THE PHENOMENON OF CODE-SWITCHING IN ENGLISH-MEDIUM INSTRUCTION IN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES IN UZBEKISTAN
Keywords:
code-switching, English-medium instruction (EMI), technical university, Uzbekistan higher education, Uzbek–English bilingualism, translanguaging, scaffolding, lexical gaps, higher education reformAbstract
Code-switching (CS) between Uzbek and English is a common practice in English-medium instruction (EMI) classrooms at technical universities in Uzbekistan. This mixed-methods study explores the functions, triggers, and attitudes toward Uzbek–English code-switching among instructors and students at a leading technical university in Tashkent. Data from classroom observations (45 hours), audio recordings, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews (N = 94) reveal three dominant functions of CS: compensatory (bridging lexical gaps in technical terminology), pedagogical (facilitating comprehension of complex concepts), and social-affective (reducing anxiety and building rapport). Despite official EMI policies introduced since the 2019 higher education reform, strategic use of Uzbek remains widespread, especially when explaining abstract algorithms, mathematical proofs, and programming concepts. The study concludes that planned and purposeful code-switching can serve as effective scaffolding in the early stages of EMI implementation in technically demanding disciplines.
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