Channels, Fall 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 3 • Number 1 Page 3 share only one common language. For example, if a student at an American university were to study abroad in Russia and then return to the home university and begin CM in Russian and English with non-Russian-speaking friends, they would not experience more effective communication and greater understanding, but the opposite. CM is used to limit miscommunication when a speaker’s competency in a language is low. Due to relatively low language proficiency, speakers may not be able to fully express themselves in a certain language, so they fill in the gaps with a language in which they are more competent. On the flip side, if the listener has low competency in the language spoken, the speaker may code-mix so the listener can better understand (Gilead, 2016; Kustati, 2014). This is especially relevant in the language classroom, a topic which will be covered more later in the paper. Identity. For many multilinguals, CS and CM are used to show their identity (Daniel, 2016). The connection between language and identity is a widespread idea in the field of linguistics into which CM falls. One reason why multilinguals code-mix is to maintain their identity in both languages while also forming a “hybrid/third space identity” (Casielles- Suarez, 2017, p. 155). This hybrid language identity can be likened to the cultural identity of a Third Culture Kid, someone who grew up in two different cultures and does not identify fully with either one, but creates a unique third culture that is a mixture of both home and host cultures (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009). CM is especially common in multicultural or multilingual environments as a reflection of its people group identity. CM can also display in-group/out-group dynamics, either excluding a certain group of people or being more inclusive through language choice (Al-Azzawi, Saadoon, & Mahdi, 2017; Casielles-Suarez, 2017). Supplementation. CM can be useful for filling in the gaps in one’s speech with words from more than one language (Lu, 2014). CM may occur “when a bilingual is rapidly unable to recall a concept, but is capable [of] remember[ing] it in another language. [CM] fills in unfamiliar or unavailable concepts in one language” (Al-Azzawi, Saadoon, & Mahdi, 2017, p. 116). The use of CM essentially makes multilinguals recall quicker by allowing them to choose the word or phrase that comes to mind first rather than limiting themselves to one language (Ahire, 2015; Gilead, 2016). A speaker’s use of CM to supplement unknown words in the primary language spoken can, however, be a sign of low language competency. This is especially true with speakers at the beginning stages of language learning. While a multilingual is able to code-mix as a way of quickening recall, language learners tend to code-mix because they do not yet have the competency to fully express themselves in their target language (TL). Therefore, they must supplement words they have not learned or do not remember in the TL with words from another language, often their mother tongue (Keller, 2016; Kustati, 2014). Scaffolding. CM can be used as scaffolding for one’s TL at the beginning stages of language learning (Keller, 2016; Nguyen, Grainger, & Carey, 2016). With CM, language learners can use their L1 to help them start speaking in L2 sooner than they would by only using words they know in their L2 (Kustati, 2014). Scaffolding and supplementation differ in that scaffolding is temporary, mainly occurring at the beginning stages of language development to assist flow of conversation and get a language learner speaking as soon as