Code-Switching

Answer choices

1. A

   Wrong Relationship: casts doubt11% picked this

   Research revealing that speakers are sometimes unaware of code-switching casts doubt on the results of a prior study

   This answer is saying the author would agree that, "the stuff in the 3rd paragraph undermines the study we talked about in the 2nd paragraph". Is that how the 3rd paragraph was connected to the 2nd? It looks, from the 3rd's framing sentence, like the 3rd paragraph is just saying something in addition to the 2nd paragraph, not in opposition to it. Paragraph 2 covered code-switching that's done as a result of domain change. Paragraph 3 will cover code-switching that's done (often without being aware) as a result of rhetorical factors. P3 doesn't threaten P2. It builds on top of it.

   11%
2. B

   Out of Scope: expect different answers2% picked this

   Relevant research conducted prior to the linguists’ work with high school students would lead one to expect different answers from

   The author didn't act like the students answers were surprising or counterintuitive. The researchers were suspecting that if they fed the students a couple congruent factors, their brains would auto-complete which language they'd use (because code switching is sort of an automatic, intuitive, unconscious phenomenon). When the researchers fed them incongruent factors like priest + beach, the students' answers diverged but that's because it was a random combo for which their brains had no intuitive preference. (Any time I've ever been at a cool beach bonfire party, I'm always hoping to see my priest walk by.)

   2%
3. C

   Too Strong: most / all except most14% picked this

   Research conducted prior to the study of a family of Puerto Rican Americans was thought by most researchers to explain code-switching in all except

   This is a really loaded claim: More than 50% of researchers thought that the code-switching research done prior to the Puerto Rican experiment we heard about explained 98% of code-switching (all but the most unusual contexts). The first sentence of the 3rd paragraph sends off the vibe that situational domain factors explain most code-switching, and now that we're talking about the Puerto Rican family we're talking about the remainder of code-switching cases. But this could still be like 30% of code-switching. We don't know the prevalence. So we don't want to sign off on a claim that says the situational factors about domain explain 98% of code-switching.

   14%
4. D

   Too Strong: usually22% picked this

   Research suggests that people engaged in code-switching are usually unaware of which situational factors might influence their choice

   Usually, tends to, generally, probably, likely = most. They all mean in more than 50% of cases. Can we find something in the passage that lets us speak to this prevalence? Do we know that more than 50% of the time, people are unaware of what factors led them to code switch? We are told in the 3rd paragraph, "Often the switches are so subtle that the speakers themselves are not aware of them". This was in regards to rhetorical factors influencing choice of language. The 2nd paragraph didn't mention students being unaware of what situational factors were dictating their choice of language.

   22%
5. E

   Correct50% picked this

   Research suggests that the family of Puerto Rican Americans does not use code-switching in conversations held at home

   Why this is right

   This is supported by the first two sentences of the final paragraph. The Puerto Rican family is brought up as an example of code-switching that happens even though the domain would suggest constant use of one language. If situational factors told us that they would be speaking English to each other at home, why are they sometimes using Spanish? We're told it's used only sparingly to achieve certain rhetorical effects. That matches up well with "except for occasional rhetorical effect" in this answer. This may have felt a little strong, "does not code-switch in conversations at home except for X", but it's pretty well supported by the text. One language tends to be the primary one, while the other is used only sparingly.

   Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   50%