as a way to get into the meaning of the target language, a
shortcut in explaining the task, a way of explaining grammar, and a
way of demonstrating classroom immersion into a second language
situation. Another reason why teachers engage in CS is to accomplish a
specific task, such as instructional and conversational tasks, and to
convey social information (Dehrab, 2002). However, Dehrab added that
CS was the teachers’ instructional strategy and the students’ surviving
strategy that manifested from cross cultural knowledge and educational
backgrounds.
Zabrodskaja (2007) added that CS accommodates a perpetual
problem of students’ need on full understanding of any unclear part of
the lesson. Fatimah (2007) believed that CS is a teaching strategy for an
effective learning. It contributes to classroom interaction in the
conversational functions and as an indirect translation and extended
explanation. Within a sociolinguistic spectrum, CS can be used when
classes are difficult to control, facilitating understanding, especially
with poor-achiever students, saving time and enabling teachers to cope

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proficiency learners (Herawati & S. S. Fitriani)

with the demands of the syllabus, obtaining a better response, and

creating intimacy and promoting a lively classroom atmosphere. In
terms of linguistics, code-switching helps students understand the
lesson, enables them to learn two languages co-extensively, as a
medium of learning L2 and L3, to explain difficult terms in textbook,
and to substitute words that correspond with English pronunciation.
Furthermore, Mattson and Burenhult (1999) proposed three main
functions of CS. They are (1) topic function; teacher uses L1 to explain
certain grammatical structures. It work in both ways, students will learn
new input while teacher aims to direct students' attention to the new
knowledge of L2 by using the L1. (2) Affective functions; to express
emotions and build relationship between teacher and student. In this
way, the students will enjoy their learning process more since they
were able to comprehend the input. It will also help them relax, focus
and concentrate. (3) Repetitive function; is the teachers' recurring
strategy of using CS in transferring knowledge and providing clarity. It
was used to emphasize a point.
There is a significant correlation between teachers’ code-
switching and student’s low proficiency in learning a foreign language.
Tien and Liu (2006) claimed that low proficiency students prefer the
teacher to use CS during learning as so to help them gain a better
comprehension in their EFL classes. It is beneficial in providing a
comprehension input as well as giving classroom instruction.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research utilized the descriptive qualitative method. The

participants of this research were two EFL teachers and 60 eighth grade
students of MTsS Darul Ihsan Krueng Kalee, Aceh Besar. The data
were obtained from classroom observation. Two instruments were used
to collect the data; observation sheets and questionnaire. The former
was adapted from Poplack’s (2000) checklist observation sheet and
specified for the teacher. It was used to find out the teachers’ strategy
and the code-switching tendency that occurred in the classroom as well
as the benefits and drawbacks of using code-switching in teaching and
learning English. Meanwhile, the latter was distributed for both
teachers and students. Its main purpose was to find out the benefits of
using code-switching in teaching and learning English to students with
low English proficiency. It consisted of eight yes/no Likert questions
relating to the students’ satisfaction and perceptions on the benefits of

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teacher’s code-switching. Furthermore, all classroom activities such as

teaching activities, classroom behavior, students’ language behavior,
physical settings, and student attitudes and feelings were recorded
during the classroom observation.
Subsequently, the recorded classroom conversation between the
students and the teacher were transcribed. The transcription of code
displayed followed the conventional transcription symbols from Yusuf
(2006). To analyze the data, the researcher used Miles, Huberman and
Saldana’s (2014) three stages of data transcription analysis procedural
standards: data reduction, data display, and drawing conclusions and
verifying. Additionally, the data from the questionnaires were also
analyzed using a percentage formula by Sudjiono (2010).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The Functions of the Teachers’ Code Switching to Support Low

Proficiency Learners in Learning English
The primary data regarding the teacher’s code-switching for
students during learning activities were obtained from classroom
observation. The researcher found that both teachers frequently used
code-switching in all aspect of classroom activities.

Table 2. The function of teachers’ code switching according to teachers

No The function of teacher code switching Yes No
1 To clarify something ✔
2 To explain difficult term in grammar ✔
3 To build solidarity between teacher and student ✔
4 To quote the specific term which is unavailable in English ✔
5 To addressee specification ✔
6 To repeat a message which has been said in English before ✔
7 To explain message qualification ✔
8 To emphasize particular issue ✔

The teacher used CS to clarify something and to explain difficult

items or an unfamiliar vocabulary in grammar. In this case, CS was
used to help students understand the pattern of sentences. The teacher
explained the basic formula of negative sentences and interrogative
sentences. To help students understand, the teacher translated vague
sentences that usually involved sentences that consist of different
meaning if it was to be translated word-by-word into Indonesian.

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Furthermore, the teacher also used CS to repeat a message which has

been said in English before. They will show the students the meaning
of the previously mentioned vocabularies to make sure that the students
understood. They also used CS to praise the students. It also functions
to build connections between students and teachers. Moreover, the
teacher also used CS to quote specific terms which are unavailable in
English. The teacher explained the meaning of “dayah” in English and
provides an example of it by mentioning the name of a school (Darul
Islam Boarding School). The term is not available in English and
Indonesia. Code-switching is also used to emphasize a particular issue.
In this context, CS was used by the teacher to handle a chaotic
classroom activity, usually by saying “Pay attention please! Coba
jangan ribut dulu!”.

The Benefits of Using Code-Switching in Teaching and Learning

English for Low English Proficiency Students
Based on the findings of the questionnaire, it can be concluded
that teacher’s CS in EFL classroom helped low-ability students learn
the basics grammar of English. The questionnaire focused on situations
in which students believed that CS could be used beneficially. Table 3
illustrates the level of students’ satisfaction on teachers’ code-
switching.

Table 3. The students’ responses to the benefits of teachers’ code-

switching in class
No Learners’ Affective State Yes No
1 Students enjoy their communication during learning activities. 52 8
2 Students Feel satisfied with the learning situation. 49 11
3 Students feel comfortable to learn. 50 10
4 students feel less tense and not rigid 53 7
students feel like they didn't lose concentration and focus on the
5 47 13
lesson.
6 Helping students to understand new words. 55 5
7 Helping students to understand difficult concepts. 45 15
8 Helping students to understand English grammar. 51 9

The result shows that code-switching helped students enjoy their

learning experience and encourage them to communicate during
classroom activities. Almost 52 students stated that CS helped them to
enjoy their EFL learning. However, 8 students disagreed with the
statement. It means that the majority of the students agreed that they

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enjoyed learning activities when the teachers used code-switching

during the English learning. Furthermore, the majority of the students
were satisfied with the teaching-learning activities when the teachers
switched the language into Indonesian. The table shows that 49
students were satisfied when the teacher did not fully speak in English
when teaching the lesson. However, there were some students (14)
disagreed with this argument. While ten of the students showed their
dissatisfaction, the majority of the students (50) agreed that they feel
comfortable in learning English if the teachers use code-switching to
explain a topic or material related to English lessons.
The questionnaire result (53) also proved that using code-
switching in teaching English allows the students to be more active
without feeling tense and rigid when expressing their opinions.
However, there are 7 students who experienced the opposite situation.
Furthermore, students also agreed that using CS during EFL learning
helped them concentrate and focus on the lesson. A total of 47 students
agreed that teacher’s code-switching strategy boost their concentration
and helped them focused during the lesson. However, a minority of the
students (13) did not agree with this statement. Allowing students to
use code-switching as a bridge between a familiar and an unfamiliar
vocabulary can make conversing in the target language much easier and
more comfortable. This strategy can assist new word learning.
According to the students' responses (50), teacher’s code-switching
make new word leaning much easier. Only five students were unable to
improve their English vocabulary with code-switching strategy.
Code-switching is also beneficial when the teacher were trying to
teach difficult concepts that are difficult for students to comprehend if
it was completely explained in English. Students believed that CS made
it easier for them to understand the subject that being taught. A total of
45 students agreed with the statement while 15 others showed their
inclination. The last one is code-switching can help students understand
grammar. Almost all of the students (51) recognized this benefit by
agreeing that code-switching indeed helped them learn and understand
grammar better. However, there were nine students who did not affect
by this strategy.
The results of the questionnaire show that the majority of the
students had a positive response on the use of code-switching in the
English teaching and learning process. It leads to the idea that CS is a
good teaching strategy in helping low proficiency students to
comfortably learn English without feeling tense. The students were

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proficiency learners (Herawati & S. S. Fitriani)

satisfied and enjoyed their learning without losing their concentration

even though the teacher used L1 in the teaching process.

Discussion
The finding of this study indicates that both teachers and students
at Dayah Darul Ihsan, Aceh Besar, mainly used code-switching in
language learning interaction. It means that code-switching can be a
useful strategy to help students understand the English language. The
result shows that the function of using code-switching is to help
students comprehend English grammatically and speak it fluently.
Using two languages, Indonesian and English, can help students
understand the meaning and grasp the language's patterns.
Based on the observation result regarding the switching used by
English teachers at Dayah Darul Ihsan, it was found that the teacher
used CS for several purposes. First, it was used to clarify the learning
instruction without using too many words. CS gives students the
opportunities to communicate effectively and help them understand the
teaching material without spending too much time (Modupeola, 2003).
It means that code switching helps the teachers in creating a
communicative classroom atmosphere. Sert (2005) claimed that using
code-switching has the benefit to deliver necessary knowledge. The
teachers use their mother tongue to clarify the meaning and to stress the
importance of the language content for an efficient comprehension.
Furthermore, the teacher also used code-switching to explain a
difficult grammatical structure in sentences, the word arrangement, etc.
In some cases, they also use CS to build connections between the
students by praising and thanking them. The teacher praised the
students by saying “bagus (good)” after they read a text in English
because she found that their willingness to read even though they have
difficulties pronouncing some words is a good start. The expression of
thanks and praise indicates the teacher's positive feeling toward the
students’ attitudes (Rihane, 2007).
CS is also used by the teacher to quote specific terms which are
unavailable in English and to address specification. However, the
teachers frequently used CS to repeat a message which has been said in
English before, to explain massage qualification, and to emphasize a
particular issue in order to make the students really understand the
explanation and instruction. Hoffman, as cited in Mukti (2016), said
that teachers interject a CS to make students understand what they were
emphasizing about important things. As a result, teachers employ code-

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switching to ensure that students comprehend the relevant information

and emphasize the necessity of efficient comprehension and clear
instruction.
The teacher also used Indonesia in order to confirm students’
understanding and to get their attention. Nerghes (2011) claimed that
using CS will attract students’ attention and motivate the audience to
pay attention to the information presented. Rihane (2007) stated that
using code-switching is an effective way to make the audience realize
that they need to give their attention to the speaker.
The results from the questionnaire shed light on the students’
different perceptions toward teachers’ code-switching, which was
based on their satisfaction during English learning. The study found
that code-switching helped learners enjoy their learning since they were
able to comprehend the input. The input allowed them to feel less
stressful and be more comfortable to learn. Schweers (1999) explained
that once teachers are comfortable with the environment without any
unnecessary anxiety, the learners can successfully focus and participate
in the classroom activities. Thus, psychological support makes learners
feel more relaxed when learning language. When they feel that they can
follow the lesson, and do not feel lost, they would look forward to
learning more English. Schweers (1999) also stressed on the
importance of providing a psychologically conducive learning
environment for the learners. Furthermore, the exposure to code-
switching at an early stage of learning allows learners to gain a head
start towards effective and successful learning and to gradually become
users of the target language.
The overall findings suggested that teachers’ code-switching does
help improve students’ English skills. The students also agree that
code-switching has helped them understand difficult concepts. They
also agree that CS took a significant part in their successful learning.
There were satisfactions whenever the teachers switched the language
to accommodate the learning process. In fact, low proficient learners
can comprehend the subject and the classroom activities they engaged
in.
In short, successful learning reflects on students’ ability of using
English. It comes from their understanding of input that was generated
through the CS strategy designed by the teacher to help low proficiency
students. CS assists a comprehensible input of learning environment
that can decrease students’ level of stress and helps them relax. It helps
students to be active in expressing their idea without feeling stress

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(Burden, 2001).
Relating to general views on code-switching, different people
have different attitude toward code-switching. Coogan (2003) stated
that attitudes toward code-switching vary greatly among members of
different speech communities and even among the speakers who code
switch themselves. Gumperz (1983) concluded that different
community members display different attitudes toward code-switching.
Some see it as a lack of fluency in one code over the other, whereas
others see it as an informal style of speaking. Whatever attitudes they
display, attitudes toward code-switching may differ in a different
situation.
In this research, both teachers have a positive view of code-
switching. They practiced code-switching not for their lack of
knowledge but to help students learn English. In fact, both teachers had
good proficiency in English. They agreed that speaking in Indonesia
during the learning process can help students understand the topic
being discussed. Otherwise, some students might misunderstand the
topic since they had limited ability in English. Promnath and Tayjasa
(2016) argued that code-switching is beneficial for students'
understanding. During learning, code-switching saves time and makes
students feel more confident and comfortable. The use of code-
switching helps students with lower performance to be able to follow
the lessons better than using full English. It reduced their stress by not
worrying about what to say because they could switch to Indonesia.
Yletyinen (2004) also claimed that CS helps the less competent
students in answering a question that being asked. CS during the
instruction was intended to help the low performance students
understand the question so that they can answer the question.
Furthermore, code-switching greatly accommodate their understanding
on instruction during the teaching process (Wardhaugh, 2006). Skiba
(1997) added that CS is a teaching strategy that can help students get a
better understanding. It keeps the conversation in the classroom flow
given that code-switching helps in transfering information between the
teacher and the students.
Ngaisah (2013) in her research stated that teacher used CS to
strengthen the request, to give motivation, to give more explanation, to
explain about the meaning of new word, and to test the students
understanding. In this research, the teacher also explained the meaning
of words in Indonesia to make sure that the students understand the
meaning of new vocabularies and their use based on the appropriate

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context. The teachers also motivate and thank the students in L1 in

order to build connections. Moreover, in several cases, the teachers also
strengthen the request in L1 to make sure the students understand the
teachers’ instructions.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

The teachers used CS for several purposes. In general, CS was

used to clarify the instruction and to clarify the specific use of some
vocabularies. Furthermore, it is helpful to be used in explaining a
difficult grammatical system of a sentence, the word arrangement, etc.
In several cases, the teachers also used CS to build connections with the
students by praising them and saying thanks. Code switching is also
used by the teacher to quote specific terms which are unavailable in
English. However, the teachers frequently used code switching to
repeat information which has been previously said in English, to
explain massage qualification, to emphasize particular issues, and to
make the students understand the teachers’ explanation and instruction
in L2.
The result of this study is equally beneficial for both teachers and
students because it provides a better understanding of the nature, types,
and functions of code-switching and its benefits in accelerating the
learning of foreign languages, especially English. Directly this study
will also contribute to the existing literature on code-switching,
specifically on the use of code-switching in the speaking class.
Information obtained from this research will also provide insight into
the reasons for using code-switching in language skills classes and their
function as language tools in speaking skills classes. Furthermore, this
research will provide a more in-depth information and as a platform for
future researchers to explore a new dimension of code-switching as an
important language tool.
Overall, the results indicate that the students have a positive
perception of teacher’s CS in the EFL classroom. Furthermore, the
researcher would assume that code switching can be a useful strategy in
bilingual class instruction. A further analysis on the students’ attitudes
toward CS in the foreign language classroom is needed. This research
can give input and contribution for the readers who will do the same
research to analyze the use of code switching that is seen from not only
the teachers’ perspectives but also the students' perspective.
There are some beneficial impacts on the students by

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Using code-switching as the teaching strategy in classroom for low English
proficiency learners (Herawati & S. S. Fitriani)

implementing CS in the EFL classroom. It makes learning enjoyable

thus helps learners comprehend the input. Subsequently, the
comprehensible input reduces their stress level and creates a
comfortable learning atmosphere. A successful learning is reflected on
the learners’ ability to use English that comes from learners’
understanding of teachers’ input that was generated through learners’
successful completion of tasks or activities designed by the teachers. It
means that CS is a useful teaching strategy to improve student
proficiency in English learning. However, this study was conducted on
limited two-time meetings of different and separated lesson plan. The
result is only a surface image of the situation and not a universal view.
Therefore, a longer period of investigation is most likely present a
bigger picture of the situation.

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