Investigating code-switching in a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classroom

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide an outline of the research on code-switching in CLIL, including the use of mother tongue vs. target language by CLIL teachers, as well as teacher perception of CLIL learners’ language use and language problems, attention being given to spoken and written discourse difficulties and ways of overcoming them. The study was conducted among 29 Secondary School CLIL teachers teaching geography, biology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, or history in English, and was based on a questionnaire especially prepared for this study. The main aim of the study was to investigate the situations of switching the codes and reasons for particular linguistic behaviours in CLIL classrooms, especially through the prism of teacher and learner code-switching functions, and find out both positive and negative aspects of this phenomenon.