A question we are still grappling after 62 years is, what should be the medium of instruction in Pakistan
In
The purpose of my research is to explore the important issue which
For this purpose good education is very necessary and for good education a society or nation need a good medium of instruction. Which could help a teacher to achieve his goal and nourish the minds of the children and prepare them for the society and transform them in to a better citizen.
By definition “Medium of instruction is the language that is used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language.”
“Ishfaq Ahmad – Communication, expression and the capacity to listen should be first encouraged in the mother tongue and then in the official or national “
According to the experts the best medium of instruction is the mother tongue of the students. Use of the second language will effect their learning ability and they will left behind those who are learning in their mother tongue, According to Prof Mujib of Jamia Millia (Delhi), when a child is learning in a second language he translate a world in 17 seconds from foreign language to his mother tongue and then retranslate to the forgin language in other words when a student is talking to his teacher it take him 34 second to translate and retranslate. So imagine how much time he is wasting instead of direct approach.
Education creates leader in the Society, who lead the nation toward a better future In
Psychologist are clear and recommend mother tongue as a medium of instruction because they say language and cognitive development are inter related and child learning best happened in mother tongue because it is a very direct approach towards learning..
The question is still there, why after 60 we could not adopt one language as medium of instruction in our country, although we have selected Urdu as our official language from the very beginning. In
History of language controversy in Pakistan
At the time of independence of
Dr. Shahidullah begins the language controversy in
He proposed that;
1. Bengali language shall be the medium of instruction and court communication in
2. Official language of office communication
3. The official language of the central government shall be Urdu and Bengali. (Tamaddun Majlis 1947 : 1-2).
After the victory of the United Front in
CU RRENT SITUATION
1. Urdu medium
2. English medium
Today every province of
What should be the language of instruction in
Mother tongue should be the language of instruction in school because the researchers have tested children who are taught in their mother tongue and found them better then those whose medium of instruction was alien to them.
In case of multilingual society, the language of instruction should be the language which is the medium of communication or commonly spoken language in the society
The language of media (TV, News Paper etc)
Language which bring unity to the country
Language that parents could understand
In cause of second language, the script must be the same as mother tongue so it would be easy to learn due to the common script.
A develop language, which could accept words from other languages
Give equal opportunities in competition of jobs
Due to diversity of Local languages in
Both are international languages which are spoken in more than one country
Both are still using as medium of instruction at different level in
Comparison between English and Urdu
Today English has the vocabulary up to 450000.00 and Urdu 390000.00 words
English is the most spoken language on the face of earth.
After Chinese, Urdu is the third spoken / communicate able language of the world, according to a united nation report
Urdu language has great ability to accept words from other languages comparing to English language
ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION
Before the independence of
Misconception
It is widely believed that English medium schools in
Schools in slum areas with boards declaring them to be English-medium written in the Urdu script! Needless to say they teach in Urdu while striving to use some form of broken English as medium of instruction.
With out parents help students cant achieve their full potentialities in the filed of education ( parents who cant read or speak the language in which their children are getting education)
Less then 20 % Pakistani can speak or read English
On the other hand more than 70% Pakistani can understand and speak Urdu thanks to media, PTV and radio
“Dr. Atta-
IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH MEDIUM
English is an international and rich Language.
The language of thousands of words and phrases.
English is the language of science and technology.
English is the language of Employment opportunities.
Language of Internet and computer usage.
The Highest numbers of books At all level are published in English language every year.
IMPORTANCE OF URDU
Teacher and student easily understand it
It removed cultural diversity
Mother tongue is also promoted.
National language place a vital role in creating mutual understanding
It is widely understood language of
Urdu is the official language of
Reasons / Hinders
Bureaucracy of
The owners of private schools and colleges: Education became a business in Pakistan and this dual system of education give opportunities to open more English language school and colleges to make money due to this reason they always against the one system of education and one medium of instruction (urdu),
The policy makers: These are Politicians, Bureaucrats, elite class of
The elite class of
Recommendations
1. Change the examinations at CSS and public service commission level from English to Urdu (Preference should be given to Urdu medium )
2. Like
3. One curriculum and one education system should be adopted in
4. Urdu and mother tongue should be introduce from primary level (class one)
5. English should be introduced from six class as functional language so the students could read English books at later stage
Bibliography
Khalid, S. M. (1996).
Sajjid, M., & Mansoor, s. (2005).
Website
Afzal, N. (n.d.). CHAPTER 5 PROBLEMS. Retrieved May 26, 2009, from http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:vEAwwtxWLl4J:faculty.ksu.edu.sa/NaeemAfzal/Documents/Chapter%25205.pdf+%22Language+Problem+There+has+been+a+serious+break+down+of+our+educational+system.+It+has+happened%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk&client=firefox-a
Mustafa, Z. (2005, November 16). Debate on Medium of Instruction. Retrieved
Islam, R. (n.d.). Amor Ekushe : International MotherLanguage Day. Retrieved