FACTORS AND EFFECTS OF CODE-SWITCHING BY ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT INTERNATIONAL CLASS STUDENTS

Abstract

As an international language, English is often being taught or used in schools or universities in Indonesia. There are also some bilingual or international classes where the teaching and learning process mostly uses English as the main language. In this class setting, students are usually expected to communicate using English and understand the learning material taught in English. This study investigates the use of code-switching in international classes of the Faculty of Economic and Business, focusing on factor of code-switching and its effects on students’ understanding. The research used a descriptive qualitative method involving open-ended questionnaires. The participants were 49 international class students from the second and fourth semesters in Universitas Pekalongan. The results showed that factors of code-switching by students were limited English proficiency, difficulty understanding economic terms, and the need to emphasize important points. Code-switching helped students understand complex material, improve vocabulary, and feel more confident, but it also gives challenges such as slowing down English development and causing confusion when overused. Overall, code-switching played an important role in bridging language barriers in bilingual or multilingual classroom settings.