The Impact of Code-Switching on Bilingual Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

This research was conducted to examine the impact of code-switching strategies on the academic performance of bilingual students at secondary level in District Bahawalpur. The study was adopted a descriptive research design and employed a quantitative approach for data collection and analysis. A self-developed questionnaire containing 24 items was used to study the sample of 80 secondary-school students were conveniently selected. These items were conceptualized based on three main objectives, which included evaluating the effects of code-switching on the English education, general language education and the efficacy of the teaching methods that use code-switching. The research data also indicated that students had mixed but slightly positive perceptions of usefulness of code-switching particularly in comprehension and vocabulary development. Students have shown some concerns on its effectiveness dealing with enhancing grammar and writing skills. The regression analysis showed the significant positive relationship between code-switching and academic performance could be explained by using code-switching strategies respectively. The results confirmed that through the proper implementation of code-switching by the teachers, the students improved their knowledge, eliminated fears of learning and led to academic achievement. The paper has demonstrated that the code-switching may become a powerful and effective instructional technique in case it is applied as a strategy and with regard to linguistic needs and educational backgrounds of students.