English as Language of Instructions or a Blend of Urdu at Public Secondary Schools: Perceptions and Practices

This descriptive study is a critique on such decisions towards language of instructions for the teaching of English and sciences subjects at secondary level. It was conducted on 30 male and female public secondary schools and their teachers to know whether English has been used as language of instructions while teaching of English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics at grade 10 as perceived or with a blend of Urdu. An opinionnaire and a classroom observation checklist, as tools, were administered on 30 teachers teaching English, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology to grade 10 to know their opinions and practices. The results of the study show that a majority of teachers prefer mixture of mother tongue and English as a foreign language for the teaching of English, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology in the classrooms. There are some instances of using English which are made when the teacher is supposed to explain scientific terminologies. Even English, as a subject, has been taught either in mother tongue or mixture of English and Urdu where Urdu remained dominant. The study found gap in between the decisions taken and the prevalent practices and suggests that teachers and students’ comfort zone may be considered before devising drastic policies for the language of instructions. The study concludes that without the proficiency of teachers in English language skills sweeping policies should not be made, as in the past, so that content knowledge could be easily transferred to students to further their skills