LANGUAGE POLICY AND USING ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM

OF INSTRUCTION AT DIR UPPER: A PERSPECTIVE OF

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

SUBMITTED BY: KHALID SHAH

ROLL NO: _____________

PROGRAM: M.PHIL APPLIED LINGUISTICS

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR: _______________________

DESIGNATION: _______________________

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH HAZARA UNIVERSITY MANSEHRA

 Approval Sheet

Name of the Scholar: KHALID SHAH

Roll No/Registration No: __________________

Program: M. Phil Applied Linguistics

Topic: LANGUAGE POLICY AND USING ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

AT DIR UPPER: A PERSPECTIVE OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Declaration by the Scholar:

I do hereby solemnly declare that the Ideas / content presented in this Proposal are my own and if
any plagiarism is found in my work at any stage I will be responsible for the consequences.

___________________
Signature of the Scholar

Approval of the Supervisor:

I have gone through the proposal presented by Mr. Khalid Shah. I have found it workable
for M.Phil thesis. I recommend that this proposal may be put before the next meeting of the
Board of Studies in English and ASRB for formal Approval.

Signature of the Supervisor: ____________________

Name of the Supervisor: Dr Ghani Rahman
Designation: Assistant Professor
Date: ______________________________________

Submitted Through: ______________________

Chairman,
Department of English
Hazara University, Mansehra.
 CHAPTER 01
INTRODUCTION

English has become one of the most dominant languages in the world due to colonialism
and globalization (Rassool, 2013). In developing countries specially those which were formerly
British colonies, English usage is marked to be a source of career success and self-improvement
as it proffers access to the local and global resources which are considered necessary for the
countries to join with the pace of the progress of the world.

English is one of the official languages in Pakistan. It is the language of education and is
a pre requisite for employment of job opportunities. The primary purpose of teaching in English
mediated classrooms is to make the learners pass the exams and to open the door of
opportunities. However the usefulness of English in daily lives in Pakistan is challenged by
Coleman (2010). He presents the view that English has a gate keeping role as it is more often
seen as a requirement for admissions or to some form for employment.He furthermore claims
that in rural areas of Pakistan English has no functional value. Moreover teaching in English is
considered as a threat to culture and local languages as the graduates look down upon local
languages and culture (Rahman, 2005).

Multilingual education policies are introduced in Pakistan to encourage national and local
languages and English language teaching. At early stages of education, use of mother tongue in
teaching is supported and is argued that for more effective teaching, multilingual education must
be used (Manan, Dumanig, & David, 2015). In practice, however Education in English is dire
need of the day and English as a medium of instruction is promoted at all the squares in National
Education Policy (2009). But problems in its implementation are there due to lack of teacher’s
skills, student’s attitude, ethnic conflicts and socio cultural conditions.

The language that is used in the teaching is medium of instruction which may or may not
be the official language. English is a rich, international language- the language of words and
phrases, science and technology. English is the language of unearthing opportunities. Pakistan is
a multi-lingual country. Six major and 58 minor languages are being spoken (Rahman,
2002).Four major local languages i.e. Pashto, Punjabi, Sindhi and Balochi and one national
language-Urdu is spoken. However as a medium of instruction and in offices, English is used.
After the emergence of Pakistan, English is being used as an official language and is a language
of the elites. It is used for academic and administrative purposes. Universities and colleges use
English for lecturing and teaching but government school use Urdu as a medium of instruction.
English medium schools, where the medium of instruction is English have emerged, are costly,
private and resulted in a privilege class in the society.

The arguments in favor of using English as a medium of instruction are that technology,
medicine, sciences, agricultures, engineering all are written in English, so it makes sense that
English must be used as a medium of instruction. For international politics, academics, trade and
competence, English being a global language must be needed to be learnt. While the benefit of
using local languages to impart knowledge will be more feasible as it will take less time to learn
as they are not foreign languages to the learners. However it is not clearly known whether the
skills in sciences, engineering and technology will develop more effectively if English or local
languages are used as a medium of instruction.

A big controversy hovers over whether English or Urdu should be used as amedium of
instruction as no language is local and both are to be learnt especially in Upper Dir division. So
the current research intends to investigate the perspectives of teachers and students concerning
the usage of English of as a medium of instruction.

1.1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The problem which this study will investigate and explore will be the perceptions of
Higher Secondary School i.e. HSSC teachers’ and students’ regarding the pros and cons of using
English as a medium of instruction and the relative use of English and Urdu as a medium of
instruction at schools in Upper Dir.

1.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The objectives of this study are:

1. To explore teachers’ and students’ perceptions regarding the usefulness of English as a

medium of teaching instructions.
 2. To analyse the problems that teachers’ and students’ face in using English as a media of
instruction at HSSC level at Dir Upper.
3. To study the use of mother tongue or Urdu as a medium of instruction for instructing
students in learning.

1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

This research will mainly study the question that how the students and teachers at the
HSSC level perceive English being used as a medium of instruction. What, how and why English
should be used as a medium of instruction will be explored. The ‘what’ section will explore the
reasons of adopting English as a media of instruction. Implementation of English and factors
affecting implementation will be addressed in how section of the question. Aims and objectives,
hindrances, attitudes will also be explored under this how section. To explore the rationale and
seeking suggestions for implementation and improvement will be handled in the why section of
this research question.

1.4. DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

The study will be delimited to specifically district Upper Dir. Five private and five
government schools will be chosen to conduct this study.

1.5. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY:

Pashto is the native language of Upper Dir. But the medium of instruction is either Urdu
or English. So the learners feel difficulty in learning the subjects which are being taught to them.
So, the study aims to investigate the perceptions of teacher’s and students’ regarding the use of
English as a medium of instruction.

1.6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

Different schools adopt different languages to be used as a media of instruction. However

this research will highlight the use of importance of single language policy which is English
according to current research proposal. The findings of this study will augment the previous
ocean of knowledge and will recommend that if English is being used as an instruction medium
the learners will be benefited in their academic and professional lives. The findings of the study
will be a source of awareness for the society as its findings can be integrated into curriculum
planning and development and also to strengthen and to implement the usage of EMI in
classrooms.

CHAPTER 02

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan but English is important in the education sector
and in the corridors of power. Urdu medium and English medium schools have emerged as a
result of using either English or Urdu as an instructional or teaching media.The government
operated schools are usually Urdu medium while English medium schools are private and for
elite class as they are not in common men reach. So using two different Medias has created
problems and divided the society into elites and lower middle class (Gulzar&Farooq 2009).

Both English and Urdu medias must be used as elective media upto the intermediate
level. Students should choose which they like to prefer in pursuing education(Mansoor, 2005).
She also pointed out that the limited role of regional languages is there in using English as a
medium of instruction.She surveyed 2136 students and her study revealed that low competency
and lower use of mother tongue is there in their formal and informal settings.They preferred
English as a medium of instruction. Cultural pluralism and support to local languages was
promoted by her.

From 1995-2005, a tremendous interest in using English as a medium of instruction is

pointed out by Marsh (2006). In the period of unprecented globalization English is the most
powerful language of our times was stated.

Dang et al. (2013). Stated that in universities and non-native speaking countries
globalization has increased the usage of EMI and the objective of developing it was to develop
the national human capital with English language proficiency.

To opt for medium of instruction, in Pakistan three options were there. One was to use
Urdu-national language of Pakistan or to use English- language of ex-masters or to use the
mother tongue. This provoked the issue of medium of instruction in academic institutions
(Ahmad, 2011).

About quarter of a century ago, using Urdu as a MI was discussed but now it is bleak and
the entire English medium education system has changed it. Learning English is necessary and
not knowing it meant that being deaf,dumb and blind all at the same time (Parker , 2013).

Mulumba and Masaazi (2012) studied the challenges that the Ugandans faced where
Laganda was used instead of English as a medium of instruction. Additional efforts in
comprehending and acquiring contents was observed. Based on it they proposed that Laganda
should be used as media of instruction.

In 2014, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf promoted the introduction of using EMI in schools
from grade 1 (International Crisis Group, 2013, in their June 23, 2014 Asia report). The change
was implemented by using 2 subjects to be taught in English and then as the students moved to
higher classes the medium of instruction used will be solely English.

The Punjab government in 2009 decided to implement EMI in primary and middle
schools to teach mathematics and science but four years later the policy was reversed due to poor
English language skills of teachers (Rashid, 2014). In 2014, from class four onwards using EMI
was introduced and training was provided by British council to teachers, to teach in English.
These steps were taken by Punjab government to promote and to make advancement to the
learning environment there.

The perceptions, views and identities are highly shaped to the language that is used in
giving instructions for teaching as a medium (Hamid and Jahan, 2015).

Using EMI in Pakistan will require additional efforts as it is a non-native English

speaking country. The study intends to probe into the issue of medium of instruction and to
explore the perceptions of both students’ and teachers’ regarding medium of instruction usage.
 CHAPTER 03

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology adopted will be qualitative and thematic analysis of the responses will be done.

3.1. Population:

The population of this study will comprise HSSC students and teachers. Five private and
government schools will be chosen-accessible to the researcher. With the permission of
administration, the students and teachers will be selected on their availability basis.

3.2. Sample:

The sample will consist of 30 students and 30 teachers, six students and six teachers will
be selected randomly and then the study will be conducted by using the tools developed.

3.3. Tools:

Data will be collected through semi structured interviews and open ended questionnaires.

Following instruments will be developed as:

1. Interview (Teachers):

During interview with teachers, the following questions will be asked and then answers
will be recorded:

A. The what section:

1. What is the use of English as a medium of instruction in Higher Secondary Schools in

Pakistan?

2. What are the reasons for using English rather than Urdu as a medium of instruction?

3. What will be some of the benefits of using English rather than Urdu as a medium of
instruction in Pakistan?
4. What are the drawbacks of using English as medium of Instruction?

B. The how section:

5. How English as a medium of instruction can be implemented in higher secondary schools

in Pakistan?

6. How various factors will impact the implementation process of English as a medium of
instruction?

7. How the availability of resources will affect implementation?

8. How governmental policies will impact the implementation?

9. How the aims and objectives of implementation will be evaluated?

10. How the attitudes of students and teachers will impact the implementation?

11. How will we deal with hindrances in the way of implementation?

C. The Why section:

12. Why do we explore the aims of using English as a medium of instruction?

13. Why do we determine rationale of using English as a medium of instruction?

14. Why do we need to seek suggestions for implementation of English as medium of

instruction?

At the bottom of questionnaire the teacher will be asked to identify his/her terminal degree, the
classes he/she teaches, the name of the school etc.

2. Questionnaire for Students to fill in:

A. The what questions:

1. What is the use of English as a medium of instruction?

2. What are the reasons for using English as a medium of instruction?

B. The how section:

3. How English as a medium of instruction can be implemented in higher secondary schools

in Pakistan?

4. How the availability of resources will affect implementation?

5. How governmental policies will impact the implementation?

6. How the attitudes of students and teachers will impact the implementation?

7. How will we deal with hindrances in the way of implementation?

C. The Why section:

8. Why do we explore the aims of using English as a medium of instruction?

9. Why do we determine rationale of using English as a medium of instruction?

10. Why do we need to seek suggestions for implementation of English as medium of

instruction?

At the bottom of questionnaire the student will be asked to identify his/her class in which
he/she is enrolled, whether he/she is a science major or art major (if applicable), whether his/her
school is English Medium or Urdu medium.

CHAPTER 04

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The data will be collected through interviews of teachers and from questionnaire for
students. For data analysis, statistical packages will be used to determine the average response to
a particular question and the average response to the confidence level of its precision. The data
will also be explained and summarized by using tables and graphs.
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