ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT: This study explores the features of teachers’ code-switching in Indonesian tertiary bilingual classrooms in which English, Bahasa, Arabic or Javanese are employed. The observation-and-interview data were collected using ethnographic approach over one semester. Transcripts of classroom interaction were then examined using an Interactional Sociolinguistics perspective. The results show that: (1) the use of blending English words expressed teachers’ motivation for communication and teaching, (2) teachers’ to-and-fro code-switching —displayed a strategy to make sense of teachers’ explanations by elaborating, reinforcing and exemplifying the message, (3) a multilingual practice in which Javanese was featured for quoting somebody else’s words and making personal comments to keep the language formal in the classroom. In fact, Arabic was only featured in the restricted expressions for opening and closing the classroom sessions. Overall, these findings describe teachers’ translanguaging embarking sociolinguistic, cultural, and pedagogical purposes of the teachers as the speakers.

1 INTRODUCTION