CLASSROOM CODE ALTERNATION IN SOUTH PUNJAB: INVESTIGATING TEACHERS' AND STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

This is a mixed-method research paper done at Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) of Multan, South Punjab, on the functions and perceptions of the stakeholders of Code Alternation (CA) the flexible use of the English (L2), and Urdu/Native Language (L1) in the multilingual higher education setting of Pakistan. The study takes a definite step out of the traditional deficit paradigm of considering L1 use as an ideological failure and a dual theoretical model of Sociocultural Theory (SCT) by Vygotsky to legitimize L1 as necessary pedagogical support to clarify concepts and a Sociolinguistic Functional Framework to justify its vital affective and social functions. The quantitative analysis showed that there was a sweeping student support, with a near-unanimous 94 percent of students concurring that teacher led alternation aids in mastering concepts, that systemic use of L1 is a prerequisite rather than a preference. Moreover, the CA motivation is projected onto the sociolinguistic needs, as 85 percent of students have attested that it is useful in creating humor and rapport and 79 percent employ it to convey their cultural identity and affiliation, accordingly, the role of CA in identity negotiation and classroom cohesion is upheld. This empirical evidence proves that L1 is motivated by the most crucial cognitive and social needs that override anxieties regarding language incompetence. At the same time, faculty answers showed that everybody (100 percent) agreed that CA is a necessary component of understanding, but this idea is complicated by ideological issue of providing L2 exposure. Essentially, 100 percent of the teachers insisted on professional training to convert their reactive use of L1 into a strategic, research-based practice a requirement in Principled Code Alternation. All of this reveals an unsustainable PolicyPractice Gap between the monolingual Policy and multilingual Reality and forces the need to institute strategic L1 use as an academic equity action in under-represented ecology in South Punjab.