Code-Switching in Students' Narrative Texts: Learner Practices and Teacher Perceptions

Abstract

Code-switching has become common in students' creative writing as Indonesian interacts intensively with regional and foreign languages, yet little is known about how teachers interpret it. This study examined the forms and functions of code-switching in students' narrative texts and Indonesian language teachers' perceptions of the phenomenon. A qualitative design grounded in transcendental phenomenology was employed. Data comprised 30 narrative texts, a questionnaire completed by three teachers, and an in-depth interview with one teacher, and the sources were triangulated. Four forms were identified: tag-switching, inter-sentential switching, intra-sentential switching, and lexical insertion, with Indonesian–English as the dominant pair. Indonesian consistently functioned as the matrix language, indicating that the switches were rule-governed. Situational switching followed changes of domain, whereas metaphorical switching, particularly English used for reflection at narrative climaxes, appeared in eleven texts. Students maintained readability through self-translation. All three teachers simultaneously regarded code-switching as linguistic richness and as an error to be corrected. Their perceptions converged with the texts on where switches occurred but diverged on why. The study recommends function-based assessment rubrics and metalinguistic awareness training for teachers.