Justifying code switching through the lens of teacher identities: novice EFL teachers' perceptions

Although considerable amount of research has been carried out regarding the relationship between identity and language, to date, there has been relatively little attention paid to the role of code switching on teachers' identity positionings. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, this research investigates how novice English as a foreign language teachers position their identities while justifying the code switching instances that occur during the classroom interactions. This exploratory study adopted a case study approach and three novice English teachers were invited to participate in the research. Their classes were observed, video-recorded and they were asked to participate in stimulated-recall sessions. The results of the present study revealed positionings of multiple identities including but not limited to non-native and language learner identities. Results also indicated that novice teachers' code switching practices showed interplay of personal, institutional and contextual factors.