What should be the language of instruction in Pakistans primary schools?
By YesPakistan.com Staff Writer Should Pakistani children attending elementary school learn in only one language or gain mastery over several languages? This dilemma the parents and teachers of these students face is important given the multi-lingual environment of Pakistan, as well as increased globalization, which has heightened the influence of English. Currently, Pakistan’s elementary school classrooms use multi-lingual teaching. Students are taught their provincial language (i.e. Sindhi, Punjabi), the national language (Urdu) and English as an official non-indigenous language. However, many studies reveal that children learn more effectively and time is saved if they are taught only in their first language during the first grades of school. This is due to the fact that multilingual instruction reduces the amount of time and attention given to teaching a single language. The result is that children in multilingual schools often learn literacy slower than children taught in monoling
