Code-Switching Patterns Among Bilingual Undergraduates in Academic Writing

Abstract

Code-switching refers to the act of moving back and forth between two languages within one utterance or discourse. Code-switching occurs often within the discourse of bilingual university students. Even though code switching has been researched extensively when speaking in different languages, code switching in the academic writing of bilingual university students has not been sufficiently examined, especially beyond composition classes teaching young children or graduate-level dissertation writers. This paper aims to review the theoretical and empirical literature on code-switching and translanguaging in order to explore the functions of code-switching in the academic writing of bilingual undergraduates. Utilizing theoretical frameworks of code switching and translanguaging, the paper explores the patterns and functions of code switching in the academic writing of bilingual undergraduates. In addition, the paper examines how instructors perceive the phenomenon of code-switching and how code-switching reflects the conflict between academic writing expectations for monolingual English-only writing and multilingual repertoires of bilingual writers. The paper also examines code meshing as one of the pedagogical approaches that aims to resolve this conflict. Implications for writing instruction and future research are discussed.