Opportunities and challenges in the analysis of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN)

The development of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) has no doubt contributed to prompting a renewed interest in children’s narratives. This carefully controlled test of narrative abilities elicits a rich set of measures spanning multiple linguistic domains and their interaction, including lexis, morphosyntax, discourse-pragmatics, as well as various aspects of narrative structure, communicative competence, and language use (such as code-switching). It is particularly well suited to the study of discourse cohesion, referential adequacy and informativeness, and of course to the study of narrative structure and richness, and the acquisition of a more formal or literary register. In this commentary article, I reflect on the five empirical papers included in the special issue. I focus on methodological challenges for the analysis of narratives and identify outstanding questions.

Arabic English Code Switching among Saudi Speakers

Many studies have been conducted on code-switching worldwide, but few were carried out on Saudi context. Therefore, this study inquires the use of code-switching among Saudis who speak both Arabic and English to identify the reasons of code-switching and to know the significant differences regarding gender, age, qualification, and level of English. The study raises two questions. They are: 1) What are the reasons of code-switching of Saudis as native speakers of Arabic? And 2) Are there significant differences for code-switching of Saudis as native speakers of Arabic due to gender, age, qualification, and level of English? A descriptive-analytical approach has been adopted, and SPSS program is used. A questionnaire (30 items) was distributed to a sample of 426 Saudis. Findings showed that those with high-level proficiency combined Arabic and English languages more due to their awareness of English language expressions and found English vocabulary more expressive and delivered their ideas better. Moreover, working people used code-switching extensively. Furthermore, postgraduates were found to be better than others. Additionally, genders were both exposed to the same circumstances. Finally, individuals among all age groups combined both Arabic and English languages due perhaps to several reasons. Therefore, the researcher recommends that it might be better to study the significance of forming training courses to keep the interest of natives to take pride and use it in all aspects of life. Finally, the researcher suggests conducting another study on investigating code-switching among instructors in EFL classrooms and exploring code-mixing since there are few studies.

REASONS OF USING ARABIZI AMONG ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDENTS IN JORDAN

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons for utilizing Arabizi among students at Jadara and Yarmouk Universities, as well as the prevalent motivations for switching for each reason. For the academic year 2019/2020, this quantitative study includes students studying English language and translation at two institutions, Yarmouk and Jadara. The participants in this study were picked at random from Jadara and Yarmouk Universities in the Irbid governorate. This study's data comes from a questionnaire that was given to 283 students of both genders (male and female). The researchers used Standard Deviations, percentages, means, frequencies, statistical figures, and the Friedman test to answer the study's research question. The findings revealed that there are numerous explanations for this. It is used by the participants as a prestigious language, as well as an easy way to write and appear more westernized. Code switching has three motivations: communication, intellectual, and solidarity. Because this study was limited to the governorate of Irbid, which is located in northern Jordan, there is a need to investigate the reasons in other Jordanian geographic locations.

Investigation of code-switching cost in conversation and self-paced reading tasks

Aims and objectives: Studies of code-switching (CS) in bilingual speakers using laboratory tasks have been equivocal on whether CS is cognitively demanding. The goal of this study was to examine time costs at the juncture of a CS in a more ecologically valid experimental paradigm. Methodology: English (L1)–French (L2) bilingual speakers performed two tasks. The primary experimental task was a novel paradigm that elicited voluntary code-switches in conversation with a bilingual interlocutor. A silent self-paced reading task was used to compare with a laboratory task with involuntary switches. Data and analysis: Intersyllabic durations (conversation task) and reading times (reading task) were analyzed. CS cost was the time difference between code-switches and matched non-switches. Cost-switching costs for each switch direction (English-to-French and French-to-English) and type of switch (alternations and insertions) were also compared. Findings: Code-switches in conversation were associated with a time cost, and the magnitude was comparable in both directions although speakers more frequently switched from French-to-English. In self-paced reading, switching costs were observed only for switches into the dominant language. Across both tasks, there were no differences in CS time cost between insertions and alternations. Originality: This study reports a novel measure of CS costs in conversation, intersyllabic duration, and provides a cross-task comparison in the same group of bilingual speakers to better inform theories of CS. Implications: Bilingual speakers experience a time cost when making voluntary switches in conversations. The symmetrical switch costs suggest that both languages have similar activation levels throughout the conversation, and the cognitive costs arise from the act of momentarily switching languages, irrespective of their dominance. In self-paced reading, cognitive costs arise from disturbing the status quo of relative activation-inhibition of each language adopted to perform the task. The comparable CS time cost for insertions and alternations suggests similar cognitive control and linguistic planning mechanisms for both types of switches.

Code Switching im fachsprachlichen Unterricht der notfallmedizinischen Kommunikation

Code Switching ist kein neues Phänomen. Interessant bleibt nach wie vor jedoch, welche Faktoren oder Situationen haben überwiegende Bedeutung beim Eintreten dieser Erscheinung. Ein notfallmedizinisches Simulationstraining, welches hier den Rahmen der Untersuchung gibt, ist eine gute Möglichkeit um medizinische Kommunikation in den Fokus zu nehmen. Notfallmedizinische Kommunikation in einer Nachbarsprache bedarf besonderer Überlegung. Im Rahmen des Projekts InGRiP wird die notfallmedizinische Kommunikation deutschsprachiger Rettungskräfte beobachtet und ausgewertet. Da Polnisch nicht als die erste Fremdsprache gelernt wird, wird auch Code Switching vermutet. Die Beobachtungen haben gezeigt, dass die Rettungskräfte, die Russisch bereits gelernt haben, Code Switching insbesondere bei den Zahlen betreiben. Es kommt auch zum Sprachwechsel ins Englische oder in die Erstsprache Deutsch, jedoch viel seltener als im Falle von Russisch. Das hier beobachtete Code Switching ins Russische ist ein nicht-funktionales Code Switching, das von den Rettungskräften unbewusst betreiben wird. Die Ursache wird in dem Sprachproduktionsprozess vermutet.

The Effects of L1 Interference on the Occurrence of Code-Switching in the Algerian Context

The sociolinguistic phenomenon of Code-Switching (CS) was addressed in dramatically different academic contexts where English is spoken as a first language (L1) (i.e., inner circle), as a second language (i.e., outer circle), as well as where English is spoken as a foreign language (EFL) (i.e., expanding circle). Nevertheless, very few studies examined the issue of CS among undergraduate students in expanding circle countries such as Algeria. Basically, this study sought to find answers that would, firstly, help apprehend the overriding reason (s) that stimulate the occurrence of CS in the third year students' oral production, secondly, identify the communicative functions of English-Arabic CS in the students' class interaction, and thirdly, gauge its practicality and effectiveness in multilingual classes. Following a qualitative research approach, a case study design was adopted with a purposively (deliberately) chosen sample. Accordingly, data were collected by means of two tools of inquiry, namely observation and an unstructured questionnaire. The findings revealed that the underlying factor that prompted the occurrence of language-switching was the linguistic interference that germinated from the students' L1, among other subsidiary linguistic factors. Furthermore, it was found that CS grants its appliers the opportunity to reiterate what they exactly said in another way, to hold the floor and continue speaking for an extended period, and to insist on what was being communicated. Regarding CS technique, it was concluded that it might be considered as a productive and, simultaneously, a detrimental communication strategy to develop EFL students’ speaking competence. Finally, the findings of this study supported the initially formulated hypotheses, and, thus, reported positive results.

FL code-switching in the L1 environment among early-aged monolingual learners: a pilot study

Code-switching has recently become an interesting phenomenon to study because it is a part of the developmental processes, as well as the result of the use of, and exposure to, multiple languages. For this reason, code-switching usually occurs during foreign language teaching and learning, “especially when studying English based on the different backgrounds and reasons” (Yusuf, 2009). Accordingly, code-switching can be examined from various viewpoints such as the form, location, patterns, conditions, and functions, in relation to the use or the roles of the L1 and L2 or FL in the classroom, the former being most often referred to. This paper aims to determine the conditions for the use of code-switching in a quite different situation, namely, among very young learners conceived of as monolinguals who happen to switch to English (FL) in the L1 classroom environment. The article opens with a brief characterization of code-switching, defining its most frequent forms and functions, and a description of bilingual and monolingual code-switching contexts, an emphasis being put on the role of L1 in the language adaptation process and switching. The study, composed of a questionnaire distributed among 5 kindergarten teachers in public kindergartens in Poland, has shown bits and pieces of code-switching to be observed among four groups of Polish children (early-aged monolinguals), and their “linguistic behaviors” on a daily basis in the kindergarten classroom. What has been hinted at ranges from the exact situations of switching to language samples, presented according to age, and possible reasons for the current state of affairs.