Consider Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" and what you learned about code-switching. Do you ever employ any forms of code-switching when you communicate with others? Write a one-page reflective essay discussing code-switching. Do you think code-switching represents a barrier or a bridge to communication? Your essay should contain a logical introduction, a body, and conclusions. To improve your essay, try brainstorming, outlining, and revising your writing drafts before submitting your final version.

If you are fluent in two languages, and have ever spoken to someone else who is also fluent in the same two languages, then you can likely talk about a personal experience in which you both used elements from these two languages within your conversation. For example, I speak both Spanish and English, and often talk to my friend who also speaks Spanish and English. We will primarily talk in English, but will switch to Spanish for certain words or phrases that are better expressed in Spanish, like when using the verb "to know" (there are two verbs for "to know" in Spanish--conocer and saber--which have different meanings and are more descriptive than the English verb "to know").

In regard to the second question, you could argue that code-switching represents a bridge to communication, because it's patching together different languages to send an even clearer message to someone else. Since both speakers would have to be fluent in the same languages in order to code-switch (by definition), then there should be an equal understanding between the two.