An Exploratory Study of Language Use and Preferences among Nursing Lecturers and Students at Mzuzu University in Malawi

Abstract

This article reports on the insights gained from multilingual nursing lecturers and students at Mzuzu University in Malawi on the languages they use and prefer in a classroom setting. Research (Setati, Chitera and Essien, 2009; Chowdhury 2012) has found that both lecturers and students in multilingual and multicultural settings favour code-switching practices in the classroom setting. Code-switching is, therefore, an important phenomenon, which researchers should continue exploring because of the several distinctive attributes associated with it. The study adheres to qualitative and quantitative designs through the use of a questionnaire and follow-up interviews as methods of data collection. The results reveal that both lecturers and students favour code-switching from English to Chichewa during lectures. From both lecturers’ and students’ perspectives, code-switching helps to translate and clarify difficult concepts. It also helps to prepare students for the nursing profession. The study has some practical and pedagogical implications. On the one hand, it contributes some meaningful insights for language planners and policy-makers; on the other hand, the study sheds important light on the need to include the workplace dimension during language in education and language planning conversations. This study is also important because it addresses the issue of how code-switching might effectively be exploited as a communicative and pedagogical resource in instruction.