Stories of Senior High School English Teachers Negotiating Code–Switching in the Classroom Teaching: A Narrative Inquiry into Pedagogical Practice

Abstract

This qualitative narrative inquiry explored how ten Senior High School English teachers in selected public secondary schools in Davao City negotiated code-switching amid English-proficiency goals, multilingual classroom realities, and institutional language expectations. Purposively selected participants taught Grades 11–12, had at least three years of relevant experience, and regularly used code-switching in instruction. Semi-structured narrative interviews were audio-recorded with consent, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to member checking. Following Polkinghorne’s narrative analytic framework, analysis of narratives identified cross-story categories and themes, while narrative configuration reconstructed the trajectories of individual teachers’ experiences. Five pedagogical forms emerged: clarificatory, instructional-directional, lexical-support, participatory/confidence-building, and scaffolding/response-bridging code-switching. Six cross-story themes indicated that teachers used familiar languages to improve access to meaning, encourage participation, support transitions toward English, and respond strategically to classroom cues, while setting limits to avoid overdependence. Turning points included learner silence, misunderstood instructions, improved recitations, and disappointing performance after English-only lessons. The findings informed a proposed purposeful, bounded, and context-sensitive multilingual pedagogical framework incorporating learner diagnosis, strategic language support, gradual return to English, reflective recalibration, and policy-responsive flexibility. The accounts indicate how teachers perceived and negotiated these practices; they do not independently establish causal effects on student achievement. The study contributes narrative-based guidance for language-responsive teaching, supervision, and professional development.