Multilingual Language Practices in Education in Pakistan

The Conflict Between Policy and Practice

Bibliographic Data

ID3252336
AuthorsMuhammad Aqeel Ashraf (0000-0003-0133-4056, Hunan University, corresponding author), David A Turner (0000-0002-3447-7662, Beijing Normal University), Rizwan Ahmed Laar (0000-0002-2040-1771, Nanjing Normal University)
Year2021
Volume11
Issue1
Publication date2021-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSAGE Open (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/21582440211004140
OpenAlexW3141195649
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited39

This study examines the language practices in educational settings in Pakistan, taking the multilingual groupings in society into account. In Pakistan, each province is linked to the single or multiple identities of its people and the languages spoken by the majority. The national language Urdu is limited to educational settings and its function as a lingua franca. English serves people in authority, in offices, and in educational settings. Through discourse-ethnographic analysis, this study examines the individual and joint actions of policymakers and teachers to understand the role of language in educational policy and its practice in educational settings. The interview data identified issues regarding the relationship between language, identity, nation, region, religion, power, and personal attainment in regional, national, and international settings. Moreover, the power of national education policy to produce adequate results is limited by the regional discourses that policymakers ignore. This study concludes by arguing that policy practices for language-in-education in multilingual societies require thoughtful planning which should be informed by local conditions and requirements for its better implementation

Education policy · Educational attainment · Ethnography · Higher education · Language planning · Language policy · Lingua franca · Linguistics · Multilingualism · National language · Official language · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Urdu · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Law · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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Open DOIOpen Access