Abstract
Apart from the negative perceptions of code-switching, teachers' code-switching (hereinafter CS) whether in classroom discourse or socialising discourse serves a variety of pedagogical purposes. So far, no empirical studies on code-switching related to socializing discourse in the EFL classrooms are conducted in Pakistan. On the whole, however, there seems to be a lack of awareness on the part of Pakistani teachers about the significance of code-switching for socialising discourse. This paper tried to identify the reasons for code-switching by observing how and why teachers' code-switched and what specific pedagogical functions code-switching served in socializing discourse. In the socialized patterns of CS, a teacher switches his/her code to talk in the domain of informal discourse such as code-switching for showing intimacy, distance, reproach, and for sense of belonging. Analysis of the data showed that, in most cases, code switching by the teachers served some kind of pedagogical purposes in teachers' socialized pattern of code-switching. Further, it can also assist to get appropriate insights into the interactional patterns between teachers and students for socialising discourse. Finally, suggestions about the teachers' use of code switching related to socializing discourse were provided.