Teachers’ and Students’ Attitude towards Code-Switching in Learning English in Iranian EFL Classes

Attitudes toward L1 use in EFL classes have ranged from an absolute ban to an inherent aspect of effective teaching. Code-switching, which refers to particular instances of L1 use in relation to psychological and social demands of classroom communications, has been investigated in terms of its appropriateness with regard to various classroom conditions. The present study sought to explore the effectiveness of code-switching in EFL classes from both teachers’ and learners' attitudes with a focus on the differential effects of a set of individual difference factors. The data were collected from 400 subjects, including 374 students and 26 teachers by means of questionnaires and an observation checklist. The results of the data analysis revealed that students had dominantly positive attitudes about different aspects of code-switching. Meanwhile, learners' age, gender, and social class were significant sources of differentiation in this regard. Apart from rather cynical attitudes of the teachers toward code-switching, more than half of them thought that students did not become fully dependent on code-switching for better understanding, and assumed that code-switching strengthened learners' English. The teachers’ attitudes about code-switching did not differ due to the level of the class they were teaching. The findings provide further evidence for the effectiveness of code-switching in EFL classes.