The Relationship between Iranian EFL University Professors’ Code Switching and their Characteristics such as Age, Gender and Educational Levels

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Iranian EFL university professors’ code switching behavior in terms of variables such as age, gender and educational levels The participants of this study were 120 (64 males and 56 females) Iranian EFL university professors who were teaching English in different universities. A questionnaire was administered to examine the professors’ attitude towards code switching in L2 classrooms. The questionnaire was followed by an open-ended interview to supplement the data.The results of this study gave credit to the usefulness of code switching strategies, especially interactive type of code switching in speaking. Also, it was found that the professors’ age and educational levels could positively influence their use of code switching strategy whereas no significant relationship was found between code switching behaviour and gender.