Code-Switching and Symbolic Power in a Second-Grade Two-Way Classroom: A Teacher's Motivation System Gone Awry

Abstract

Code-switching is a natural part of being bilingual. Yet two-way immersion programs are known to insist upon separation of languages, discouraging both teachers and students from drawing on both linguistic codes at once. Drawing on Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power, I examine one second-grade classroom in which the teacher instituted a motivation system to discourage code-switching. The children continue to code-switch as they find ways to draw upon all their linguistic resources. However, the system offers them a tool for manipulating symbolic power in the classroom. The conclusion agrees with recent research in encouraging teachers to allow conversational code-switches while expecting students to produce monolingual spoken and written texts where appropriate.