A case study of Chinese teachers' code-switching in the classrooms of a Spanish secondary school

Abstract

Applying a Conversation Analysis (CA) approach, this paper explores the use of code-switching (CS) in Chinese classrooms from a micro level. Specifically, it is a case study exposing the CS of Chinese teachers in overseas Chinese classrooms. Taking Turns as the starting point, this research analyzes and describes the CS of Chinese volunteer teachers from the perspectives of within the Turn and between the Turns. The study found that in the overseas trilingual teaching environment, teachers' code-switching categories demonstrate certain rules, and the functions of CS included teaching function, classroom management function and interpersonal function. The paper also demonstrates the functions of CS from these three aspects.