TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT THE ROLE OF LOCAL LANGUAGES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING:A QUALITATIVE STUDY IN UNIVERSITIES OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

This paper discusses the perceptions held by teachers in university on the use of local languages in teaching English language in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It focused on the way in which teachers reasoned about the use of local languages in ELT and found out what they viewed as the advantages and disadvantages of such use, and how such beliefs influenced classroom use and language selection in multilingual universities. The research was based on two theory frameworks that were complementary in nature: teacher cognition, which described how pedagogical decisions were made based on the beliefs, assumptions, and past experiences of teachers, and pedagogical translanguaging, which perceived the entire range of linguistic repertoire of learners as a resource in learning but not a problem. An interpretive design of qualitative nature was taken. A purposive sample consisting of fifteen university teachers, who teach courses related to English in selected public universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was chosen due to their first-hand experience with multilingual classrooms. The data were gathered using semi-structured interviews (each took around 30 to 45 minutes). The transcripts of the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The researcher read the transcripts over and over again, created initial codes, arranged similar codes into themes and finally created broad themes. The results showed that teachers on the whole had neutral and context-specific beliefs. They neither advocated strict English only teaching nor the use of local languages freely. Rather, they considered local languages as pedagogical and affective aid, particularly in explaining challenging ideas, alleviated anxiety, enhancing engagement, and creating rapport. Simultaneously, they raised the issues of excessive dependence on translation, the decreased exposure to English, and disparity in linguistically diverse classrooms. The research proposed that there should be more explicit pedagogical orientation, teacher education, and language-sensitive policies in the higher educational institutions.