Explaining

The teachers acknowledged during the interview that they code-switched to Pijin when providing explanations to students about concepts the students did not understand. This was observed in three of the lessons taught by the two teachers. TU2 gave out a descriptive writing task for her form four (year 10) students to complete. She set the scene for the students, about a hunting trip and the students had to complete the story describing their experiences falling into a deep hole. The teacher then walked around the class checking on the students, during which some of them repeatedly asked the teacher to explain to them individually. The difficulty the students experienced was how to begin the writing task. Thus, TU2 code-switched in this next example to clarify how she set up the task as the teacher, and what the students needed to do to fulfil the task.

Example 12:

TU2: Okay remember, some are confused here. Dis wan hem

scene blo iu nomoa ba (pause) me setim for iu. You can

start off with your introduction using this scenario wea me

mekem finis. Iu can jes addim moa detail lo hem fo example, “One day I am in a forest with this group of

people travelling looking for pigs, suddenly I trip off myself to a deep dark hole…” and then you continue from what happens. Another way to do it is scene hem set finis lo dea

[Okay remember some are confused here. This is just your

scene (pause) I am setting it for you. You can start off with

your introduction using the scenario which I have made.

You can just add more details to it, for example, “One day I

am in a forest with this group of people travelling looking for pigs; suddenly I trip off myself to a deep dark hole…” and then you continue from what happens. Another way to do it is the scene is already set there so I will continue my story

from there (pause) is it clear? Is it clear?].

Ss: Yes!

She appeared to use Pijin to focus students’ attention and understanding of the functions we saw in the previous examples. It may have been that because the story beginning was in English the teacher switched back to English after the lengthy explanation in Pijin.

This next example is similar to example 11, where the teacher had a clear view of what he wanted the students to do. Pijin was used to talk about task requirements and to confirm understanding.

Example 13:

TR1: You are going to write up a recipe. You think back at home (pause). Wat kaen food na iu kukim lo home an iu raetem

daon wat na ota ingrediens iu usim an iu raetem daon na wat na iu save kukim bekos me save evriwan save kuk. At

least all of us we know how to cook. Think of a traditional recipe lo home iu save wakem. Iu raetem daon na hao iu

preparim na datfala meal ia. Hem clear na ekspleneson blo me? Inside the recipe you will need the ingredients and the

methods. Iu garem eni kuestin iu putim han blo iu up.

[What kinds of food do you cook at home, and you write

down the ingredients you use, and write down what you used to cook because I know everyone knows how to cook.

At least all of us, we know how to cook. Think of a traditional recipe at home which you know how to cook.

Write down how you normally prepare that food. Is my explanation clear? Inside the recipe you will need the

ingredients and the methods. If you have any question put

your hands up].

Below is another example of the teacher clearly explaining what he was expecting of his students and using Pijin to do so and confirming understanding.

Example 14:

TR1: Taem iumi se malubi rice hem na kaekae ia. Sapos iu se

rice make sua iu save wat rice- milk rice or motu rice. Make

sure you differentiate that one. Clear? Sapos iu se oh

recipe blo me potato (pause) wat kaen potato (pause) motu potato, boiled potato or bonebone potato? If you don’t know

some of the things, the methods ask your friends and discuss and write it down.

[When we say malubi rice, we mean the food. If you put

rice, make sure you know what type of rice recipe- milked rice or baked rice. Make sure you differentiate that one.

Clear? If you say that your recipe is potato (pause) what

type of cooking style (pause) baked potato, boiled potato or roasted potato? If you do not know some of the things, the

methods, ask your friends and discuss and write it down].

In examples 12, 13 and 14, the teachers used Pijin when they wanted to articulate what they expected from the students, in other words the task requirements and to confirm students’ understanding. However, they frequently switched back into English when emphasising key words such as “scenario”, “scene”, “ingredients” and “methods”. This seemed to highlight the importance of these words in their lessons.