IMPACT OF CODE SWITCHING TO THE PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 12

STUDENTS IN ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

(EAPP) CLASS
I. Introduction
Bilingualism plays its crucial role in English classes where students’ first language is not
English. English subjects have always been seen as one of the most complex subjects for Filipino
learners. Jimenez (2018) cited a study conducted by Hopkins International Partners which
revealed that Filipinos ranked third or fourth among the ASEAN countries in terms of English
proficiency, and that the Philippines’ proficiency is on the decline while others are on the rise. It
also says that only “seven per cent of high school graduates can properly read, speak, or
understand using the language. This sad fact explains why Filipino students could still not adapt
to the complexity demands of their English subjects which does them a lot of disservice.

Pursuant to Deped Order Number 36 series of 2006, the medium of instruction in all
learning areas in all Elementary and Secondary Schools, except Filipino subject, must be
English. This has resulted to the struggles encountered by many students whose second language
is Filipino (L2) and their mother tongue (L1) are their dialects. Consequently, even teaching
English subject in senior high school students becomes a challenge due to congestions of
subjects and the demands of the English language curriculum which even hindered learners from
participating well in school due to the difficulty of understanding and using the language.

In classroom settings, when students are confronted with activities asking them to
construct even simple sentences and phrases, it was observed that they really struggle a lot.
Similarly, there are some instances that “English Only” policy caused anxiety and depression to
students when it comes to expressing their own ideas and thoughts. As a result, they are
hampered by the language and learning hardly takes place because of limitations imposed.
Similarly, students could not showcase their abilities well when being forced to speak in a
language which they have not mastered yet. It is in these situations that code switching can serve
its functional purpose.

According to Villanueva and Gamiao (2022), code switching can be very helpful by
integrating it into the activities used to teach a second language. The study revealed that by
having students get in pairs and switch languages at predetermined points in conversation, it
helps them to learn each other’s language. Teachers can also begin a lesson in one language, then
switch to another language, forcing the students to listen carefully and comprehend both
languages. The positive effect of code switching was also highlighted in a study conducted by
Olivera (2022) as cited by Villanueva and Gamiao (2022). It was emphasized that the use of
code-switching has a positive effect on increasing and boosting their confidence and engagement
during English classes; consequently, the teacher also plays a great part in boosting the learners’
motivation to participate and engage themselves in discussions. Hence, during the teaching-
learning process, teachers should make their best to optimize learners’ emotional factors, lower
their affective filters that is, high motivation, low anxiety and this will be possible with the use of
code-switching.

The situations and relevant studies explained above led the present researcher, who is
also an English subject teacher, who noted the difficulties encountered by students leading to
code switching strategies, to conduct a relevant study on its impact to the linguistic performance
of learners in an English class. The goal is to examine why students usually code-switch and how
the strategy gives them a significant advantage to perform in class.

II. Research Questions

The study was an attempt to assess the Effects of Code Switching Among Grade 12
English for Academic and Professional Purposes (EAPP) Students of Bolo Norte High School
School-Year 2022-2023.
Specifically, this study sought to answer the question below:
1. What are the observed factors influencing students to code switch in an EAPP class?
2. What is the impact of code switching to the performance of Grade 12 students in
English for Academic and Professional Purposes class?
III. Methodology

The present study used the qualitative method in research. Creswell (2008) said that
qualitative is used when the researchers are collecting data in the field where the participants
experience the issue or problem under study.

In this study, the researcher collected data through observing the code-switching behavior
and interviewing the participants of the study about the impact of code-switching on their
performance in a language class. The participants of this study are the Grade 12-Fatih (General
Academic Strand) students of Bolo Norte High School, Bolo Norte Sipocot, Camarines Sur,
school-year 2022-2023. The researcher examined the use of code-switching in the classroom
discussions through observation and note-taking. Then, the interview procedure was carried out
to collect information through the responses of the learners on how code-switching is becomes a
strategy in boosting their confidence and engagement in their English classes.

The data gathered were encoded and collated personally by the researcher. The interview
questions were in English but the respondents were allowed to answer in both English and
Filipino for spontaneity and for them to feel comfortable. The answers were translated in English
by the researcher and were checked using the Google Translation in the Internet.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This study is intended to describe the Impact of Code Switching to the Performance of
Grade 12 Students of Bolo Norte High School School-Year 2022-2023 in English for Academic
and Professional Purposes (EAPP).
A. Observed Factors Influencing Learners to Code Switch in an English Class
A.1 Poor Vocabulary in English
The class observation revealed that foremost affecting factor that contributes to code
switching behavior of the respondents is their lack of vocabulary. When they cannot translate
into English the idea that they have in mind, most of them would ask, “Ma’am can I speak in
Tagalog?” which is a clear manifestation that they are out of words while speaking in English. A
number of respondents also manifest air gaps when expressing themselves in English, while
some would just code-switch right away even without asking permission. From these
observations, it can be inferred that the difficulty to translate ideas into the target language acts
as an interference in the students’ participation in class.
Similar case was also observed in a previous study conducted by Muthusami et., al
(2020) in which it was pointed-out based on the interview with the respondents that the main
factor behind code switching among the students was incompetence in the second language.
A.2 Fear of the Possibility of Committing Mistakes
The second observed factor is the students’ fear of committing mistakes in using the
English language. It was noted that some of the students practice code switching not because
they lack vocabulary but because they are afraid that they might commit errors in the grammar
use or in the word use. When students are not sure of the tense to be used or the right form of
word to be used, they also tend to code switch. This was also verified when the interview with
the respondents was conducted. Base on the combined result of the class observation and the
individual interview with them, it was revealed that students resort to code-switching when they
feel like they are likely to get intimidated whenever a mistake in their grammar and language use
is committed. So, to prevent this to happen, they opt to express themselves using the vernacular
language.

A.3 To Emphasize a Point or to be Clearly Understood

The third observed factor that influence the respondents to code-switch is their intention
of emphasizing a point or to be clearly understood. It was noted that students were able to
explain clearly what they are trying to mean when they use the Filipino language in emphasizing
their point. Similarly, it was also mentioned in the study conducted by Muthusami et., al (2020)
that students prefer to code switch to avoid misunderstanding when they do not know the
equivalent terms or phrases in English. So instead of improperly saying what they want to say
due to the mistake committed in using the English language, students simply use the language
they are more familiar and comfortable with.

Impact of Code Switching to the participation of Grade 12 students in English for Academic
and Professional Purposes (EAPP) class

Language learning can be best realized not just through boosting the cognitive aspects of
the learners. Education and exposure in the use of the language is one way of boosting the
learners’ language facility through their cognitive domain. However, there are also strategies in
which learning may take place through considering the affective aspects of the students. It was
explained in the earlier discussion, that the mandatory use of English in a language class in some
ways hindered learners to participate during discussion due to fear of committing mistakes and
getting intimidated. As a result, students in an English class simply resort not to participate than
be humiliated due to their erroneous use of the target language. This is the significant reason why
students cannot avoid to practice code-switching. To fully understand the case of the second
language learners, a transcription of the respondent’s responses for this study was analyzed
below.
1. What do you feel about EAPP subject?
R1: May mga bagay ma’am na gusto kong sabihin pag nagtatanong kayo kaso
pinasasawalambahala ko na lang kasi nahihirapan ako bumuo ng sentence.
(There were some things that I wanted to say every time you ask, but I just took it for
granted because it was very hard for me to construct a sentence.)
R2: Hanggang ngayon po kapag nagsasalita kayo ng diridirtsong english, halos
nahihirapan akong intindihin iyon. (Until this moment, every time you speak
simultaneously in English language, it is hard for me to discern the words that you said.)
R3: Nakaka nose bleed po. (It makes my nose bleed. SARCASM)
R4: Hindi po ako masyadong interesado. (I am not so interested)
R5: Hindi ko po sya nagagamit sa pang araw-araw mam na ginagawa ko. (I cannot use it
ma’am for my daily routine)
2. What leads you to use both the English and Filipino language in EAPP class despite the
fact that the medium of instruction is English?
R1: Mas prefer ko po mag tagalog, kasi po hindi po ako ganun kagaling tulad niyo. (I
preferred using Tagalog, because I am not as good as you.)
R2: Takot po kami magkamali ma’am. Kesa magkamali nagtatagalog na lang, pag di
nakaya talaga. (We are afraid to commit mistakes po. We code switch when we really
cannot express ourselves in English.)
R3: For me po, mas ok nga po kung purong Filipino na lang. mahirap po kasi mag
English. (For me, much finer if pure Filipino. It’s really hard to speak in English)
R4: Mahirap po kasi mag dirediretso mag English. Mas ok na ok po yun mas naeexpress
ko po sasabihin pag taglish. (Its hard to speak in straight English. It is easier to express
myself in TagLish.)
R5: Kulang po kami ma’am sa vocabulary. May mga words po na hindi naming alam sa
English. (We lack vocabulary. There are words that we cannot express and translate into
English)
3. What is the impact of using both the English and Filipino language (code-switching) in
your performance in the EAPP class?
R1: Mas maganda mam kasi po yung mga words na hindi ko kayang sabihin sa English
nasasabi ko sya sa Filipino. Tsaka mam yung feeling ko hindi nila ako pagtatawanan. (It
 is better ma’am because I am able to express the things that I cannot express in English.
Besides, it prevents me from getting intimidated due to the fear that my classmates are
laughing at me.)
R2: Nakakatulong po sya ma’am na mas mag participate po ako sa klase. Kase po
nakakapag English kami at the same time po, pag hindi talaga naming na kaya mag salita
ng purong English, nakakapag tagalog po kami.
(It helps us participate more in the class. Aside from we are able to practice speaking in
the English language, we are also allowed to speak in Tagalog in case we really cannot
speak in pure English.)
R3: Mas nakakabawas po ng kaba at nakakadagdag po ma’am ng confidence. Kasi hindi
kami natatakot na baka mapagalitan kami kapag nag tagalog kami.
(It lessens the feeling of hesitation and we feel more confident. It is because we are not
afraid that you might not get mad at us when we speak in Tagalog/Filipino.)
R4: Mas naipapaliwanag ko po ma’am ng malinaw ang mga sagot ko po kapag nag
didiscuss tayo.
(It enables me to elaborate and explain clearly my answers during our class discussion.)
R5: Talaga po ma’am, mas nagiging active po kami kapag kahit papano pinapayagan po
kami mag tagalog. Tsaka mas gusto rin po naming kapag nag tatranslation po kayo ng
lesson. Parang yung ginagawa nyo sa literature class po natin, pag tinatranslate nyo po
yung kwento mas naiintidihan din po namin. (respondent maybe referring to code-
switching)
(We really become more participative when at least we are given chance to express
ourselves in Tagalog/Filipino. Even during your discussion, we prefer when you are
translating the lesson into Filipino. Example is during our literature class, when you are
translating the story, we better appreciate and we understand better the story/lesson.)

It is undeniable that most of the students’ responses clearly revealed their learning
abilities as well the difficulties in the target language. In the transcription above, all of the
students agreed that they really find EAPP as a difficult subject. Also, the medium of instruction
and the fact that they have to speak in the target language, which is English give them additional
burden. When they were asked about the difficulty that they usually experience in using the
target language, all of them also agreed that the difficulty to express themselves in English and
the fear of being intimidated and being laughed at, are also the hindrances why they cannot
participate well in a English class discussion like EAPP.

All of the respondents also recognized the benefit of code-switching in increasing their
participation and performance in an English class. Therefore, it is really appropriate to conclude
that code-switching has positive effects on English language learning and teaching. As what
Memory et., al (2018) highlighted in his study, code-switching helps learners to understand
difficult aspects of the lesson taught and therefore are able to follow the instructions given. When
the teacher explains what was said in mother tongue, it helps learners to participate especially
those with English learning difficulties. It also helps them to express themselves if they do not
know how to say certain things in English. Consequently, code-switching helps teachers manage
their English classes and encourage better participation and performance among students.

Citation:

Roda S. Jimenez (2018) Declining English Proficiency among Filipinos. Sun.Star.

Retrieved June 11, 2019 from:

Department of Education. (2006). Implementing Rules and Regulations on Executive

Order No. 210 (Establishing The Policy To Strengthen The Use Of The English Language As A
Medium Of Instruction In The Educational System). Retrieved November 29, 2022 from
https://www.deped.gov.ph/2006/08/22/do-36-s-2006

Villanueva and Gamiao (2022). Effects of Code Switching Among College Instructors
and Students in a Philippine Classroom Setting. American Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
and Innovation

Paramasivam Muthusimi et.,al (2020). Factors of Code-Switching among Bilingual

International Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Higher Education. Vol 9. No.4.

Naha Memory et., al (2018). The Effects of Code Switching on English Language
Teaching and Learning at Two Schools in Sibbinda Circuit. International Journal of English
Language Teaching Vol.6, No.5, pp.56-68.