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Volume 2 No.1

October 1996

The Japan Journal of Multilingualism and Multiculturalism

多言語多文化研究

Codeswitching as a Strategy in the Process of Second Language Writing:

A Preliminary Investigation

Hara Yuko, Research Student

The Centre for English Language Teacher Education,

University of Warwick, U.K.

This is a preliminary study on the use of codeswitching between the L1 and L2 as a strategy in the process of second language writing by L2 learners. Think-aloud protocols were recorded as 5 Japanese university graduate and undergraduate students in an ESL program in the U.K. were writing compositions in English. The protocols were then examined for intra-segmental codeswitching and the switches categorized into three main types: sequenced constituents, embedded lexemes, and translations. Each of the types was further divided into subtypes according to language use. The compositions produced were then assessed for quality. This data was analyzed quantitatively to determine the relationship between the types of switches and the quality of the writing produced. The sequenced-constituent type of codeswitching was found to have a relatively close relationship to text quality, while the most frequently employed type of switch--embedded lexemes--showed no such relationship to text quality. Qualitative analysis based on retrospective interviews with the subjects was also conducted to explore the functions of codeswitching in the writing process. Each type of switch appeared to fulfill distinct functions in the L2 composition process. While further research is needed, the results appear to support other studies indicating that the L1 has a strategic place in the second language classroom.