Syed Ali Hyder Shah Jillani
More than 70 languages are spoken in Pakistan. Urdu is national and English is used as the official language. English is not considered a language but a symbol of status in our country. Educational institutes are divided into two categories, in most private institutes, English is used as the medium of instruction while in most of the Government sectors the medium of instruction is Urdu. I have found many students struggling to learn English, for them, it is a problem because they get their primary education in languages other than English but at a higher level of education, the medium of instruction changes from Urdu to English, which creates problems for students who were learning subjects in their regional as well as in the Urdu language. There must be one system of education, especially in terms of language. Because unequal education leads to unequal opportunities. New research-based approaches must be used to teach students the English language. In our country, Grammar-translation-method is used and after learning the language for 16 years, students are not able to speak and write well. This is because of the approach. Language learning is not difficult but depends on the teaching method. In other countries, people learn a language as a hobby and within 6 months students become good at language.
