Download PDFCode Switching
Knestrict and Schoenstead define code-switching as a “shift in language guided by a shift in context” (177). Nilep similarly describes it as “a practice of parties in discourse to signal changes in context by using alternate grammatical systems or subsystems, or codes” (17). More simply, code-switching occurs when individuals consciously switch from one way of speaking or communicating to another, based on the situation. In the writing classroom, the conversation about code-switching centers on encouraging students to shift from their natural spoken language to another. The central rhetorical consideration in code-switching is the audience, meaning that students often code-switch to fit into specific communities and avoid implicit biases. Typically, this refers to students from minority and second-language backgrounds who have been required to code-switch to standard academic English in writing classrooms.
Writing teachers may encourage code-switching because they believe it enables students to adapt to various settings. For example, some writing instructors teach code-switching to equip students to write in “The Language of Wider Communication” (Smitherman vii), in other words, to write for a global audience. In their minds, students writing to a worldwide audience may benefit from code-switching because international audiences use SAE to bridge the language barrier.
One teacher noted that code-switching could be seen as a “survival skill” and could be the difference between acceptance and rejection, especially in academia. Baker-Bell argued that black students in particular are often encouraged to code-switch so that they can navigate the academic or professional worlds later on. To this same point, Lisa Delpit explains that when students enter the professional world, they are judged based on what they create. In order to enter this “culture of power,” people need to speak the language of that culture. For this reason, she notes that teaching code-switching gives students access to positions of power and influence (282). To many, enabling students of all backgrounds to speak the language of power opens the door to overcoming oppression.
On the other hand, many critics argue that code-switching perpetuates inequality by devaluing other language variations and the associated identities that come with them (VA Young; Casmir). Critics claim that advocates of code-switching ask more of their students than to change their language. Instead, they press students to strip themselves of their background and individuality as writers to prove their assimilation (Grote et al.; Morton; Santiago, Nwokoma, and Crentsil). As mentioned earlier, language and identity are intertwined. If teachers imply that a student’s language is inferior or inadequate, students may perceive themselves as inferior or insufficient in the academic world. Vershawn Ashanti Young boldly states that “code-switching is all about race; how it is steeped in a segregationist, racist logic that contradicts our best efforts and hopes for our students” (Young, “Nah, We Straight,” 51). If the goal is to celebrate and empower our students' language and identities, code-switching could do more harm than good.
Possible Applications
Should you decide to implement code-switching into your classroom, the simplest way to teach code-switching that I found comes from Rebecca S. Wheeler’s article “Becoming Adept at Code-Switching.” While her article is intended for K-12 teachers, I found the process accessible to any group, including college writers. A key step in teaching code-switching is to help students compare and contrast their natural code with the same message in SAE, analyzing how language choices impact their audience’s reception of the message. Once students learn the impact, Wheeler recommends helping students analyze the “time, place, audience, and communicative purpose” of their messages and then use that analysis to “intentionally choose” their language choices for that scenario (Wheeler 56-57). Rather than letting language choices happen by chance, this process teaches students when to use their various language variations to achieve a specific purpose.