Disjunction between language policy and children's sociocultural ecology – an analysis of English-medium education policy in Pakistan

Abstract

2015): Disjunction between language policy and children's sociocultural ecology -an analysis of English-medium education policy in Pakistan, Language and Education, Sociocultural theory and constructionists propose that language learning is a socially and culturally mediated process, and they emphasize on social interaction. This study examines the amount of students' exposure to the school language to account for the link between English-medium policies in low-fee English-medium schools and children's sociocultural ecology. Employing a mixed methodology, the study draws samples (245 students, 8 teachers, and 11 school principals) from 11 schools in Pakistan. Sociocultural ecology denotes the languages students come into contact, either passive or active, in domains such as schools, homes, and via media. Results suggest that majority of children belong to uneducated or less-educated families whose exposure to English language is negligible through either reading material, social interaction, or via media. Urdu is the de facto language of interaction in schools. English is limited to occasional clich es, superficial norms, or cosmetic behavioral commands than genuine communication intent. Based on data and experts' views, study concludes that English language stands foreign to sociocultural ecologies of most children which results in several disadvantages À incomprehension of subject material, rote learning, reduced creativity/critical thinking, and parents' disengagement from the teaching/learning processes. We propose for a mother tongue-based multilingual policy for earlier stages of schooling.

Diminishing local Languages in the Era of Globalization: A Case Study of Pakistan

“…Pakistan is a culturally rich and diversified country. Ours is a multilingual country with six major and seventy two minor or local languages (Rehman, Language & Childern's Education In Pakistan., 2010) whereas as per ethnologue (Manan , David, & Dumanig , 2015) there are 77 local languages In Pakistan the government and speakers of local languages are not at all interested to promote the native languages to their next generation. Since inception, the dominant ethnic groups have been trying to suppress the other recessive or partially small groups through economic supremacy, education policies and cultural dominancy.…”

“I Am Not Punjabi, My Parents Are”: Degradation of the Language of Dominant Majority

“…This is happening due to the linguistic policy of the state and language ideology as, over the years, Pakistani state policy has promoted Urdu as the national language, and to some extent, English as the official language (Rahman, 1997). Moreover, the education system also plays an important role by neglecting native languages of the Pakistani population (Manan & David, 2013;Manan, David, & Dumanig, 2015).…”

Silencing children’s power of self-expression: an examination of coercive relations of power in English-medium schools in Pakistan

“…These schools introduce English-medium policy right from day one, and fail to take into consideration the demands it would take for students to cope with English, a language they and their parents hardly have any exposure to. On the one hand, English as a medium of textbooks poses serious challenges to most students because it stands entirely alien to their sociocultural ecology (Manan et al, 2015), and most children have hardly developed a basic level of oral fluency in the language, the fluency which Cummins terms as Basic interpersonal skills (BICS). On the other hand, at the enrollment stage, most children are barely prepared to cope with the highly demanding academic English, termed as Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP).…”

“…For the analysis of data, the study mainly draws on Cummins' (2000Cummins' ( , 2009aCummins' ( , 2009b) concept of 'Coercive relations of power and Collaborative relations of power' to examine how much educators within the schools include and empower students by affirming their identities, investing on their prior knowledge, and engaging them cognitively/academically in the teaching and learning processes. At broader level, the study also draws on the theory of additive bi/multilingual education and extensive empirical evidence from across wide range of contexts to show that inclusive education could happen best when schools and teachers accommodate, accept, acknowledge and include the linguistic and cultural resources which children bring to the schools (Alidou et al, 2006;Baker, 2011;Benson, 2002;Benson & Kosonen, 2013;Cummins, 2000Cummins, , 2001Cummins, , 2009aManan, David & Dumanig, 2015;Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, Panda & Mohanty, 2009). The objectives of the study are as under:…”