OBSERVATION OF THE USE OF CODE-SWITCHING AND CODE-

MIXING WHICH ARE COMMONLY USED IN LEARNING ACTIVITIES

AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL

Ali H.
Jasmani Galsabila
Nurhakiki
Nurlailatul Qadri
TBI 1
STAIN MAJENE

Introduction

Indonesia is a multicultural country. There is a lot of diversity to be found

in this country, one of which is language diversity. Launching from the official
website of the Ministry of Education and Culture, from 1991 – 2017 there were
652 regional languages in Indonesia that had been successfully mapped and
education included the Language Development and Development Agency
(Language Agency of the Ministry of Education and Culture), even it does not
include dialects and subdialects.1 The presence of Indonesian is a language unit
for all these local languages. The diversity of languages and the existence of a
national language make Indonesian people at least able to master two languages.
This phenomenon is known as bilingualism.

In addition to the phenomenon of bilingualism, in Indonesia, the

phenomenon of multilingualism or situations where people can communicate
using more than two languages may be very possible. This is due to technological
developments that continue to increase. The rapid development of technology
makes people in this world feel closer to each other. Technology allows people to
communicate with each other even though they are in different places, such as
different countries. Communication in the era of technology not only allows
communication between countries but also allows communication between people
from different countries. In addition, increasingly advanced technology makes it
easier for people to access the internet to read, listen, and watch content in foreign
languages. And the development of this technology has also greatly impacted the
people of Indonesia. In Indonesia, many people can use foreign languages, some
even speak more than one language. Even in one area in Indonesia, young people
combine Indonesian and English in everyday conversation as slang.

The two phenomena above cause the process of switching and mixing
code in language or it can be called code-switching and code-mixing. According
to David C.S Li in Rahmad Risan, code-switching is the use of two or more
languages that are carried out alternately in a discourse, where the transition
occurs in sentences or clauses2. And code-mixing is inserting another language
into the dominant language used. Code-switching and code-mixing can be found
in various sectors in Indonesia such as the social, economic, political, cultural, and
educational sectors. In the field of education, code-switching can be found in the
learning process. In this paper, the researcher will observe the use of code-
switching in a learning process on campus. The objectives of this observation are:
first, to find out the forms of code-switching and code-mixing that are often used
in the learning process. Second, to find out whether there are differences in the
meaning of the words used in code-switching and code-mixing with the meanings
in the dictionary. Third, to find out what is the purpose of code-switching and
code-mixing used in the learning process.

This research was conducted at STAIN Majene, one of the universities in

West Sulawesi which is located in Passarang, Majene Regency. The researcher
hopes that through this research, the researchers and readers can find out the code-
switching and code-mixing that is carried out on the campus which is a campus
that is not located in a big city but has many students and lecturers from different
regions.

Previous Studies

In 2014-2015 Rahmina and Roswita Lumban Tobing conducted a study

entitled The Use of Code-Switching in English Learning at MA Mu'allimaat
Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. This study focuses on the types of code-switching
that occur in learning English, and the factors behind the use of code-switching in
English learning at MA Mu'allimaat Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. They found the
fact that the type of code-switching that is often done in English learning at MA
Mu'allimaat Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta is inter-sentential code-switching with a
usage percentage of 63%, and intra-sentential code-switching with a usage
percentage of 37%. They also concluded that code-switching was carried out due
to linguistic and non-linguistic factors3.

The research conducted by Rahmina and Roswita is not much different

from the research that the researcher wants to carry out. This study will also
discuss the background of the occurrence of code-switching in the field of
education, especially in the learning process. However, in this study, the
researcher will take the research location at the university while the previous
research was carried out at the high school level. In addition, this study will also
discuss changes in the meaning of words that are inserted when students or
teachers do code-switching.

In 2014 research on code-switching in the classroom was also conducted

by Sara Johansson. Sara Johansson researched to find out when and why teachers
in high school code-switching when teaching a second language, and examine
what languages students prefer to code-switching4. The research that has been
done by Sara Johansson will be different from this research. Sara Johansson
conducted research in Sweden where English is positioned as a second language.
Meanwhile, in this study, researchers will examine Indonesia, specifically in West
Sulawesi where there is a lot of language diversity, not only national and
international languages but also local languages.
Related Theories

According to Cook in Danu Wijaya, code-switching is a form of transition

when communicating from one language to another and the parties concerned can
understand the language5. An example is when someone initially uses Indonesian
and then switches to another language such as a local language or English. This
phenomenon can occur in formal or informal conditions. In addition, this
phenomenon can also be realized or not realized by speakers when doing it. In
linguistics itself, code-switching is the use of various languages in a conversation
as a form of adjustment to the situation faced by the speaker and the interlocutor.
Code-switching is divided into two types, namely internal code-switching and
external code-switching. Internal code-switching is code-switching that occurs
between the national language and the local language. And external code-
switching is code-switching between national and international languages. Code-
switching is a phenomenon in language contact that can be seen in a multilingual
environment6.

According to Raxona A. Soto (2010), code-switching is done for several

reasons. First, code-switching is done because usually, expressions in other
languages are better able to represent the ideas that the speaker wants to convey.
Second, code-switching is done because the terms to be conveyed are only
available in certain languages. And lastly because of the desire to convey
something only to certain people who understand the code being conveyed.7

According to Rahmad Risan (2016), code-mixing is a person's habit of

transitioning and mixing various languages. Code-mixing is the phenomenon of
using one language in another language, for example, inserting words from one
language into the dominant language used. The variety of language in question
includes words, clauses, idioms, greetings, and so on8.

The two phenomena above are no longer foreign things that can be found
in everyday life, especially in Indonesia a country that has many varieties of
languages. One of the code-switching and code-mixing that can be found around
us is code-switching and code-mixing that occurs in the education sector,
especially during the teaching and learning process. The learning process that
occurs between teachers and students requires a way of communicating that is
simple and easy to understand. The use of appropriate code-switching and code-
mixing is done so that speakers or in this case teachers and participants or students
can understand each other.

Both of these phenomena occur in teachers and students in the learning

process. According to Erni Zuliana (2016), several factors cause code-switching
and code-mixing that occur in students, namely the lack of ability and vocabulary
of the foreign language being studied, showing ability, as slang, and the desire to
attract attention from the interlocutor9.

Method

This research is a qualitative type of research through an observation

approach. Qualitative research is research conducted to find out and understand
the condition of a context that is made in the form of a detailed and in-depth
description of the phenomena that occur10. In collecting data, the researcher made
direct observations when the learning process took place, but there was also data
obtained from the archives of the researchers. The researcher archives are in the
form of learning archives that have been carried out by researchers online through
the WhatsApp application, google classroom and the researchers' archives in the
form of screen recordings.

This research was conducted at STAIN Majene, an Islamic college located

in Passarang, Majene, West Sulawesi. This campus has been running since 2017
and already has many students from several areas in West Sulawesi. This research
was conducted from March to May 2022. During this time period, the researchers
managed to observe the learning process as it took place and reopen the learning
archives that the researcher had done.

The first step in this research is to observe a learning process. After that,
the researchers analyzed the data by discussing it because this research was not
only carried out by one person but 4 researchers. Then, the data that has been
analyzed is presented in tabular form.
Result

Native Language –
No Position in Sentence Analisis Situasi Penggunaan
Target Language
1 Indonesia – English Kita coba dulu di zoom According to the oxford, zoom
yaa? means moving or go
somewhere very fast; show the
object that is being
photographed from closer
away. However, in this context
zoom refers to an application
that is used for online
meetings. This application is
one of the media that is often
used by teachers and students
to do learning. So, zoom in the
sentence beside functions as an
object, not as a predicate that
we usually encounter. The
word is inserted into the
Indonesian sentence because
the word is a name for an
object and cannot be translated
into Indonesian. In addition, if
the name is translated into
Indonesian, the meaning of the
sentence will be difficult to
understand.
2 Indonesia – English Kenapa belum bisa join? In the Oxford, join means take
part in something that
somebody else is doing. The
sentence next to the word join
refers to an action to take part
 in a class online meeting, for
example through Zoom
Meeting, Google Meet,
WhatsApp, and applications
for other teaching and learning
activities. It is often used
among lecturers and students
since work from home (wfh)
was enacted. Initially, the
word was often used for
teaching and learning activities
at Zoom Meetings because the
application contained the word
"join meeting" on the display
and was pressed when you
wanted to join a meeting on
the application. However, at
this time the word join is also
commonly used for any
teaching and learning
application and is often used
for offline classes as well.
3 Indonesia – English Silahkan serching yah According to Oxford,
searching is trying to find out
the truth about something. And
in the sentence beside,
searching also means finding
out, but the word more
specifically refers to the act of
finding out in one application,
namely Google. When people
use the word searching, it will
 be easier for people to
understand that searching
means finding out on google.
Although people can use
Indonesian in this context,
some people are more
comfortable using the word
searching because it is simpler
and more familiar to many
people.
4 Indonesia – English Please yah, ini you According to the Oxford
jangan terlalu berleha- dictionary, please has several
leha kalian sudah meanings, namely please,
semester 5 please, ask, and hope. The
word please in the sentence
above has become a term in
the context of request which
has the meaning of please.
Used by a lecturer when
conveying something that is
considered important. How to
use it is inserted to re-
emphasize, so the sentence
shows a lecturer asking
students not to relax or ignore
the tasks that have been given
considering they (students) are
already in semester 5. In the
context of the sentence above
the word, you mean all
students of the fifth semester.
Used by a lecturer to refer to
 all students while in the room.
How to use it is inserted with
the aim that the sentence
conveyed can lead to the
students being taught. These
two words are used because
the class being taught is the
students of the English
Education study program,
which aims to make students
accustomed to using English
even though it is combined
with Indonesian.
5 Indonesia – English Anyways guys, according to the oxford, the
papernya (tugas final) word anyway means in spite of
minimal 3000 kata yah everything; used to change the
subject of conversation. The
word Anyway belongs to the
adverb (adverb) class and
Anyways is the informal form
of the word anyway. In
sentence position, Anyways
here aims to divert the
conversation and also to make
the speaker sound cooler. the
word anyway we often find at
the beginning of a sentence or
the end of a sentence.
6 Indonesia – English Kalau tidak masuk, let Based on this sentence, at the
me know yah end of the sentence "let me
know yaah" here means tell me
where the sentence means to
 tell the lecturer whether there
is time to enter or not. This
sentence is also used in the
context of informal situations
and at the end, it is added to
make it sound more friendly
and not pushy, so it will be
easier for the interlocutor to
understand the speaker's intent.
The code-switching in the
sentence on the side is done
because the one giving the
instructions is an English
lecturer and the participants
are English students. This
code-switching is done so that
English students are familiar
with the use of English.
7 Indonesia – English Insya Allah pekan ini Based on the Oxford
kita mid test dictionary, the word mid
comes from the word middle,
which means middle and test is
testing; exam; test. So Mid test
here means a test given by a
lecturer to students in the
middle of the learning process.
The position in the mid-test
sentence here is intended to
remind students that next week
they will hold a Mid test.
Usually, the mid-test process is
carried out at the 8th meeting.
 The use of the word mid for
the term of the exam held in
the middle of the semester is
used because this word is more
familiar than using Indonesian,
and the use of this word is
easier to understand.
8 Mandarese - English Iye ma’am According to the Oxford
dictionary, ma'am means used
as a polite way of addressing a
woman. So the word ma'am is
used for people who are more
mature and indicates that the
call a ma'am is a form of
politeness towards people who
are older and the use of the
word ma'am is also intended
only for women. An example
of the use of ma'am on the side
is an expression that is often
used by students for female
lecturers, especially those who
are married.
“Iye” in the example above
means a word that refers to an
agreement. “Iye” in English is
yes, it is a polite way of saying
yes in Sulawesi. The example
below shows two different
code-mixing where iye is
internal code-mixing while
ma'am is external code-
 switching.
9 Indonesia – English Kirim tugas finalnya In oxford, final means coming
melalui japri at the end of the last of a series
of competitions, and also it
means the last set of university
examinations. And in this
context, final refers to the last
assignment given by the
lecturer at the end of the
semester. In Indonesia, the
Final test is only used at the
university level and is not used
in secondary schools, although
they both do the final exam,
both use different terms.
However, there are some
lecturers or students who use
Indonesian but not as much as
those who use the English
version. This is because the
final word is more familiar and
easy to understand.
10 Indonesia – English Jangan ki asal copy dari The word “ki” beside refers to
google. the second person pronoun
either singular or plural. The
use of “ki” is the use of the
second person pronoun in the
polite form.
Then the next word is copy.
According to the Oxford
dictionary, copy has the
meaning of copy, duplicate,
imitation, overlap, or
derivative. However, in the
context of the sentence above,
the word copy is defined as the
act of copying/copying
material or answers from the
internet. The word is used by a
lecturer to students when
giving assignment instructions.
How to use it is pasted with
the aim of making it easier for
students to understand this is
proven because the word copy
is very familiar to their ears
and is very closely related to
tasks that are obtained on
google where students usually
copy directly.
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