Language Choice and Its Impact on Students’ Performance in Mathematics and Science: Evidence from a Post-colonial, Multilingual, and Developing Country
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/pgf3k964Keywords:
Language of instruction, multilingual society, student learning, teaching quality, PakistanAbstract
In a post-colonial multilingual society, language in education remains a sensitive and complex issue. Generally, in Pakistan, the mother tongue of the learners serves as a major mode of communication at home, while Urdu, being the lingua franca, is utilised for broader communication. English holds the status of an official language and is widely used as a Language of Instruction (LoI) in private schools. This complexity influences the dynamics of classroom instructions and students’ performance. This paper presents findings related to the language dynamics enacted in Pakistani schools, with a specific focus on consistent use of language across textbooks, instruction and assessment, and its impact on students’ performance in science and mathematics. The results are based on a nationally representative sample of 15,391 students and their 589 teachers at elementary schools (n=153). The data were gathered through achievement tests (administered to students) and observation (classroom teaching). Results revealed that students exposed to ‘consistent use of language’ performed significantly better than those who experienced ‘inconsistent use of languages’ in both subjects (p<0.001). The findings illustrated that language consistency together with school systems and teaching quality influence students’ performance; interestingly, the impact is more pronounced in classroom with relative better teaching quality.
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