Zahra
Javed, Affan Shahid, Luqman Naveed, Rao Waqas Ali and Mashood Ahmad

Abstract
: In Pakistan, English is seen as a trademark for an elite class school which
assures a better living and better social status in future. While, taking it as
a standard low and middle class parents also aspire to educate their children
in English medium schools but they cannot afford high fees. This creates a
plethora of low fees private schools offering education in English medium
,however, It’s not that much effective. “By the end of 2005, one in every three
enrolled children at the primary level was studying in a private
school”(Coleman, H. ( 2010 ). The English language in development (p. 10).
London: BritishCouncil). One important cause of this rapid increase in English
medium schooling is the thought that to let the children learn English faster
they should be exposed to English earlier. Employing a mixed methodology, this
study analyzes English-medium policy in low-fee private schools in part of Pakistan.
Based on evidence gathered through interviewing of language experts and
Principals of different schools it is being observed that the early
English-medium policy is not productive enough because students are not much
proficient in speaking English. This is because of various factors such as unqualified
English teachers, cultural dominancy, poor tactics to induce English and
overall weakness of the institution. The study concludes that neither
the schools and social environment of the children nor the theories of
bi/multilingual education support the prototypes associated to the  early English education. We argue that in
broader
terms, the English-only policy poses potential reductionist effects on
existing
language ecology, and English medium private schooling only serves to
lengthen the line of difference between the affluent and the underprivileged
segment of the society. Therefore, we propose that the early-English policy may be
reviewed, and replaced by mother tongue based multilingual policy. No doubt
English should be taught at primary level but it is not necessary to use it as
a medium of education at this level. This not only hinders the understanding of
the students but also builds an overwhelming obsession of English in their
minds which eventually leads to hating the language instead of learning it. As
the elites are only bestowed with quality English medium education ; therefore,
we endorse that there should be democratization of English and its equitable
distribution  across all strata of the
society because talent is not born while bearing class in mind.

Keywords
Low-fee schools • English-medium policy • Mother tongue based multilingual
education • Language policy and planning • Pakistan • Early English-medium
education • Additive bi/multilingual education • Institutional preparedness•
Sociolinguistic/ethnolinguistic realities versus English-medium education

1
Pakistan

1.1       Introduction

Scholars in bilingual and multilingual instruction recommend
that the best medium for prior tutoring is kid’s first language, the dialect
she/he utilizes at home with parents, kin and in the social condition. They set
that early proficiency in one’s native language or L1 has double benefits: firstly,
it brings about better scholarly and overall improvement; also, the level of
education and capability procured in the primary language strengthens quicker
and better advancement of extra second, third or more dialects (Cummins, 2009 ;
UNESCO, 2003 ). First language based instruction has turned into a set up
sub-zone for explore under various trains, for example, instruction, brain
research, sociolinguistics, dialect arrangement and arranging, and dialect
in-training. In opposition to the above scholars and researchers from among
other related controls suggesting before first language based instruction,
approach creators in Pakistan are yet to perceive the estimation of mother tongues
in instruction. For example, “Of the 71 indigenous dialects just Sindhi
has an official part as medium of guideline in elementary schools in Sindh and
Pashto is utilized as a part of government schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Province… that roughly 95 % of kids in Pakistan don’t approach instruction in
their native language” (Coleman, 2010 , pp. 16– 23). As per another gauge,
91.62 % kids in Pakistan have no entrance to instruction in their native
languages (Pinnock, 2009 ). Most kids go to Urdu-medium government and
English-medium open and private schools. Figures recommend that school
enrolment in the private segment represents 34 % of aggregate enlistment in
2007– 2008. As indicated by Pakistan Education Statistics (GOP, 2009b ), one in
each three selected youngsters is examining in the private institutions. Two
elements seem to have offered ascend to expansion of English-medium tuition
based schools: fall of Urdu-medium government schools and the expanding interest
for English-medium training, inspired by both national and also worldwide objectives.
English is utilized as a part of the spaces of energy in Pakistan, and
sober-mindedly most guardians see it as “international ID” to power,
glory and a variety of social, monetary what’s more, social treats (Manan,
David, and Dumanig, 2014 ; Mustafa, 2011 ; Rahman, 2004a , 2005; Rassool and
Mansoor, 2007 ; Shamim, 2008 ). In this section, we might first give a
foundation of dialect in-instruction arrangement in Pakistan. In the resulting
areas, a hypothetical review will arrange the between look between dialect
arrangements, governmental issues and belief system with reference to dialect arrangements
in Pakistan. Thusly, contextualizing the sociolinguistic setting and dialect
chain of importance of Pakistan, the view of understudies, instructors and
school principals with respect to the utilization of English dialect will be
fundamentally broke down through the crystal of hypothesis and the perspectives
of the key specialists. Keeping in perspective of the socio- semantic, school
framework, English dialect showing instructional methods, and socio- social
foundations of most kids, the closing part will propose a strategy for future
bearing. The accompanying exploration questions manage this part:

1. What is the hypothetical and experimental establishing of
the English-medium arrangement?

2. Is the present medium of direction arrangement good to
the sociolinguistic and ethnolinguistic substances of the general public?

3. Is the English medium arrangement suited to the current
institutional readiness of the schools?

4. Is quality English-medium training being impartially
appropriated, and does English-medium approach make level-playing ground for
all kids to move upward financially?

2 Theoretical
Framework

Two
extraordinary yet interrelated research standards constitute the hypothetical
edge work of the investigation that incorporates added substance
bi/multilingual training and basic language approach/basic connected phonetics.
The examination conveys the two ideal models to look at the present
English-medium training approach specifically from the view-purpose of
partners’ observations, educating and learning hones, and the compatibility
between English dialect and understudies’ sociocultural biology. Toward the
end, the investigation breaks down with respect to whether the approach makes a
level-playing field for everybody or on the other hand it makes social
disservices and variations.

3
Additive Bi/Multilingual Education

Hypothetically, added substance bi/multilingual instruction
implies that kids should start tutoring with their primary languages while any
second or third dialect may gradually be added to his/her collection (Cenoz,
2009 ; Skutnabb-Kangas, and McCarty, 2008 ). This signifies that added
substance bi/multilingual instruction includes instead of subtracts a kid’s
native language from instruction. The advocates of added substance
bi/multilingual English Language Teaching in Pakistan: Language Policies,
Delusions and Solutions instruction principally break down the etymological and
scholastic favorable circumstances of prior schooling in a kid’s native
language or first dialect. As per Cenoz ( 2009 ), additive indicates that
“a dialect is added to the semantic collection of the understudies while
the first dialect keeps on being created” (Cenoz, p. 3). In addition, additive
dialect discovering that implies that “another dialect is found out
notwithstanding the first language, which keeps on being created. The student’s
aggregate phonetic repertoire is expanded” (Skutnabb-Kangas and McCarty,
2008 , p. 4). Two speculations have increased broad cash and scope in wrangles
over the viability of added substance bi/multilingual strategies, and its
potential scholastic and phonetic points of interest. The two speculations are
the ” edge level theory ” (Skutnabb-Kangas and Toukomaa, 1976 ), and
the ” association theory ” (Cummins, 1984 ). Skutnabb-Kangas and
Toukomaa ( 1976 ) conjectured that when youngsters have achieved an edge of
fitness in their primary languages (first language), at that point they can
viably take in a moment or a third dialect without losing capability in the first
dialect. Further, when youngsters have traversed a moment edge of capability in
both first language and the second dialect, the competence accomplished in both
the dialects will decidedly influence scholastic and over- all intelligent
advancement, a state they named as added substance bilingualism. To contextualize
Cummins’ theory in Pakistan, it suggests that youngsters can potentially learn
English, an outside dialect, significantly less demanding and quicker, in the
event that they procure strong scholarly education in their primary languages.
Along these lines, the reliance speculation likewise recommends a progress from
first language to that of English at the post-essential level of tutoring than
a straight-for-English arrangement as most English-medium schools rehearse
right now. Research prove from a lot of observational information recommends
that a native language based training has potential points of interest than
education during a time or remote dialect (Annamalai, 2005 ; Baker, 2001 ;
Benson, 2009 ; Cummins, 2009 ; García, Skutnabb-Kangas, and Torres-Guzman, 2006
; Heugh, 2009 ; Hornberger, 1988 , 2003 ; McCarty, 2009 ; Mohanty, 2013 ;
Mohanty and Panda, 2009 ; Phillipson, 2009 ; Skutnabb-Kangas, 2009 ). The
benefits of added substance bi/multilingual instruction incorporate enhanced
quality what’s more, amount of collaboration amongst educator and understudy,
better basic reasoning, wager etymological, psychological, scholarly and
instructive advancement and more noteworthy com- prehension of the subject
substance (Alidou and Brock-Utne, 2006 ; Alidou et al., 2006 ; Benson, 2000 ,
2002 , 2009 ; Hardman, Abd-Kadir, and Smith, 2008 ; Heugh, 2006 , 2009 ;
Jhingran, 2005 ). On similar lines, the commentators of straight-for-English
medium training arrangement, which subtracts a kid’s primary language, see it
as ‘not well educated what’s more, misinformed’ (Ferguson, 2013 ) and the “confidence
that an ambitious start in English means great training and guarantees
achievement in life is a malicious myth” (Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson,
Panda, and Mohanty, 2009 , p. 327). Also, “early essential instruction also,
early education, is most adequately led in a dialect commonplace to the
understudy” than in a new dialect to which kids have restricted or no
introduction in their sociocultural biology.