Investigating EFL Senior Students’ Attitudes toward Code-Switching in Classrooms at Can Tho University

Abstract

"Code-switching plays an important role in EFL learning because it shapes how students understand lessons, feel more comfortable emotionally, and take part in classroom activities. Acknowledging its role in teaching practice, this study explored the attitudes of fourth-year English majors toward code-switching at a university in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The study applied the tripartite model of attitudes to examine students’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. To address these aims, a mixedmethods design was employed. A Likert-scale survey was administered to 201 English majors, producing high reliability results and showing generally positive attitudes toward code-switching across all components. This was followed by semi-structured interviews with ten carefully selected participants to gain a clearer picture of their thoughts and classroom experiences. The findings revealed that students showed a high level of conditional acceptance of code-switching, particularly appreciating its thoughtful use to support understanding, emotional comfort, and learning demands. At the same time, they expressed concerns about overuse or habitual reliance on codeswitching, highlighting the need for careful and purposeful use. The results also suggested that students’ attitudes change over time, shifting from greater dependence in earlier years to more strategic acceptance in later stages of their studies. Overall, the study highlights the importance of context-sensitive and developmentally appropriate approaches to code-switching in Vietnamese EFL classrooms. By offering empirical evidence of how English-major students view effective code-switching, the study adds to ongoing research on bilingual classroom practices and provides useful implications for teacher education, curriculum planning, and classroom language policy, ultimately supporting students’ long-term language development."