Norwegian-English Code-switching in 3rd and 5th Grade in a Norwegian Elementary School

Abstract

This thesis investigates code-switching between Norwegian and English in Norwegian discourse among 3rd and 5th graders in an elementary school in Eastern Norway. Seven participants were interviewed, four from 5th grade, two boys and two girls, and three from 3rd grade, two girls and one boy. The results found that some of the participants code-switched, however there were also participants that did not code-switch. Overall, the children in 5th grade code-switched more than children in 3rd grade, however this was mainly due to the many switches made by the boys in 5th grade. The fact that overall the 5th graders code-switched more than the 3rd graders indicate that code-switching becomes more usual during the course of elementary school. The results also indicated a slight gender difference when it comes to code- switching, the boys in 5th grade switched more than the girls in 5th grade. This gender difference was not as clear in 3rd grade, but it was still indicated. In addition, the results showed that the children code-switched less than what Norwegian adults do in previous research.