CODE-SWITCHING: A SOCIAL PHENOMENON IN SCHOOL

CHEVY T. TANGLAO

Language is the most important tool for human communication. It is the bridge that communicates feelings, thoughts and ideas. It is essential in educational institution for students learn through language. In the Philippines, a nation of vast linguistic diversity, there are some 170 languages which mutually inapprehensible are spoken daily – Filipino and English were given national status. Filipino is the formalized register to tagalog and English is the language circulated during American Imperial era. Tagalog and English coexist in a complex manner and were widely-used in code-switching syst em.

Code-switching refers to the mixing of two or more language varieties with a single conversation or utterance. Such practice is common now among public school students and teachers. The system allows learners to be taught the content in the various subject areas using the first language and English as the second language. This enables the students to understand difficult or complicated concepts which are not usually comprehensible in English. As code-switching seems a common speech mode of both teachers and the students, clearly, it does not cause confusion in the students’understanding of difficult concept. This is not a battle of two languages but a complement of each other. Teachers and students capable of code-switching share the same ground of success for the teaching and learning processes. It’s abundantly clear: A classroom of code-switchers will be a better place for more understanding.

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The author is Teacher III at Mauaque High School