Code Switching in Private Pre-Schools Classrooms in Kenya

Switching from one language to another during daily conversations is not anything strange in bilingual communities. Code switching patterns also seem to be a common practice in teaching/learning institutions in bilingual and multilingual communities. The switch from one language to another in different context often shows the social and cultural identities of the speakers. The changing society has been and still influence the current generation in profound ways, including language patterns. On the other hand, we have a competitive world that has challenged the school proprietors to come up with private pre-schools that ride on top of other preschools. The excellence of these schools is especially seen in the language of instruction. The English language is sought to be used from the first day the child appears in school. This becomes challenging because not all children understand English language. In Kenya, preschool children are expected to learn through a language of their catchment area. Kiswahili has always been the dominant language of the catchment area around the school, alongside the mother tongues. Children are expected to learn mainly through use of this language of the catchment area, which is often treated as their mother tongue. However, most private preschools also adopt the use of English language right from day one of learning. Given the childrens various backgrounds, code switching becomes inevitable in a learning situation. The teacher must keep changing from one language to the other as when deemed appropriate to ensure effective learning takes place. In this paper we shall examine the occurrences of code switching in private preschools in Kenya.