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English language: the way forward
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<a itemprop="name" href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/NewsSource/by-omer-farooq-khan">
By Omer Farooq Khan </a>
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<span class="" itemprop="datePublished">March 28, 2014</span>
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<p>Islamabad: Pakistan can overcome the prevalent English-Urdu
language dichotomy in its education system by adopting English as a
subject at the beginner’s level, and later on, enforcing it as a medium
of instruction from grade three onwards to inculcate a balanced culture
of language skills. <br>The educationists and linguistics expert, both
local and foreigners, presented this idea during a policy dialogue held
under the aegis of British Council on Thursday.<br>The participants on
this occasion vetted various suggestions and ideas to promote
proficiency in what they call the ‘second language’ of Pakistan. Though
there was a broad consensus on identifying the absence of a spelt-out
national language policy as a major issue to deal within Pakistan, yet
the future of English was seen bright. While some experts termed English
language as the cultural capital of Pakistan, others acknowledged it
being at par with Urdu in terms of its linguistic status. Does Pakistan
has a formal policy on its national language, was the probing theme of a
panel discussion comprising various research scholars and the language
practitioners. Not only they highlighted the fact of lack of national
language policy in Pakistan, but the opinions expressed further
emphasised the need for adopting a supporting strategy at all levels to
ensure that English flourishes in the country as a second language.<br>Dr
Tariq Rehman, a veteran teacher and an author on linguistics,
categorically recommended a complete review of the education policy. He
was of the view that without taking into account, the importance of
local language or mother tongue, the issue of dealing with English as a
second language could not be dealt with. “The way forward I see is to
encourage initial learning in the respective local language at school
entry level. Let English be taught as a subject instead of being the
medium of instruction,” he suggested. Rehman maintained that he would
not buy the ‘English for all’ slogan, saying it could only be supported
at the college and university level. There is no need to be obsessed
with the idea of enforcing English language as a medium of instruction
right from the school entry level at the expense of children’s basic
learning, he said.<br>Prof Chris Kennedy, a research scholar, agreed to
Rehman’s idea, saying that the local language should take precedence
over English when it comes to imparting basic knowledge to the school
entrants. However, he cautioned that learning English at the primary
level won’t guarantee a success afterwards for the students passing out
from the universities.<br>John McGovern, another linguistics expert,
told the audience that it would be easier for the students to learn in
their mother tongue at the university level rather than learning in
English.“The language policy should be based on these realities. We
cannot operate in isolation without giving weightage to this fact. Both
local and English language needs to be promoted through a balanced
approach,” he remarked.<br>Earlier, in his keynote speech, Javed Jabbar,
a media person and an intellectual, underscored the English language’s
role as a binding force in Pakistan. He said that the English language
had attained an equal status to that of Urdu in recent years. “In
today’s Pakistan, we are surrounded by English language starting from
advertising sign boards to the identification plates for the cars,
making it a fact that it has eventually become a people’s language,” he
remarked.<br>It was followed by another panel discussion exploring the
impact of bilingualism on English language’s future in Pakistan. Bilal
Tanveer, a novelist and a teacher, remarked that language of his
emotions was Urdu while he had been expressing his intellect in English.
“I live with this spilt. English is not the language of intimacy, and
that’s exactly why I have written my book comprising of inner voices we
need to find. My allegiance is to the ‘voice’ not to the English
language,” he shared his perspective.</p> </div><br>-- <a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/28-Mar-2014/english-language-the-way-forward">http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/28-Mar-2014/english-language-the-way-forward</a><br>
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