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Authors: Shanti Bruce
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sessions.
Code-Switching and Code-Mixing
If multiple languages are going to be used in a writing center environment, there are several key linguistic terms worth noting in order to understand how people incorporate different languages into conversations. These terms— situational code-switching , metaphorical code-switching , code-mixing , and code-meshing —all offer us ways to envision how tutors and students can utilize multilingual approaches for pedagogical purposes. This section defines the first three terms, while the fourth will appear toward the end of this essay.
Code-Switching—Situational
Sociolinguist R. A. Hudson defines “code switching” as a situation in which someone “who speaks more than one language chooses between them according to circumstances” ( Hudson 2001 , 51). For many multilingual students, a US writing center is likely to be a place where they choose to speak English. Hudson calls this type of act “situational code switching,” which happens when
the switches between languages . . . coincide with changes from one external situation (for example, talking to members of the family) to another (for example, talking to neighbors). The choice of language is controlled by rules, which members of the community learn from their experience. (52)
The controlling rules of a typical US writing center would likely appear to be constructed by an English-only philosophy due to the center’s being situated in an institution of higher education guided by, as Horner and Trimbur (2002 , 595) suggest, “a tacit language policy of unidirectional monolingualism.” This “tacit language policy of unidirectional monolingualism” may have been what scared Alezka when she realized I heard her using Spanish during her session. Her educationalexperiences, up to that point, were likely grounded in the implied understanding that English was the only language we used in the writing center. So, Alezka and her classmates performed situational code-switching when they shifted from speaking Spanish with friends around campus (external situation 1) to speaking English with student-writers once they entered the physical space of the writing center (external situation 2).
Code-Switching—Metaphorical
As the tutors became more comfortable using Spanish in our writing center—for either social or pedagogical purposes—more students began using Spanish in the center. This created a more multilingual environment, a change in dynamic that allowed tutors and students to engage in what Hudson calls “metaphorical code switching,” which is when “the choice of language determines the situation” ( Hudson 2001 , 53). Based on our observations, it appeared to be common for our bilingual tutors and students to take a break from the “work” of the session—discussing an assignment or the immediate writing task at hand—to have a moment of general conversation. It was during these times that one of the two might code-switch from English, the language of “work,” to Spanish, the language of conversation. This kind of switching should not be surprising since, as Hudson writes, “it is entirely to be expected that bilingual speakers will use their choice of language in order to define the situation, rather than letting the situation define the choice of language” ( Hudson 2001 , 52).
Code-Mixing
Hudson defines “code mixing” as a communicative moment “when one fluent bilingual speaker speaks to another fluent bilingual speaker and changes languages without any change at all in the situation” ( Hudson 2001 , 53). The major difference, then, between code-switching and code-mixing is that, for the latter, the situation does not change. As I will show in the next section, bilingual tutors and students may occasionally code-mix in the middle of sentences, using combinations of Spanish and English words, to discuss an assignment, for instructional purposes, or for general conversation. In these examples,
Code-Switching and Code-Mixing
If multiple languages are going to be used in a writing center environment, there are several key linguistic terms worth noting in order to understand how people incorporate different languages into conversations. These terms— situational code-switching , metaphorical code-switching , code-mixing , and code-meshing —all offer us ways to envision how tutors and students can utilize multilingual approaches for pedagogical purposes. This section defines the first three terms, while the fourth will appear toward the end of this essay.
Code-Switching—Situational
Sociolinguist R. A. Hudson defines “code switching” as a situation in which someone “who speaks more than one language chooses between them according to circumstances” ( Hudson 2001 , 51). For many multilingual students, a US writing center is likely to be a place where they choose to speak English. Hudson calls this type of act “situational code switching,” which happens when
the switches between languages . . . coincide with changes from one external situation (for example, talking to members of the family) to another (for example, talking to neighbors). The choice of language is controlled by rules, which members of the community learn from their experience. (52)
The controlling rules of a typical US writing center would likely appear to be constructed by an English-only philosophy due to the center’s being situated in an institution of higher education guided by, as Horner and Trimbur (2002 , 595) suggest, “a tacit language policy of unidirectional monolingualism.” This “tacit language policy of unidirectional monolingualism” may have been what scared Alezka when she realized I heard her using Spanish during her session. Her educationalexperiences, up to that point, were likely grounded in the implied understanding that English was the only language we used in the writing center. So, Alezka and her classmates performed situational code-switching when they shifted from speaking Spanish with friends around campus (external situation 1) to speaking English with student-writers once they entered the physical space of the writing center (external situation 2).
Code-Switching—Metaphorical
As the tutors became more comfortable using Spanish in our writing center—for either social or pedagogical purposes—more students began using Spanish in the center. This created a more multilingual environment, a change in dynamic that allowed tutors and students to engage in what Hudson calls “metaphorical code switching,” which is when “the choice of language determines the situation” ( Hudson 2001 , 53). Based on our observations, it appeared to be common for our bilingual tutors and students to take a break from the “work” of the session—discussing an assignment or the immediate writing task at hand—to have a moment of general conversation. It was during these times that one of the two might code-switch from English, the language of “work,” to Spanish, the language of conversation. This kind of switching should not be surprising since, as Hudson writes, “it is entirely to be expected that bilingual speakers will use their choice of language in order to define the situation, rather than letting the situation define the choice of language” ( Hudson 2001 , 52).
Code-Mixing
Hudson defines “code mixing” as a communicative moment “when one fluent bilingual speaker speaks to another fluent bilingual speaker and changes languages without any change at all in the situation” ( Hudson 2001 , 53). The major difference, then, between code-switching and code-mixing is that, for the latter, the situation does not change. As I will show in the next section, bilingual tutors and students may occasionally code-mix in the middle of sentences, using combinations of Spanish and English words, to discuss an assignment, for instructional purposes, or for general conversation. In these examples,
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