Language Of Pakistan Research Articles

Phenomenological Study of English Language Teachers in Pakistan

English language education in Pakistan holds significant importance, serving as both a medium of instruction and communication. Firstly, the study seeks to identify the professional traits; secondly, to explore the opportunities for professional development, available to English language teachers; and thirdly, the research seeks by addressing these objectives, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding English language teaching in the Pakistani context and offers valuable insights for enhancing teaching effectiveness and teachers’ competency. The study was qualitative in nature. Population of the study were all teachers those are serving on post graduate level. The researcher selected 30 participants for the research study. For the collection of data researcher constructed the interview according to the objectives of the study. Researcher conducted the interview of the participants. By using thematic analysis, the researcher analyzed the data and the results of the study indicated that majority of participant reported that effective English teachers have good verbal and written communication skills, which allow them to convey complex concepts and ideas clearly and understandably. Furthermore, they used group activities, discussions, and projects that engage students and encourage them to take ownership of their learning. Majority of participants reported that technological proficiency is one of their salient features. Incorporating technology into the teaching process can enhances engagement and provides access to a wealth of online resources. It helps the students to take part in classroom activities effectively. Additionally, most of the ELTs mentioned that various educational activities such as workshops to train the teachers for curriculum development and assessment techniques can be helpful for English language teachers. Enhancement of professional skills among English teachers will play an important role to promote English Language in Pakistan. Teacher may have the discussion and exchange the ideas for better teaching in English Language Teaching Workshops, conferences, and seminars.

Paindoo: Punjabi as an Accent

Examining the vernacular lives of Punjabi language in Pakistan, this essay considers the question: what is the life of a language undesired in a hostile politicolinguistic ecology? By way of an answer, it employs the term paindoo to argue that Anglo-Urduphile postcolonial Pakistan reduces Punjabi to a lingual and visual accent that is caricatured, embodied, and gendered. This reductive accent is produced not by the speaker, but rather through the accented ­perception of the listener.

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

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.

Language Vitality and Impetus behind Code-Switching in English Language in Pakistan: A Study at EFL Teachers and Learners in District Rahim Yar Khan

Language Vitality and Impetus behind Code-Switching in English Language in Pakistan: A Study at EFL Teachers and Learners in District Rahim Yar Khan

Impact of Using Folklore in ESL Classroom for Teaching English Reading Skills in RYK

The goal of this study was to look into the impact of using folklore in ESL classrooms to teach English reading skills. Because English is a second language in Pakistan, the researcher employed the term ESL in this study. This study used a quantitative experimental research method. The results of the pre-and post-tests showed that folklore had a positive effect on the experimental group students as their results improved. The results of the control group showed no significant difference. The questionnaire completed by teachers produced a positive response. The majority of teachers agreed that folklore can help students expand their vocabulary and read more fluently. Most teachers agreed that incorporating folklore into an educational program motivates students to read more. Overall, the research findings were positive.

Exploring the Impact of Social Media on English Language Learning: Opportunities and Challenges

This study seeks to elaborate on the influence that social media presents in the learning of the English language in Pakistan, together with the opportunities and challenges influenced by the phenomenon. The research object was to understand how media in Pakistan influence educational dynamics and language development within everyday life. The growing dominion of the English language as the lingua franca of the world would, therefore, make educators and policymakers understand the role that social media plays as host for language learning. The data collection method for this study was therefore done through a mixed-method approach across Pakistan with 30 participants from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Methods to use social media and keeping users engaged with English content were studied and presented as an effective tool for the most recent method of upgrading language skills. Finding out from our respondents further reiterated this, as a good number of them (97%) found social media helpful in improving their English language through substantial involvement with content in English and gains made in vocabulary and grammar. Quality of language, however, remains a persistent challenge amid informal styles of communication. In other words, the study suggests that while social media is an effective supplementary tool for language learning, yet at the same time, it should be used with a degree of caution within formal educational frameworks to optimise the benefits. It is precisely this research, then, that highlights strategies that could fully exploit such an educational potential while mitigating social media's weaknesses to improve English language education in Pakistan and other similar settings.

Can English be a national language in Pakistan?

This article argues that English should be considered as a national language in Pakistan in order to make it accessible to ordinary people and remove the negative assumptions attached to it. Using language planning and policy perspective, it suggests that instead of seeing traditional language as a problem, language policy should adopt language as a resource, which should not only be limited to a local or indigenous language(s), but should also be extended to other modern languages, such as English in Pakistan. Such a shift will reduce some of the problems of language planning and policy; it will not only reduce the burden on ordinary students to acquire (a) different second language(s), but will also make knowledge accessible to them through the use of their mother tongue and English. It will also help in reducing social stratification, as currently society is divided into elite and lower classes, with the class structure being perpetuated with the help of varying school systems and differential use of and access to Urdu and English. This study can lead to new debates about the use of English in non-English-speaking societies.

An Error Analysis of Expository Essay Writing of English as Second Language (ESL) Undergraduate Learners in Pakistan

This study focuses on the expository essay writing of undergraduate of English as Second Language (ESL) learners in Pakistan. The study aims to identify the most common errors made by these students and analyze the reasons behind those. The study uses the quantitative method to conduct error analysis. To conduct error analysis, a sample of eight expository essays written by undergraduate second language learners of the selected college is analyzed, and the errors are identified and categorized. The data analysis identified the errors made by second language learners in expository essays, including grammatical, vocabulary, syntax and organization errors. The sample students also struggled with using the correct verb tense, forming proper sentence structure, or accurately using prepositions. The results of the study provided insights into the areas that need improvement in the learning of English as a second language in Pakistan, as well as the strategies to address the identified errors. Further research may include more areas of grammar.

The Effect of Syntax Instruction on the Development of Complex Sentences in ESL Writing

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the influence that explicit syntax teaching has on the creation of complex sentences in English as a Second Language (ESL) writing, particularly in the setting of Pakistan. To achieve the aims, two instruments were applied i.e. semi-structured interviews beside the analysis of students' written compositions. Results demonstrate a considerable improvement in the participants' knowledge of syntactic structures as well as their application of these structures after receiving targeted training. The transformational impact of explicit syntax instruction is shown by the fact that written compositions exhibit varying degrees of syntactic complexity which are consistent with those of the previous study, which was conducted to highlight the beneficial association between training in syntax and improved writing skills. In addition to this, the research sheds light on the cultural integration of syntax, demonstrating a singular combination of linguistic abilities and cultural identity among students of English as a second language in Pakistan. The implications for ESL education include the possibility of using technology task-based methodologies and a culturally relevant framework. These findings contribute to the larger conversation about language education and provide useful insights for improving syntax instruction to cater to the varied requirements of ESL students in Pakistan.

Part-Of-Speech Tagging for Balochi Language: A Data driven application of Conditional Random Fields

Parts-of-Speech (POS) tagging involves the assignment of the correct part of speech or lexical category to individual words within a sentence in a natural language. This procedure holds significant in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and find utility across a variety of NLP applications. Commonly, it constitutes the initial phase of natural language processing. Subsequent stages may encompass additional tasks such as chunking, parsing and more. Balochi stands as the predominant language in Balochistan,, ranking as the fourth most prevalent language in Pakistan. The field of natural language processing for Balochi is still in its nascent stages. In this research, we introduce an algorithm for Balochi part-of-speech tagging, leveraging machine learning techniques. The core of our approach relies on a Conditional Random Field model as the machine learning component. Careful consideration is given to selecting appropriate features for the CRF, taking into account the linguistic characteristics of Balochi. Balochi is currently considered a resource poor language, and thus, the available manually tagged data consists of only approximately 1500 sentences. The tagset used in this study created for research purpose, consisting of 16 different tags. The learning process incorporates tagged data. The algorithm demonstrates a high accuracy rate of 86.78% when applied to Balochi texts. The training corpus comprises 40000 words, while the test corpus contains 10000 words.

Study of Linguistic Components of Pakistani English: An Indigenized English Variety

This study explores the linguistic components of Pakistani English (PakE) and how this English variety has been indigenized in linguistically diverse Pakistan. English is recognized as an official language in Pakistan, but it is often taught without appropriate socio-cultural context. The research aims to highlight the development of PakE through examining factors that influence its evolution, and analyze main linguistic features that draw its distinction from British English. The study uses a qualitative methodology, particularly thematic analysis of audio recorded interviews with two university students. Findings of the study reveal clausal, syntactic and lexical features of PakE that deviate from standard British English variety. The findings also demonstrate how PakE speakers code-mix Urdu and English, use unique sentence formations, and transform declarative sentences into interrogatives in casual talk. Moreover, the results imply the need for greater focus on linguistic diversity and importance of inclusion of native socio-cultural contexts in English language education across Pakistan. Additionally, understanding of common features of PakE can help informing language planning and policies focused on endorsing regional linguistic identity. Further research examining additional social, cultural and linguistic variables influencing ongoing development of Pakistani English as an indigenized variety is needed.

An Acoustic Analysis of Description and Classification of Balti Segmental (Velar Sounds) Consonants

The goal of this study is to categorize solely the consonants (velars) of the Balti language, which is spoken in Pakistan's Baltistan area of Gilgit Baltistan. The Balti language was chosen for the study because it is one of the less well-known languages in Pakistan and because there has never been any substantial research done on the language's sounds or sound system.120 distinct words from various Balti novels were chosen in order to categorize Balti sounds. Using the program PRAAT, the acoustic analysis of Balti consonants has been examined to demonstrate their physical characteristics. In order to capture samples of various Balti consonant sounds, the investigators identified 20 indigenous Balti speakers, aged 16 to 35, enrolled in State College for Boys in Model Town and University of Technology and Management, Lahore, Pakistan. Spectrophotograms representing each sound were used to display the physical characteristics of the native Balti speakers' sound samples. The Balti language has ten fricative sounds, according to acoustic examinations of consonant sounds.

Exploring the Cultural Exchange Potential of Learning Chinese as a Second Language in Pakistan

As China’s global influence grows, there is a growing interest in learning Chinese as a second language in many countries worldwide. In Pakistan, the potential for cultural exchange between China and Pakistan represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve mutual understanding and strengthen bilateral ties. This paper aims to investigate the cultural exchange potential of learning Chinese as a second language in Pakistan through online surveys. In this paper, encouraging Chinese language education in Pakistan can play an important role in facilitating cultural exchange and strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries.

TEACHERS’ PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT AT AN ENGLISH-MEDIUM UNIVERSITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT TRAINING IN PAKISTAN

English is used as an official language in Pakistan and is considered to be a key to success and there is a clear gap in understanding the assessment knowledge and training requirements of Pakistani English teachers. This study's primary focus is on language assessment literacy (LAL) of English language instructors working in a multi-campus university where English is primary language of instruction. This study had 3 objectives: (1) to assess if English for Academic Purpose (EAP) teachers have required academic, professional credentials to develop and execute language assessments; (2) to identify obstacles as teachers faced in conducting language assessments within their institutional contexts; (3) gathering opinions of teachers about requirements for training connected to assessments. The research employed a combination of data collection methods includes the questionaries, semi-structured interviews & examination of curriculum documents of English language teaching (ELT). Findings revealed widespread deficiency in the language assessment literacy (LAL) training, issues arising due to oversized classes, and range of student skill levels, that affect language assessment strategies. Study concludes importance of necessary training to enhance the teachers' assessment capabilities that are vital for students' success in English medium instruction programs.

Globalization and Challenges to the National Language in Pakistan on Visual Communication Design

The research is based on analyzing globalization in visual communication design in Pakistan. The approach of global corporations toward local cultures in relation to communication design is focused. The western influences are studied and examined into categories. The challenges to the national language Urdu and the dominance of the English language in advertisements are analyzed in the context of Pakistan. The role of visual communication design has become a fundamental ingredient in incorporating cultural values in Pakistani society. Digital technological advancements have promoted western culture and language in visual communication design. Western colonies were inspired and influenced by the visuals of the colonizers. The development of visual communication design by the colonial is analyzed. In this article, visual communication design specimens from multinational brands of fashion and food are analyzed. The elements are examined in the context of foreign trends and language. The colonial education establishment in the subcontinent is compared with the native approach. The design education system is addressed in the 21st century.

The Role of Language in Shaping Individual Identities: A Case Study of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Shaheed Benazirabad

Language assumes main role in forming individual identities and in recognizing how one group is unique in relation to a different group. Though a gathering might separate itself by its ethnic and cultural types, the sort of dress its individuals wear, for their nourishment, the houses they manufacture or the gathering's, tattoos, symbols and explicit observes, the language divides individuals generally unequivocally. This paper investigated the power of language in building individual identities at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Benazirabad context with an attention on how individuals tend to prioritize languages other than their indigenous ones to shape their identity. A very fundamental territories of this investigation were the means by which language and various factors (social, employment, economic empowerment, Educational, global discourse, success in life) are answerable for making individual identities. Data were collected from a sample of 50 students using a mixed method, because of nature of the study, data were gathered through questionnaire and open ended questions from 8 respondents to get in-depth understanding about the individual identities. The findings of this study reveals that the manner in which individuals communicate in multi languages in various settings reveal their individual identity. This study was a comprehension of the power of language in developing and constructing identities. The findings indicated that individuals' use of multiple languages in various situations is a reflection of their unique personal identity. Consequently, this study has the potential to establish a basis for comprehending the significance of language in shaping individual identities. Moreover, findings suggest that even though they love their native languages but due to different reasons they gave preferences to English and Urdu which are dominant languages in Pakistan.

Cutting Together-Apart of English as a Second Language in Pakistan: Insights from a Translation Studies Classroom

ABSTRACT This article uses Karen Barad’s agential realism to re/world the English language as used in Pakistan. My arguments draw on my students’ term project where they not only ‘resist’ the ex-coloniser’s language by creatively adapting it while translating an Urdu text into English but make gender related and political statements. Using post/colonialism as a Baradian apparatus, I re/configure my students’ relationship with English in conjunction with concepts like Self/Other, linguabridity and appropriation. I suggest that it would be desirable for students to use English in a way that supports international communication, in addition to a local variety that gives form to their beliefs and values, their culture and experience. The re/creation of English in my class as a temporally entangled phenomenon - ‘a cut together apart-one move’- denotes the im/permanence and in/determinacy of the relationship which remains open to a new world of diffractive im/possibilities.

Pashto Handwritten Invariant Character Trajectory Prediction Using a Customized Deep Learning Technique.

Before the 19th century, all communication and official records relied on handwritten documents, cherished as valuable artefacts by different ethnic groups. While significant efforts have been made to automate the transcription of major languages like English, French, Arabic, and Chinese, there has been less research on regional and minor languages, despite their importance from geographical and historical perspectives. This research focuses on detecting and recognizing Pashto handwritten characters and ligatures, which is essential for preserving this regional cursive language in Pakistan and its status as the national language of Afghanistan. Deep learning techniques were employed to detect and recognize Pashto characters and ligatures, utilizing a newly developed dataset specific to Pashto. A further enhancement was done on the dataset by implementing data augmentation, i.e., scaling and rotation on Pashto handwritten characters and ligatures, which gave us many variations of a single trajectory. Different morphological operations for minimizing gaps in the trajectories were also performed. The median filter was used for the removal of different noises. This dataset will be combined with the existing PHWD-V2 dataset. Various deep-learning techniques were evaluated, including VGG19, MobileNetV2, MobileNetV3, and a customized CNN. The customized CNN demonstrated the highest accuracy and minimal loss, achieving a training accuracy of 93.98%, validation accuracy of 92.08% and testing accuracy of 92.99%.

A survey-based study of challenges of multilingualism in Pakistan

This paper aims to investigate how people face different challenges in a multilingual and multicultural society, especially in Pakistan. The English enjoys official language status, while Urdu is the national language in Pakistan. Minority languages, on the other hand, are a sign of stigma and destitution, and most speakers of minority languages face discrimination. In this paper, a binary approach of qualitative and quantitative is used to explore multilingualism in Pakistan. In order to understand how Pakistan's language policy favors some languages over others and what impact that has appeared on politics, society, education, and the economy. A closed-ended questionnaire was given to 30 participants as part of the quantitative data gathering process utilizing the purposive sampling technique. In the qualitative phase, researchers used content analysis as a strategy to gather information from secondary sources in search of strategies and solutions to the challenges. It also briefly examines the effects of globalization on Pakistani languages. The findings of the study revealed that there is a need to use such strategies that help overcome these challenges and help in the development of English as an international language. Future researchers can undertake a longitudinal study to investigate the language development and experiences of multilingual persons in Pakistan and they can perform a comparative examination of multilingualism in various regions of Pakistan.

Mental health of university students of Pakistan and Germany and the right to health care

PurposePoor mental health in men and women is attributable to disparities in physical traits, social roles, power and health-seeking behaviours. This study aims to examine the gender differences in mental health among Pakistan and German university students and focuses on their right to seek mental health care.Design/methodology/approachData on depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, as well as positive mental health (PMH), resilience, social support and life satisfaction, were gathered from Pakistani and German students.FindingsIn contrast to the Pakistani group, where no such gender differences were seen, women in Germany reported higher degrees of stress, anxiety and depression, as well as a lower level of overall good mental health. In comparison to German men and women, Pakistani women scored equally high on resilience. While gender had no bearing on life happiness in either Pakistan or Germany, women in both countries perceived more social support than men did.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s strengths include its large sample size and battery of mental health measures. The results of partial weak measurement Invariance (MI) on the stress subscale underlined the importance of using MI in cross-cultural studies. The validity of a direct comparisons on sum score between different language versions or country samples shall be cautious. Still, there are limitations. Firstly, the authors did not differentiate gender and biological sex, and there was no group of non-binary gender. Pakistani (N = 1,840) and German (N = 7,890) students were in unequal numbers. Again, only university students were sampled, so the results cannot be generalised to older (probably less educated) populations. Self-reported data that mainly obtained via online survey were the third limitation. This design is cost-effective and easy to administer for cross-cultural survey research. However, social desirability and memory bias are common in self-report inventories. Fourthly, although English is an official language in Pakistan and the medium of instruction in education, the authors recommend future study to use questionnaires that have been translated and validated into Urdu (Pakistan’s national language) and investigate gender differences in a general population. Fifthly, this is a cross-sectional survey; the authors were not able to explore the causality or risk factors that contribute to the poor mental well-being in Pakistan students in general or the relatively worse mental health in German women. Future studies may investigate the mechanism behind the phenomena observed in this study with longitudinal or experimental design. Last but not least, Germany and Pakistan differ in so many different aspects from culture, religions and history to social structure and economic status, which make it hard to claim whether the observed differences were due to national differences, cultural differences, economic differences, gender inequality differences or other effects. It would be helpful for future studies to include more country samples with clear definitions of different “culture” aspects for a better understanding of gender differences in other countries and in different mental well-being constructs.Practical implicationsThe current study is the first attempt to compare the gender difference patterns in positive and negative mental health between European and South Asian counties and focuses on gender-specific approaches. Although Pakistani university students reported in general worse mental well-being, the differences between the two genders in mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety, general PMH) were not as pronounced as in the German student sample. Gender comparisons in these mental health constructs would help to improve protective factors against mental illness and to develop appropriate management programmes based on cultural differences. The results suggest that the gender differences found in western countries cannot always be directly translated into the South Asian cultural framework. Our results also highlight the importance of improving the general situation of Pakistan (students) instead of focusing on one gender. At the same time, in Germany, prevention and intervention plans are more warranted for women. It could be that once the general situation in Pakistan is improved, the gender-related differences in mental health will be clearly observed.Originality/valueThese findings imply the significance of cultural context when inferring gender variations in mental health. Moreover, it supports the advancement of comprehensive policies to reduce gender-related mental health inequalities and focuses on the equal rights of men and women to get mental health care.