Home⇛International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research⇛vol. 6 no. 7 (2025)

Code-Switching and Grammar: A Bibliometric Analysis on How Bilingual Students Use English Syntax in Writing

Shaira Mae Ravago | Vincent Jelo F. Quijano | Joseline M. Santos

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Purpose. This study investigated how bilingual students employ English syntax in writing by examining code-switching practices. Design/methodology/approach. A bibliometric analysis was con-ducted using Scopus-indexed articles from 1982 to 2025, employing tools such as VOSviewer and NVivo, software tools that are used to construct visuals of bibliometric connections and networks, to map trends and themes. Findings. Results indicated that code-switching enhances grammatical development by fostering metalinguistic awareness, cognitive flexibility, and rhetorical strategy, though concerns remain about its impact on adherence to standard grammar norms in academic writ-ing. Four major thematic clusters were identified: translanguaging pedagogy, biliteracy development, sociocultural identity, and dis-course-based grammar instruction. Practical implications. The findings can inform educators and curriculum developers on the syntactic challenges and patterns in bilin-gual writing and act upon them through the authorship of the school’s language teaching policies. Originality/value. This is the first bibliometric study to systematically examine the intersection of code-switching and English grammar in the academic writing of bilingual students, offering both theoretical and pedagogical contributions to multilingual education. Word count: 9,171 words, excluding references. Funding Statement: This research was undertaken without the benefit of external or institutional funding. Ethical Compliance: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Data Access Statement: Research data supporting this publication are available from the https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gFK3ekHkWKDIUQYPio3soxzCPloWknL6/view?usp=sharing Conflict of Interest declaration: The authors declare that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. Author Contributions: Vincent Jelo F. Quijano contributed to the research by providing and gathering data, including analyzing the data presented. Shaira Mae Ravago handled the formatting of the pa-per, making sure it was consistent and followed the required style. Joseline M. Santos helped in gathering the necessary data using differ-ent tools and guided



References:

  1. Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). Bibliometrix: An R-Tool for Comprehensive Science Mapping Analysis. Journal of Informet-rics, 11(4), 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007
  2. Athanases, S. Z. (2019). Exploring Linguistic Diversity from The Inside Out: Implica-tions of Self-Reflexive Inquiry for Teach-er Education. Teacher Education Quarter-ly, 46(1), 91–111. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325577660_Exploring_Linguistic_Diversi-ty_From_the_Inside_Out_Implications_of_Self-Reflexive_Inquiry_for_Teacher_Education
  3. August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). De-veloping Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Lawrence Erlbaum. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-10122-000
  4. Bauer, E. B., Presiado, V., & Colomer, S. E. (2017). Writing Through Partnership: Fostering Translanguaging in Children Who Are Emergent Bilinguals. Language Arts, 94(6), 367–382. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1086296X16683417
  5. Bialystok, E. (2009). Bilingualism: The Good, The Bad, And the Indifferent. Bilingual-ism: Language and Cognition, 12(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003477
  6. Brisk, M. E. (2010). “We’ve Let Them in On the Secret”: Using SFL Theory to Improve the Teaching of Writing to Bilingual Learners. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 1(1), 1–30. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285285686_We%27ve_let_them_in_on_a_secret_Using_SFL_theory_to_improve_the_teaching_of_writing_to_bilingual_learners
  7. Canagarajah, A. S. (2011). Codemeshing In Ac-ademic Writing: Identifying Teachable Strategies of Translanguaging. The Mod-ern Language Journal, 95(3), 401–417. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01207.x
  8. Cummins, J. (2007). Rethinking Monolingual Instructional Strategies in Multilingual Classrooms. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(2), 221–240. https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/CJAL/article/view/19743
  9. De Los Rios, C. V. (2017). Toward A Corridista Consciousness: Learning from One Transnational Youth’s Critical Reading, Writing, And Performance of Mexican Corridos. Reading Research Quarterly, 52(4), 455–471. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26622530
  10. Durán, L. (2017). Writing For Authentic Pur-poses and Audiences in Bilingual Con-texts. Multicultural Education, 25(1), 12–18. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1155405.pdf
  11. Edelsky, C. (1986). Writing in a bilingual pro-gram: Había una vez. Ablex Publishing. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED305192
  12. Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Soltero-Gonzalez, L., Ruiz-Figueroa, O., & Escamilla, M. (2014). Biliteracy from the start: Literacy Squared in Action. Caslon Publishing. https://bsg-escamilla.caslonpublishing.com/
  13. Flores, N., & Rosa, J. (2015). Undoing Appro-priateness: Raciolinguistic Ideologies and Language Diversity in Education. Harvard Educational Review, 85(2), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.149
  14. García, O. (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A global perspective. Wiley-Blackwell. https://archive.org/details/bilingualeducati0000garc
  15. García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765
  16. Gort, M. (2006). Strategic Codeswitching,
  17. Interliteracy, And Other Phenomena of Emergent Bilingual Writing: Lessons from First Grade Dual Language Classrooms. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 323–354. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1468798406069796
  18. Grosjean, F. (1989). Neurolinguists, Beware! The Bilingual Is Not Two Monolinguals in One Person. Brain and Language, 36(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(89)90048-5
  19. Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse Strategies. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834
  20. Hornberger, N. H. (2005). Opening And Filling Up Implementational and Ideological Spaces in Heritage Language Education. The Modern Language Journal, 89(4), 605–609. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3588632
  21. Kibler, A. (2010). Writing Through Two Lan-guages: First Language Expertise in a Language Minority Classroom. Journal of Second Language Writing, 19(3), 121–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2010.04.001
  22. Kroll, J. F., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Understand-ing The Consequences of Bilingualism for Language Processing and Cognition. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(5), 497–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2013.799170
  23. Nero, S. J. (2005). Language, Identities, and ESL Pedagogy. Language and Education, 19(3), 194–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780508668674
  24. Rowe, D. W. (2018). Say it in your language: Supporting translanguaging in multilin-gual classes. The Reading Teacher, 71(5), 547–550. https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/trtr.1673
  25. Smith, A. (2021). Emergent Bilingual Students and Digital Multimodal Composition: A Systematic Review of Research in Sec-ondary Classrooms. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 22(1), 1–35. https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rrq.298
  26. Soltero-González, L. (2016). Effects Of a Paired Literacy Program on Emerging Bilingual Children’s Biliteracy Outcomes in Third Grade. Bilingual Research Journal, 39(2), 150–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X16653842
  27. Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive Schooling: U.S.-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring. State University of New York Press. https://archive.org/details/subtractiveschoo0000vale
  28. Velasco, P., & García, O. (2014). Translanguag-ing And the Writing of Bilingual Learners. Bilingual Research Journal, 37(1), 6–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.893270
  29. Williams, C. (2018). Writing In Young Bilingual Children: Review of Research. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(6), 657–667. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1060374317305064
  30. Young, R. F. (2014). Discursive Practice in Language Learning and Teaching. Wiley-Blackwell. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281210414_Discursive_practice_in_language_learning_and_teaching

Tools


Copyright © 2025  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic