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How Code Switching Can Be Influenced By Many Factors That May Affect One 's Ability Essay

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Throughout the daily course of one’s life, he or she enacts distinct social roles in order to effectively communicate with others. Whether talking to a parent, a boss, or just a friend, one partakes in the act of code-switching, formally defined as changing from one variety of language, dialect, or behavior to another as the situation demands (Lavenda & Schultz 2016, 33). However, these episodes of code-switching can be influenced by many factors that may affect one’s ability to do so. I interviewed three first-year college students who currently attend the University of Iowa (all whose real names I have kept anonymous and replaced with fake ones) that I have met through both high school and attending the university: Adrian, a male from a small high school of about 450 students; Kate, a female from a larger high school of about 1,900 students; and Peter, a male also from a small high school of about 300 students. Through elaborate interviews with these four informative participants, I have discovered that it tends to be more difficult for students from smaller high schools to transition to a substantially sizable university than it is for students from larger high schools. Through an abundance of clubs a well as broader student bodies being provided at bigger high schools, it may be easier for students of a Class 4A school to adapt to their surroundings than it is for a student of a Class 3A or 2A school, where they may have slimmer alternatives in friend groups, student

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