Code-Switching in the Primary Classroom: One Response to the Planned and the Unplanned Language Environment in Brunei

Abstract

This study looks at the phenomenon of code-switching in the primary school in Brunei Darussalam. Instruction in the first three years of the primary school is in Bahasa Melayu. From Primary 4 onwards English takes over as the language medium for a number of the content subjects. Using data from a small number of classrooms at the Primary 4 and 5 levels, the paper looks at how the teacher incorporates elements of both Bahasa Melayu and Brunei Malay into content lessons. In providing the background to this study, some emphasis is given to the sociolinguistic situation in Brunei and, in particular, the important role played by Brunei Malay, the de facto national dialect, in the community. Code-switching in the classroom is seen within the wider framework of the norms of language use in the community, and the considerable linguistic pressures on students and teachers alike in the transition from Bahasa Melayu to English at Primary 4 level.