STUDENTS’ CODE-SWITCHING THROUGH TRILINGUAL LEARNING MATERIALS IN ENGLISH READING: EVIDENCE FROM CLASSROOM OBSERVATION AND TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

This study examines teachers’ perceptions of students’ code-switching practices in using trilingual learning materials in Sundanese, Indonesian, and English during English reading activities in an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in West Java. Using a descriptive qualitative design, the study focused on two research questions: how teachers perceive students’ code-switching practices and what challenges teachers identify in developing students’ cross-linguistic understanding. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with two teacher informants and non-participant classroom observations involving 25 students. The data were then analyzed thematically and validated through triangulation between interview and observation findings. The findings show that teachers perceive students as active and strategic code-switching users. Students mainly rely on Indonesian as the bridge language to understand English texts, while Sundanese and English also contribute to the learning process. Although Arabic is included in the trilingual materials, it is used less frequently. Teachers view students’ language mixing not as uncontrolled code-switching, but as a purposeful strategy to support comprehension. This perception is supported by classroom observations, which show that students use multiple languages in a balanced and meaningful way.The study also identifies several challenges in cross-linguistic understanding. These include limited vocabulary, difficulties with grammar and pronunciation, and the cognitive burden of processing three languages at once. However, teachers believe these challenges can gradually decrease through repeated exposure and continuous teacher support. Overall, the study suggests that code-switching can serve as an effective pedagogical resource in pesantren-based English learning. It also recommends stronger scaffolding in trilingual materials, especially to improve Arabic use, and encourages future research to include students’ perspectives and other pesantren contexts.