Interplay of Language and Identity in Education: Prospection for Urdu and English Language and Second Language Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Educational contexts are the primary sites for the promulgation of linguistic ideologies and for determining the linguistic market for a language. English language in Pakistan is considered vital for mundane, official, and academic activities hence its learning gains currency in the polity. Conversely, the learning outputs are unsatisfactory which necessitates understanding how English language learners perceive themselves concerning the languages they are taught in the educational context. This study explains the language identity for Urdu (L1) and English (L2) of Pakistani undergraduate English as second language (ESL) learners for institutionally recognized and prescribed languages in the national curriculum to explicate the interplay of language and identity of learners in educational settings. Learners’ demographic profiles (previous education, schooling system, language proficiency, and family’s socio-economic status) were also inquired to understand relationship variation across demographic traits. A validated survey questionnaire was administered to a sample (N=316) comprising male and female students from 28 different programmes at a large public university in Karachi. Descriptive analysis and one-way ANOVA were carried out using the IBM SPSS 22 version. The findings attest to learners’ hybrid identity revealing attachment neither with L1 nor to L2. Learners acknowledged the privileged status of the English language in polity and preferred British English compared to the indigenous variety of Pakistani English [PakE] echoing the language ideologies permeated through the Educational context. They also endorsed English language speaking skills for gaining higher recompenses in society however deluded themselves in code[1]switching instead of practicing speaking skills. Besides, no significant difference was found in the language identity of ESL learners across demographic traits. The study has strong implications for devising language policies for education and adopting pedagogical approaches calling to accentuate language identity as a catalyst in the teaching-learning process and not considering linguistic diversity a barrier in the multilingual context.