Code Switching

Parents and teachers of young bilingual children often notice that young English Learners mix languages, a practice commonly referred to as code switching. Code switching can be defined as the use of two or more languages in the same stream of talk or as the ability to alternate between two language systems within a conversation (Perez & Torres-Guzman, 1996). Children who code switch tend to follow the grammatical and phonological rules of each language (Zentella, 1997). Bilingual teachers also engage in code switching when speaking to children and their families. At times, especially when a word or concept does not exist in one of the languages, teachers will insert a word from the other language as they speak in order to illustrate a particular concept. Code switching is considered an appropriate practice for teachers, especially when this practice is used to support children's learning and comprehension (Faltis, 1989; Jacobson, 1990, Romero & Parrino, 1994).