foreign language in Pakistan

Language Sciences xxx (2017) 1–15

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The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan Syed Abdul Manan a, b, *, Khadija-Tul-Kubra c a Department of English, Faculty of Arts & Basic Sciences, Baluchistan University of IT Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta, Pakistan b Faculty of Languages & Linguistics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia c Department of English, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta, Pakistan

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 21 May 2016 Received in revised form 7 July 2017 Accepted 7 July 2017 Available online xxx

Most stakeholders including educators in Pakistan commonly theorize that English should be taught from day one in schools because the younger children are, the greater the possibility for mastery of the language. In the backdrop of prevailing beliefs and the resultant phenomenal proliferation of English-medium schools, this paper surveys educators’ cognitions about this rather theoretical, yet perennially conflicting debate within language-in-education context. Drawing on multiple tools, this study surveyed 11 low-fee English-medium schools in part of Pakistan. Results suggest that teachers and school administrators take maximalist position emphasizing exclusive use of English from day one whereas they view use of the L1/native languages as waste of time. They propose that ’the younger the child, the absorbent the mind’. However, most existing research suggests that age is not the sole predictor of second/foreign language development, but multiple factors such as quality and quantity of input, intensity of exposure, and socioaffective orientations serve more critical role than only age or maturation. Data shows that early-English policy is problematic because students usually receive only decontextualized and bookish input while they receive nearly no naturalistic exposure to English. The study concludes that educators demonstrate narrow theoretical understanding of rather complex and multifactorial issue. Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Cognition Straight-for-English policy Age and instruction of English The younger The better Naturalistic exposure Pakistan

1. Introduction What age is the most favorable, and at what age should children begin learning a second or foreign language? This study contextualizes educators’ (teachers & school administrators) cognition about age and the medium of instruction policy in Pakistan. Educators’ cognition refers to the “unobservable cognitive dimension of teaching – what teachers think, know and believe” (Borg, 2006, p. 1). Contextualizing the same issue within the diverse multilingual landscape of Pakistan, this is still an unresolved and hotly debated educational subject whether to start children’s schooling with English (the official language), or

* Corresponding author. Department of English, Faculty of Arts & Basic Sciences, Baluchistan University of IT Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta, Pakistan. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S.A. Manan), [email protected] ( Khadija-Tul-Kubra). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002 0388-0001/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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with Urdu (the national language), or with native languages (for speakers of indigenous languages other than Urdu). Examining this can be critical not only from a language-in-education policy perspective, but it can equally be crucial in theoretical terms as the “effects of age on second language acquisition constitute one of the most frequently researched and debated topics in the field of Second Language Acquisition” (Muñoz, 2008, p. 578). Two prominent theoretical orientations emerge in this regard: .one which aims to elucidate the existence and characteristics of maturational constraints on the human capacity for learning second languages, and another which purports to identify age-related differences in foreign language learning, often with the aim of informing educational policy decisions (Muñoz, 2008, p. 578). Research evidence in a wide range of contexts on the same issue shows that age is not the only determiner or the sole predictor of language proficiency of the second/foreign language; instead there are multiple factors which can explain the extent and rate of learning a second or a foreign language in addition to a maturation factor (Birdsong, 2006; Cenoz, 2003; DeKeyser, 2013; Lightbown and Spada, 2006; Muñoz, 2010, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c; Muñoz and Singleton, 2011). Crucially, this is a recurrent debate not only among theorists and applied linguists, but it also crops up persistently among other stakeholders particularly parents, policymakers, educators, etc. This issue is particularly challenging in countries such as Pakistan where stakeholders wish to introduce English, a foreign language, as early as possible in schools. This paper aims to analyze the theoretical and empirical foundations of a perennial, but conflicting debate within the language-in-education context in Pakistan where most stakeholders including policymakers, educationists, parents, teachers and students advocate the teaching of English as a medium of education from day one (Coleman and Capstick, 2012; Mahboob, 2002; Manan et al., 2014; Manan et al., 2015b; Mansoor, 1993; Rahman, 2002). In Pakistan, English serves as a first language for a few highly Anglicized people, as a second language for a larger affluent and highly educated group, and as a third/foreign language for all educated others (Rahman, 2001, p. 242). The early introduction of English is referred to as the ‘straight-for-English’ educational policy, which is practiced not only in Pakistan, but also around the world particularly in the postcolonial countries (Heugh, 2002; Manan, 2015; Manan et al., 2016; Obondo, 2007). The most persistent argument which the advocates put forward in support of the ‘straight-for-English’ policy in schools is the belief that the earlier the child is exposed to English, the greater the potential for learning the language. Aligned with this position is also a theoretical assumption that the child who comes into contact with English at a younger age is likely to achieve a higher level of proficiency in the language than he/she would do at the later ages when English is introduced in transition. Kinsella and Singleton (2014) aptly observe that this is a widely debated subject not only within academia on second or foreign language learning, but it is also a pervasive theme in the non-academic world. The supporters of the ‘straight-for-English’ policy intensely accentuate and vigorously rationalize it on grounds that enhanced English proficiency and competence promises socioeconomic rewards and relatively brighter career prospects for children. Keeping in view the instrumental power of the English language in Pakistan and worldwide in terms of socioeconomic and sociocultural transactions, most stakeholders including parents, children, teachers, and school authorities recommend earlier introduction of English in schools. As a result of imagined benefits and massive pragmatic value, which most stakeholders associate with the English language, the demand for English-medium schooling has markedly increased, leading to an exponential proliferation of private schools in Pakistan particularly English-medium schools over the last one and half decades. Figures suggest that school enrollment in the private sector accounts for 34% of the total enrollment in 2007–08. According to Pakistan Education Statistics (GOP, 2009), one in every three enrolled children attends private institutions in which English is the medium of instruction. A majority of the private schools, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning are English-medium. One of the major reasons for such dramatic expansion is the public ambition behind Englishmedium education. English is a powerful language as it is used in the domains of power in Pakistan (Mustafa, 2011; Rahman, 2004a; Rassool and Mansoor, 2007; Shamim, 2008, 2012). English thus serves as ‘the passport to privilege’ (Rahman, 2005). The popularity of English-medium education can also be seen in global terms in that the globalization of English has transformed the language-in-education landscapes not only in Pakistan, but it has also become widespread in many other parts of the world. Hornberger and Vaish (2009) observe that, One of the consequences of globalization processes is the spread of English as a medium of instruction in national school systems. Disadvantaged communities are increasingly demanding access to English so that their children can join a workforce that mandates knowledge of this language (p. 1). Much like the aspirations of stakeholders to have an English-medium policy from day one, scholars whose research focusses on age and second language learning, also analyze the prevailing beliefs such as that children can learn languages easily, and that it is ideal to plunge them into the new language. They make assertions such as: “younger is better” and “kids soak up languages like sponges” (Lightbown, 2008, p. 5). English is a foreign language to most children except a tiny Westernized elite (Rahman, 2007); however, most private and some public schools offer it as a medium from the nursery levels. Considering the presumptions of stakeholders, the advocacy of a straight-for-English policy, and the popularity of the English-medium schools, this study surveys English-medium schools in part of Pakistan to analyze the perspective of educators (teachers and school administrators). Theoretically, we will analyze cognitions of educators through the lenses of existing research from across wide range of contexts on issues of age in relation to the instruction of English as a foreign language in schools. In particular, the focus of the study is to situate the theoretical soundness and practical validity of the ‘the

Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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younger, the better’ or the ‘earlier, the better’ arguments within the broader sociolinguistic, sociocultural and socioeducational context of Pakistan. In this backdrop, the following research objectives will guide the present study:
To explore the cognition of educators about the early-English-medium policy in schools, and analyze the tenability of their cognition in actual school practices, and children’s exposure to the language in their sociocultural ecology.
To analyze educators’ cognition about the early-English-medium policy from the lens of existing research on the effect of age on second or foreign language development.
To inform the potential stakeholders particularly language-in-education policy makers about the complexities of the ostensibly straightforward notion of ‘the younger, the better’. 1.1. Teachers’ cognition about teaching L1/L2 Research on teachers’ cognition has gradually grown over the last few years. Ranging over diverse contexts, researchers have embarked upon research to cover and analyze teachers’ cognition about the use of language in the classrooms. Teacher cognition has been defined as the “unobservable cognitive dimension of teaching – what teachers think, know and believe” (Borg, 2006, p. 1). Borg discusses teachers’ cognition with reference to three major themes: (1) cognition and prior language learning experience, (2) cognition and teacher education, and (3) cognition and classroom practice. Teachers’ cognition has been studied from different perspectives with focus precisely on thematic areas such as grammar teaching (Phipps and Borg, 2009), materials design and development (Wyatt, 2011), communicative language teaching (Mangubhai et al., 2004; Wyatt, 2009), teachers’ use of the learners’ first language (L1) (Imran and Wyatt, 2015; Littlewood and Yu, 2011; Macaro, 2001), and learner autonomy (Borg and Al-Busaidi, 2011). Here, we focus on teachers’ cognition about the use of learners’ L1 within the classrooms, but also their cognition about the teaching of L1 as a medium of instruction in the school’s language and education policy. Research on teachers’ cognition is relatively scarce with reference to the use of L1s. How teachers should manage, negotiate and utilize learners’ L1, L2 or L3 in the multilingual classes, is still a debated issue, and a consensus is yet to develop among researchers. Discussing the same issue, Littlewood and Yu (2011) suggest that it has also remained controversial how teachers who teach a foreign language, should balance the use of the target language (TL) and students’ first language (L1). Having reviewed studies in several countries, Turnbull and Arnett (2002) found that ‘there is near consensus that teachers should aim to make maximum use of the TL’ (p. 211); however, no consensus has been achieved on the use of L1. Littlewood and Yu (2011) also observed that there is rather little consensus of opinions in that the arguments range from emphasis on exclusive use of the L1 to “varying degrees of recognition that it may provide valuable support for learning, either directly (e.g. as an element in a teaching technique or to explain a difficult point) or indirectly (e.g. to build positive relationships or help manage learning)” (p. 64). In addition, Macaro’s (2001) work on teacher’s cognition has been rather influential. Macaro identified three broad positions taken by teachers. They have been described as virtual, maximal and optimal. The virtual position is that “The classroom is like the target country” (Macaro, 2001, p. 535); therefore the TL must be used exclusively. The maximal position is that the maximum possible use should be made of the TL, viewing the use of L1 prejudicially. The optimal position is that purposeful and judicious use of the L1 should be made so that students can benefit optimally. Research evidence also confirms numerous advantages of the optimal use of L1 in the classrooms. Directly, the use of L1 can lead to smooth and easy learning of complex subject contents whereas indirectly, its use can develop positive relationship between teachers and students (Littlewood and Yu, 2011). Research is required on this issue in the context of Pakistan. The literature suggests that the amount of scholarship on teachers’ cognition is rather scarce in Pakistan; however, some studies do address a similar issue. For instance, in a relatively recent study, Imran and Wyatt (2015) explored the idealized cognition of three university teachers in Pakistan about the use of L1 versus a target language. The study found that teachers supported the exclusive use of the target language such as the English language; however, two of the teachers also proposed sensible use of the students’ first language. Drawing on personal and contextual factors, Imran and Wyatt (2015) found that there was a mismatch between classroom behaviors and teachers’ cognitions about ideal practices. Such mismatch manifested in factors such as “feelings of identity, prior language learning experiences and perceptions of the students’ language proficiency” (Imran and Wyatt, 2015, p. 1). The study proposed that there was a need for informed public discussion and awareness-raising on this issue, and expected that doing so would also highlight the issue of language use at the higher education level in Pakistan. In related studies, other researchers have also investigated teachers’ views about the use of English versus the local languages in education (Mahboob and Lin, 2017a, 2017b; Manan et al., 2015b). For instance, Mahboob and Lin (2017b) explored the potential role which local languages could play in the teaching of English in classrooms. The study cites several studies particularly that of Manan et al. (2014) to illustrate that teachers in Pakistan generally discourage and even abandon the use of L1s (local languages) in English teaching classroom because they were concerned that such practices could deter the learners’ capacity for learning additional languages such as English. In their study, Manan et al. (2014) found that teachers and administrators in several English medium schools also believed that allowing students to use local languages will negatively impact students’ English language skills/learning as well as the learning of other subjects. Some other recent studies on teachers’ perceptions about the use of languages also find nearly identical results. Manan et al. (2015b) found that majority of teachers, school principals and even students held the view that the “additive multilingual policy unfavorably presum[ed] that more languages will amount to learners’ confusion. Teaching mother tongues is being perceived as waste of Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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time” (Manan et al., 2015b, p. 1). Not only do teachers and administrators view the use of local languages unfavorably, students also think that L1s (local native languages) are good only as identity carriers in a multilingual and multiethnic country, and their use could best be made in intra-ethnic interaction and family chitchat (Manan and David, 2013, p. 203). 1.2. English language teaching in Pakistan English is viewed as the most powerful and prestigious language; therefore, education and proficiency in the English language is viewed as a passport to social and economic mobility, privileges, and prestige in Pakistan (Manan et al., 2014; Rahman, 2007; Shamim, 2012). The English language currently functions as a medium of instruction in the following streams and levels of education in the country: the elitist schools that include schools for the armed forces, public schools, private English-medium schools, and at the university level (Rahman, 1997, p. 146). The official number of English language speakers is unknown; however, Rahman (2007) estimated that roughly 3 to 4 percent of the total population can speak English proficiently including those who use English as their first language. English remains the official and most powerful language because it mainly benefits the elites of society to access “lucrative employment in the international job market” (Rahman, 1996, p. 250). Moreover, English is generally perceived as a key to “modernisation, scientific and technological development, and economic advancement for self and the country; in short, for improving one’s life chances” (Shamim, 2008, p. 236). English language teaching is a complex policy subject that recurrently invites debates amongst public, policymakers and concerned researchers. The available literature on English language teaching in Pakistan largely shows that the English-medium policy does not fit into the sociolinguistic and sociocultural contexts of most children especially those from the lower middle and working classes. The impediments to effective English-teaching are not only sociocultural, but also institutional (Manan, 2015; Manan et al., 2015a, 2016). Although, English-medium schools have exponentially expanded, and the English language policy remains the most popular in non-academic circles and policy-making constituencies; however, a number of scholars raise concerns about the early English-medium policy and the elimination of children’s native languages from the earlier schooling both in the public as well in the private schools. The acute shortage of ‘the quantity and quality of resources’ on the one hand (Shamim, 2008, p. 244), and the socio-cultural incompatibility, and the weak theoretical foundations on the other hand make the English-medium policy a complex and controversial subject. This is particularly the case in those schools where most children belong to low-socioeconomic backgrounds, and those children whose exposure to the English language is rather negligible in their social lives (Coleman, 2010; Manan et al., 2015a; Mustafa, 2011; Rahman, 2004a; Shamim, 2008). 2. Methodology 2.1. Research site This study took place in 11 low-fee English-medium private schools in Quetta, the capital city of the Balochistan province. The rationale behind selecting Quetta city was researchers’ easy and convenient access to the schools. In addition, since the researcher lives in and is employed in the same city, and has a wider network of colleagues working in the education sector in general and in some low-fee schools in particular, Quetta was deemed appropriate for research. The low-fee schools which are widely spread around the city were selected because of their exponential increase, and their popularity amongst public as the English-medium schools. Heyneman and Stern (2013) defined the low-fee school “as one whose tuition fee was lower than half the minimum wage”. The Quetta district is a highly multilingual and multicultural area that hosts a large number of tribes, ethnic, and linguistic groups. The major ethnic groups in the district are Pashtoon, Baloch, Brahvi, Hazara and Punjabi. Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi, Brahvi, Sindhi, Siraki, Hindko and Persian are the languages spoken in the city and its surrounding localities (UNICEF, 2011). 2.2. Sampling, instruments and analysis procedures The study reports some of the findings of a doctoral research project. It constitutes a selected part of a questionnaire survey, and a part of a qualitative study, drawing on classroom observations and interviews. Respondents of the questionnaire survey were those students selected by a probability sampling technique. Within the probability sampling, random sampling was used to achieve representativeness. Based on this sampling technique, a total of 245 respondents responded to questionnaires presented to higher secondary classes, which are locally termed as Grade 9 and 10. The questionnaire items sought respondents’ biographical information, exposure to the use of English in school, at home and via media. In addition, to assess students’ writing ability, they were assigned a short essay. A Likert scale with response choices such as never, seldom, sometimes, often and always were used. For analysis, the data are presented in descriptive statistical form in tables and figures showing frequency counts and percentages. A total of 8 teachers and 11 school principals were available for interviews from different schools. The sampling was purposive in that teachers and school principals were purposively selected in order to gather their insights on the Englishmedium policy in particular, the earlier, the better beliefs. Interviews were semi-structured, and occasional probes were added to seek respondents’ explanation on a certain related subject. The duration of each interview ranged from 13 to 21 min. Interview transcription and classroom observations were used in thematic analysis. In reports of data below respondents’ direct quotations have been assigned codes such as student (STDT), teacher (TCHR), and principal (PRPL). Similarly, classroom Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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observation was of a non-participant nature, it took place in 10 classes in nine different schools, totaling 400 min of observation. To achieve face validity of the research tools, five experts were consulted to seek their advice on “whether the questions asked look as if they are measuring what they claim to measure” (Cohen et al., 2003, p. 151). A similar strategy was adopted to ensure content validity and make certain that the “the instrument must show that it fairly and comprehensively covers the domain or items that it purports to cover” (Cohen et al., 2003, p. 137). 3. Results 3.1. Maximalist orientationsdcognitions about age and instruction of English Results suggest that majority of the educators tend to adopt what Macaro (2001) refers to as maximalist approach where teachers emphasize on the maximum and exclusive use of the Target Language (TL), which is English. Below we analyze the emerging themes of interviews with teachers and administrators on the question of the use of English, Urdu and the L1s as media of instruction. 3.1.1. The younger the child, the more absorbent the mind Teachers as well as school principals confidently assert that an English-medium is the most appropriate choice at the earlier stages of schooling because children can learn additional language(s) best when they are young. They presume that a young age is ideal for learning an additional language such as English. In their view, children’s minds are sharper and more absorbent than adults’ minds. They also theorize that there is relatively greater potential for faster and better learning of the English language when it is introduced at the nursery level. Their emphasis is on introduction of an English-medium policy while children are young. This belief may also be referred to as the sponge metaphor and the absorbent mind as they presumably suggest that “kids soak up languages like sponges” (Lightbown, 2008). For instance, a teacher commented that, English should be taught from day one. Children are sharper in childhood. How will they learn English then, as English is compulsory language? (TCHR6). Another teacher believes that when children have continuous contact and use of the TL such as in the form of books and other textual material, they are likely to develop mastery of the language fast. Importantly, another teacher thought that late teaching of English may prove even harmful. She contends that, If we don’t teach English from the beginning, children will not properly understand to read, write or speak. The younger they are, the greater the chances for language learning. Any delay in teaching English will be harmful (TCHR8). A school principal associates young age with sharpness of mind. He argues that, “When children are young, their minds are sharper. Therefore, English must be taught as a medium from the nursery classes” (PRPL5). Another school principal on the other hand undermines the value of children’s native languages at the early stages of schooling saying that: “We should not waste time in teaching mother tongues” (PRPL9). In line with the behaviorist approach, another school principal argues that English language learning is a matter of habit formation; the more they practice the language, the greater they are likely to develop it. He further proposes that, When we expose children to English in schools, they will find it natural and will adopt it easily. We should not waste time in teaching mother tongues. I think they will learn the language faster in this way (PRPL9). 3.1.2. The later the start, the lower the language learning rates While emphasizing the early instruction of the English language, teachers and principals express their disagreement with the policy of late transitionda transition from a native language to English. They do not subscribe to the concept of any exit policy and transition from one language to the other during schooling. Teachers also rejected a policy of transitioning from native languages to English on grounds that it would upset students’ development in the English language: It is better to begin with English than make late transition. I do not think it can work that way. Children will also have little time for learning English then (TCHR7). The school principals also do not see any linguistic advantage of a late exit policy. They propose that it is better to start schooling with the English language and continue with English without a transition until the end. A school principal contended that late introduction of English can cause several problems. For instance, No, it will be too late for them. Such transition from mother tongue to English can be challenging for teachers as well as government (PRPL6). 3.1.3. The maximum the school time, the maximum the proficiency levels Educators are enthusiastic about the English-medium policy; they mostly reiterate their support for teaching the English language at the earlier phases of schooling. Their core argument is that the earlier the children have an opportunity to learn the English language, the greater their proficiency levels would be. Their logic for the early instruction of English is based on Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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an assumption that, when children have a lot of time to study the language, it will lay a strong foundation for postmatriculation stages in colleges and universities. A teacher judged earlier introduction of English positively when she said that, When we introduce English from nursery, children will then have more time to learn well. Spending more time learning English means they will learn quite a lot about the language (TCHR5). The educators also believe that teaching in Urdu or in a student’s native language in schools would set them back when they encounter English textbooks at the later stages of their studies because all textbooks are in the English language from college stage onward. They reject the possibility of introducing a child’s native language because they believe it as a waste of time. One of the school principals commented: When children pass out from school, they will have studied English for more than ten yearsdyou can expect them to be more proficient in the English language than students of other government schools (PRPL1). 3.1.4. The earlier the English-medium, the greater the prospects for socioeconomic mobility Another assumption which advocates of the early English-medium education put forward is that children who study English as a medium from the beginning have greater chances to advance to higher education and then to gain entry into lucrative jobs. According to them, better employment prospects and English language proficiency are interrelated. In their views, better English proficiency can be achieved only when English is taught as a medium of instruction from day one in schools. One of the teachers contends that only English language proficiency promises better job prospects: If children study local languages in schools, they will miss on all opportunities English can normally bring. If mother tongue is to be made the medium, there will be no need for children to enroll in schools because their parents can also teach them at home (TCHR6). According to another school principal, since “Everything is in English”; therefore, children must be taught in English in schools. He strongly asserts that, Look, English is very important. I say teaching English from class one is the best policy. Only this way, children will get command over the English language. English is international language. Everything is in English. From computer to every technology, everything is in English. Mother tongues, children already know. So, there is no need (PRPL11). 3.1.5. The lesser the languages, the lower the potential for language interference Except for two of the school principals, the remaining teachers and school principals perceive the existence of linguistic diversity as a problem, and believe that instruction should be in one language only, because this reduces the chances of language confusion. Averse to a multilingual paradigm of language in education, the educators believe that an English-only policy can be more productive, easy, and practicable because as such, children will not have to deal with additional languages. As a school principal argues that, We cannot teach many languages. Children’s minds cannot absorb burden of many languages. Only English is ok. More languages means more challenges. Children already know their mother tongues; they need English and Urdu more (PRPL1). Another school principal puts forward the idea of English-only on ground that, “We cannot teach many languages. I think teaching many languages will increase burden and cause more confusion for children” (PRPL2). They also cultivate a belief that with a multilingual policy, children will be bogged down by language confusion. For instance, another school principal rejects the idea of a multilingual education policy and proposes that it is likely to take students’ focus off the basic academic subjects such as sciences, mathematics, etc. He argues that, We are already teaching English and Urdu, if we add a third language to our syllabus, it will put extra burden on students (PRPL3).

4. Idealized versus situated cognitionsda critical appraisal of educators’ cognitions against practices, language ecologies and research In this section, we juxtapose the educators’ claims of ‘the earlier, the better’ against actual school practices, and children’s amount of exposure to natural use of English at home or in the media in order to assess how solid, valid, practical and informed their claims are. Additionally, we will assess their claims vis-à-vis the empirical evidence for a positive or negative correlation between age and proficiency in a second or a foreign language to examine whether research validates or invalidates the claims educators make in support of early English in the schools. Towards the end, we also focus on an idea, which the majority of educators overlook or underestimate, namely building on children’s home languages as resources in teaching the English language and course contents. Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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4.1. Children’s naturalistic exposure to English in school, at home, and via the media Although educators, who include teachers and school administrators, idealize the use of English for all academic practices, we need to see how English language is used practically. For this purpose, students were asked to estimate how often they made use of the English language in a naturalistic manner in communication with their teachers, peers or with others in school. As students’ responses suggest, their use of English language is quite limited in their peer-to-peer communications, and even in teachers’ delivery of lectures. Fig. 1 illustrates students’ exposure and use of English for classroom transactions especially during formal questions and discussion with their teachers. Data show that a large number of students (n ¼ 157, 64.1%) never use English at all. Others estimate that they seldom (n ¼ 36, 14.7%) or sometimes use it when they discuss matters with their teachers. In contrast to those numbers, a tiny portion of students reports that they often (n ¼ 16, 6.5%) or always (n ¼ 19, 7.8%) discuss academic-subject related issues in English. Similar figures emerge from data on social interactions amongst students where the majority of them report that they never (n ¼ 164, 66.9%) or seldom (n ¼ 36, 14.7%) use English language with their friends. In addition, based on classroom observations, we find that English is seldom used in a naturalistic manner in classroom transactions while Urdu serves as the de facto medium for nearly all classroom communication. Students also suggest that their teachers seldom use English as a tool for communication and that they do not expose students to conversation in English or to any other activity such as creative writing in English, etc. Figures show that 45.3% students report that teachers never communicate in English whereas 25.7% report that their teachers seldom do so. Use of English is generally confined to the textbooks, and teacher-centered formal reading and writing practices.

180

Students' number in graphs

160

157

164

140 120

111

100 80

63

60

36 36

40 20 0

35 17 15 19

16 18

19

12 17

Never

Seldom

S. Ɵmes

OŌen

Always

Classroom quesƟons

157

36

17

16

19

Social interacƟon

164

36

15

18

12

Teachers’ use of English

111

63

19

35

17

Data table displaying students' use of English in school Fig. 1. Frequency of students’ use of English in school.

Our findings show that Urdu is the medium for classroom transactions and everyday activities that involve communication, both between teachers and students and as well as between students. The limited use of English that customarily takes place, is in the form of one-sentence expressions or one-word verbal expressions inserted into Urdu conversations. For instance, typically teachers and students were observed using expressions and sentences for command, instruction, or permission. This is also described as safe-talk in which either teachers or students make use of some clichéd and formulaic utterances or short sentences which Mohanty (2013) calls “cosmetic Anglicization” and “superficial behavioral norms”. Such expressions are rarely employed for genuine communicative intent or out of natural command of the English language; rather use of English appears to be for public and parental consumption (Manan et al., 2015a). Students, teachers and school principals were observed employing following formulaic expressions and safe talks regularly, but, we could judge that all of those expressions and short sentences were used habitually and without genuine communication intent:

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TEACHERS:  Good morning students  Attendance please  Listen students  Attention please  Behave yourself  Silent please  Listen  Ok  Right  Come in  Go out  No noise STUDENTS:  Good morning teacher  May I enter?  May I go?  Goodbye madam  See you  Thank you

As far as students’ command and their level of competence in skills involving English use were concerned, we assigned students the task of writing an essay on a topic to demonstrate their skills. We deemed it important to examine students’ writing skills to assess their level of writing after they have spent nearly 10 years in the type of schools which claim to be English-medium. The essay was titled as “What do you want to become in the future and why?” The following figure presents our assessment of their writing ability using an analytic scoring procedure developed by Jacobs et al. (1981). This scoring procedure rates “several aspects of writing or criteria rather than given a single score” (Weigle, 2002). In their scoring procedure, scripts are rated on five qualitative variables such as contents, organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanics; however, the present study provides ratings of only the last three of those variables. We provide ratings for those variables using four rating levels: excellent to very good, good to average, fair to poor, and very poor.

Fig. 2. Assessment of students’ writing.

The ratings shown in Fig. 2 indicate that considerably smaller number of students fall into the excellent to very good and good to average rating categories while the vast majority falls into fair to poor and very poor. Importantly, thirty-one students reported that they could not write their essays in English; therefore, they wrote their essays in Urdu language. Apart from those, more than 30 students provided essays whose writing could not be read as that did not make any sense. Grammatically and in terms of spelling, their writing was unreadable. Most of those who were categorized very poor and fair-poor

Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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demonstrated little sense of tense, verb-subject agreement, spelling, and punctuation. Based on classroom observations and interviews with students and teachers, the basic reason behind their lack of writing ability appeared to be a lack of practice as teachers completely neglected students’ writing skills. We also found that students are seldom exposed to any kind of training in creative or reflective writing. Apart little meaningful exposure in schools, since English is a foreign language to most of the children, and most of them usually receive little contact with the language; therefore, their general understanding about grammar, word order, vocabulary, and writing mechanics is so weak. In the following pages, some excerpts from their original essays are provided to illustrate their level of writing: Excerpt 1

As the above piece of writing shows, a number of deficiencies can be seen in this essay. In particular, it lacks grammatical accuracy. Word order seems to be the problem. As a whole, one cannot decipher the message. For instance, the following sentence does not follow the word order of grammatical EnglishdI am This for is future is want but I am going to future. The essay also shows a number of other weaknesses such as the wrong use of tense, inaccurate auxiliary and main verbs, and incorrect use of capital letters. In his biographic information, this student wrote that his father was a ‘bizneizman’, and his mother and father both did not receive any formal education. This could potentially be one of the reasons of his inability to develop better writing skills as he apparently receives no family support in his schooling assignments. Excerpt 2 Writing by the following student also shows similar weaknesses to those evident in the previous excerpt.

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During classroom observation, it was noticed that students did get opportunities to write; however, their writing was limited to copying from the whiteboards and textbooks. Students spent most of their time in writing, but their writing was generally all about assigned homework by teachers, which is meant to be copied from textbooks. Such copying is a blind reproduction, which they are supposed to commit to memory in preparation for a later examination. Most students usually spend about 3–4 h daily on completing their assigned homework. During this exercise, they write answers from the textbooks. Later on, they memorize the same material for examination. Evidently, the form of their writing was not creative, meaningful or spontaneous. Observation suggests that whatever little writing they do on a day-to-day basis, it is apparently not the product of their competence of the grammar, vocabulary, or linguistic features which they would have internalized through meaningful and natural acquisition of the language. Rather, we found that students’ writing is generally imitative and rote learned. It is imitative because students are usually forced to copy and plagiarize from the text books, and they are rarely pay trained in proper academic writing. Therefore, the apparent mismatch between educators’ claims of English-medium policy and the actual provision of meaningful English testifies to the illusion of their cognition, and the earlier, the better argument. The amount of exposure and active use of English is also very low at their homes. Very few students use English for communication or interaction at home as illustrated in Table 1. The table shows that almost 67% of students never use English, while a tiny number (n ¼ 20, 8.2%) report that they always use English at home. Parents’ and siblings’ education has been the main factor behind the regular use of the English language. For instance, those 20 and 22 respondents who used English more often than others, wrote in their biographical information that their parents had received higher educational qualifications. Similarly, a few students who suggested some use of English at homes, also reported that they occasionally engaged in English conversations with their parents and with their educated siblings. By and large, a vast majority of students belong to families whose parents have received no formal education. As biographical data show, 33% of students’ fathers and 72% of their mothers have not received any formal education. The overall figures indicate that majority of children receive rather limited amount of meaningful and active exposure to the use of English at homes.

Table 1 Exposure to English at home and in the community/neighborhood. Domains/areas

Reading material Social interaction Community/neighborhood

Never

Seldom

S. times

Often

N&%

N&%

N&%

N&%

Always N&%

128 (52.2) 164 (66.9) 160 (65.3)

47 (19.2) 23 (9.4) –

26 (10.6) 16 (6.5) 17 (6.9)

22 (9.0) 22 (9.0) 23 (9.4)

22 (9.0) 20 (8.2) 45 (18.4)

Fig. 3 illustrates students’ exposure to English via different media outlets. It covers internet, TV, radio, sports commentary and movies. Importantly, majority of them do not use internet because they do not have access to it. Figures show that 56% of them do not get exposure of any kind to English via the internet. Results also suggest that only 16% students always receive exposure to English with internet whereas only 13.5% sometimes receive such exposure. Exposure to TV suggests that 52.2% of respondents either never or seldom watch TV programs in English. A larger segment of the students has access to cable networks; however, they mostly watch programs in Urdu or partially in their own languages. Ironically, there is no fullfledged English TV channel in Pakistan that airs programs for 24 h. In addition, a larger number of respondents never or seldom get chance to listen to English via radio. Contrary to the limited amount of exposure to several media sources as noted, the number of students watching live sports commentary is much higher. Results show that a high percentage of students often watch sports and listen to live commentary. For instance, 16.3% always, 30.6% often, while 33.5% sometimes get opportunity to watch cricket matches. Cricket is one of the most popular games not only in the country, but it is also rather popular in the entire sub-continent region; therefore, youngsters keenly follow the game, and get passive exposure to the cricket commentary on televisions, which is usually in the English language. Students shared their views about how listening to cricket commentary helped them become acquainted with English. Data regarding movies show that 75% of students either never, seldom or sometimes watch English movies whereas the remainder reports that they often or always watch English movies. About 25% of students still have exposure to English movies, a factor that can be helpful, and may somehow positively affect their knowledge of the English language.

Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

students' number in graphs

S.A. Manan, Khadija-Tul-Kubra / Language Sciences xxx (2017) 1–15

140

11

124 127

120 91

100 80

89 82

73

65

63

75

61

60 40

25

20 0

Never

33 23 14 12 Seldom

21

45 40 39 32

35 24

15 5

S.Ɵmes

OŌen

12 Always

Internet

124

14

33

35

39

TV(news)

65

63

61

24

32

Radio

127

12

89

5

12

Sports commentary

25

23

82

75

40

Movies

91

73

21

15

45

Data table displaying students' exposure to different media sources Fig. 3. Contact with English via media.

4.2. ‘The younger, the better’ cognitions through the lens of available research Do the earlier starters of English really outperform the later starters as the majority of educators cited in the present study posit? Does age or maturational factor constitute the only explanatory factor and unit of analysis in the complex processes of a child’s development in a second or a third language? And, finally is the emphatic push and ambitious pursuit of the educators at the micro level and that of the policymakers and most parents at the macro level for an early English-medium policy theoretically tenable and empirically well founded? In this section, an attempt is made to discuss critically the educators’ cognition, and the local factors vis-à-vis the research evidence on age and second/foreign language development. The “effects of age on second language acquisition constitute one of the most frequently researched and debated topics in the field of Second Language Acquisition” (Muñoz, 2008, p. 578). As pointed out earlier, scholars have addressed the effect of age from different theoretical perspectives, and a large amount of literature has accumulated on the effect of age on learning second or foreign languages over the last decade or so (Birdsong, 2006; Cenoz, 2003; DeKeyser, 2013; García Mayo and Garcia Lecumberri, 2003; Kinsella and Singleton, 2014; Lightbown, 2008; Lightbown and Spada, 2006; Muñoz, 2010, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c; Muñoz and Singleton, 2011). The major thrust of most of these studies, and many more related studies on the correlation between age and second and foreign language learning, testify to the fact that there is much more than age or maturational factor involved in learning a second or a foreign language. Thus, the accumulated literature is diametrically opposed to, and provides a critique for the propositions advanced by the advocates of the Critical Period Hypothesis and sensitive age. The advocates of critical or sensitive period theorized that children must acquire language within a certain period after which complete acquisition of the language is no longer possible. The idea of a critical or sensitive period or the idea of maturational constraints has appealed to many linguists. The ideas had their origins in the work of Penfield and Roberts (1959) who linked children’s language-acquiring superiority to the plasticity of the developing brain. The traditional (or strong) interpretation of the hypothesis rules out native-like attainment of language after the onset of puberty. Consistent with this view, Long (2013) used the term sensitive period (SP) to refer to a period “during which a child can acquire language easily, rapidly, perfectly, and without instruction” (Richards and Schmidt, 2013, p. 146). On the other hand, a growing number of researchers judged the notion of sensitive period as problematic, and proposed that age or maturation cannot be considered the sole predictor of language development. Muñoz (2014a) proposed that researchers need to take account of the ‘complexities and interactions’ that have an impact on effects of age on second and foreign language learning. Muñoz (2014a) suggested that extensive empirical evidence recently shows that “factors other than maturational should be brought more to the fore and treated more seriously” (Muñoz, 2014a, p. 25). Likewise, Muñoz and Singleton (2011) regard age as a complex variable that intricately relates to an array of other factors rather than mere maturation in the context of a second or foreign language learning. Similarly, Muñoz (2014c) concludes that an earlier start on second language learning may significantly benefit some learners, but it does not necessarily have that impact on others. The learning impact or ultimate learning achievement could be the result not only of age, but of a multiplicity of factors among which the most important include “aptitude, motivation, and intensive language contact” (p. 480). Kinsella and Singleton Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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(2014) found that ‘much more than age’ and maturational factors, including an array of affective variables can play an important role in the acquisition of a second or a foreign language. Important amongst several other factors is the quantity and quality of input and the intensity of exposure to the target language. Studies suggest that the learning context is paramount in that it often mediates the age effect. As Muñoz (2012) suggests, starting age may play a less influential role in input-limited foreign language settings than in naturalistic settings. Admittedly, studies conducted in naturalistic language learning contexts confirm that there is a short-term advantage for the older learners as compared to the long-term advantage or higher attainments of the younger learners (Krashen et al., 1979). Several other studies highlight the importance of other contextual factors that have a significant impact particularly in foreign language situations where instruction mostly takes place in a formal manner, and where learners receive quite limited input or contact with naturalistic use of the target language. The contextual factors include the amount and intensity of input (Jia and Aaronson, 2003), the range of contexts of L2 use (Moyer, 2004), the quality of the input (Flege and Liu, 2001), and cohabitation with native speakers (Kinsella and Singleton, 2014; Muñoz and Singleton, 2007). In addition to contextual factors, scholars also hold that there are multiple socio-affective factors that are crucial to the rate of target language learning. For instance, the following socio-affective factors impact language learning: strong intrinsic motivation (Moyer, 2004), sense of belonging to the target language community (e.g., Kinsella and Singleton, 2014), and engagement with the target language (e.g., Kinsella and Singleton, 2014; Moyer, 2004; Muñoz and Singleton, 2007). It may also be pointed out that research in the last decade does not support the popular view of most educators in the present context that the earlier starters do better than the late ones, and that the younger the children, the higher the success rate. According to Cenoz (2009), the notion that children pick up languages more easily than adults is very popular; however, its theoretical tenability and empirical soundness is debatable. These recent studies have yielded consistent results showing an advantage for late starters over the early starters in many circumstances (Cenoz, 2002, 2003; Miralpeix, 2006; Muñoz, 2006a, 2006b; Myles and Mitchell, 2012). With reference to age and the rate of foreign language learning, Muñoz (2006a) concluded that early starters do not outperform late starters when the amount of instruction or exposure is controlled. Instead, older school learners outperform younger school learners after the same number of hours of instruction. In another study, Muñoz (2006b) found that the older learners’ advantage was greater in the more cognitively demanding tests, and it diminished with time, which was interpreted as reflecting the narrowing of the gap in cognitive maturation between the two groups. The higher success rate of older starters has partially been attributed to the higher cognitive abilities that are advantageous for explicit learning (Muñoz, 2006b, 2008). One of the crucial factors to which many researchers refer, is the context of learning rather than the age of the learner. It is important to consider whether learning a second or a foreign language takes place in a naturalistic context such as social exposure or in a formal school-like context. Cenoz (2009) explains that the notion of sensitive age or critical period could be relevant for the learning of a second language; however, there is a need to distinguish between ‘natural and formal contexts of language acquisition’. Cenoz argues that most research that supports sensitive period and stresses the young age, has been conducted in natural settings where “extensive natural exposure to the language is combined with formal learning” (p. 193). This situation is in sharp contrast to “acquiring a second or foreign language in situations in which exposure to the language is limited to the school context and usually to a very limited number of hours per week” (p. 193). It has been argued that younger starters do not benefit from their possible superiority at implicit learning in input-limited foreign language programs because such a context does not provide young learners with massive amount of exposure to the language needed for implicit learning (DeKeyser, 2000; Muñoz, 2006b). Similarly, after comparing the language development of younger and older students, Genesee (2004) found that older students can benefit from their more developed knowledge of the first language especially literacy skills, and those students who go for later immersion are relatively more motivated and well-informed about their goals than younger students are. Natural exposure to the target language is a sure advantage. For instance, Singleton and Ryan (2004) conclude that, .those who are naturalistically exposed to an L2 and whose exposure to the L2 in question begins in childhood eventually surpass those whose exposure begins in adulthood, even though the latter usually show some initial advantage over the former (p. 227). Based on extensive research evidence, Singleton (2003) suggested that age must be understood to involve numerous other characteristics of the learner, of which the most notable are the knowledge of previous languages such the first language. Cenoz (2003) studied the influence of age on the acquisition of English, general proficiency, motivation and code switching. The findings suggested that although younger learners demonstrated better attitudes and motivation towards language learning, older learners progressed more quickly in foreign language acquisition, perhaps due to cognitive maturity and different input types at different ages. In the context of Pakistan, no specific research has been conducted on age as a factor in the acquisition of English as a second/foreign language. However, in response to the supporters of the early English policy in school, Coleman and Capstick (2012) suggested that there was a “widespread misunderstanding about how children learn languages and about the role of language in education” (p. 8). The authors termed this an invalid simplistic overgeneralization. They further explained that, Adults have their own language learning strengths which children lack. For example, they develop grammatical understanding and they learn to read and write in new languages much more rapidly than do children. On the other hand, Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002

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because children tend to be less inhibited in their use of language than adults, it may well be true that in a supportive environment – such as the family where they are exposed to languages in a natural and unthreatening manner children will acquire oral skills more rapidly than do adults (p. 38). 5. Conclusion This study concludes that ‘the younger, the better’ proposition as put forward emphatically by some educators sounds rational and pragmatic within the existing sociolinguistic context in which English wields remarkably greater cultural, social and economic capital than the rest of the indigenous languages including Urdu. However, there is a need to view the sociolinguistic and sociocultural realities dispassionately in regard to the expansion of the English-medium education policy. Manan et al. (2015b) appropriately describe this policy as ‘the English-medium fever’. In sociocultural and sociolinguistic terms, the ‘straight-for-English’ policy appears to suffer from ‘disjunction’ (Manan et al., 2015a) in that most students have minimal exposure to naturalistic, active and substantive use of the English language in their sociocultural ecology. In addition, numerous studies cast doubt on the notion of the sensitive period for language acquisition and conclude that age or maturation should not be considered the only predictor of language development. Based on the findings of the present study, we also propose that researchers, policymakers and educationists in Pakistan need to take account of the “complexities and interactions” involved in second language learning and they also need to recognize that “factors other than maturational should be brought more to the fore and treated more seriously” (Muñoz, 2014a, p. 25). Findings of several other studies also underscore the multiplicity of factors and the complexity of variables that matter in the learning of second or foreign languages beyond the maturational factor. Those factors include quality and quantity of second-language input, intensity of exposure to it, attitudes, motivation and socio-affective orientations, the range of contexts of L2/L3 use, co-habitation with native speakers, and so on (Flege and Liu, 2001; Jia and Aaronson, 2003; Kinsella and Singleton, 2014; Moyer, 2004; Muñoz, 2012, 2014a; Muñoz and Singleton, 2011). Similarly, extensive theoretical as well as empirical evidence drawn from previous research on linguistic development of learners in a wide range of contexts finds that older children and adolescents can prove better strategists in learning a second or a foreign language, and that late starters can outperform the early starters (Cenoz, 2002, 2003; García Mayo and García Lecumberri, 2003; Muñoz, 2006a, 2006b; Myles and Mitchell, 2012). To sum up, we emphasize that the use of English as a medium from day one, and the expectations that mere teaching from English textbooks will result in optimum English learning, not only suffers from a narrow understanding of a rather complex theoretical and multi-factorial issue, but it also completely overlooks the limited opportunities that most students have in school and outside of school. However, it may also be highlighted that the narrow theoretical understanding of most educators may be attributed to the fact that most academic research is simply inaccessible to non-researchers. The little amount of contact with English which most students usually have is in the form of formal, decontextualized, bookish, exam-oriented, and teacher-centered reading and writing English. This cannot be considered a secure basis for the learning implied by ‘the earlier, the better’ notion. In the present study, this perspective has been shown to be theoretically unfounded, empirically unsubstantiated, socioculturally mismatching, and pedagogically unrealistic. The very low competency levels of students in their written compositions that we found suggest that nearly all of ‘the earlier/younger, the better’ propositions that educators advance in favor of exclusive and straight-for-English policy lack sound theoretical and empirical grounding; they are most probably based on the ‘myth of English medium superiority’ (Mohanty, 2006), and anecdotal beliefs. Whereas on the contrary, research evidence abounds that beliefs such as that ‘children learn best at the younger age’, ‘learning more than one language is a problem’, ‘learning more than one language at early age slows down linguistic development or interferes with cognitive development’ are unfounded. Those are based on myths rather than on sound empirical evidence (Lightbown, 2008; Lightbown and Spada, 2006). Moreover, research also suggests that it is a myth that children’s prior linguistic knowledge and that the languages known to children from their home environments should be given little role in their education before they start to learn the new language (Bialystok, 2001; Lightbown, 2008). Instead, scholarship confirms that the use of children’s L1/native language has numerous metalinguistic, socio-psychological and educational advantages. Those advantages include accelerated learning of a second/foreign language, cognitive flexibility and enhanced metalinguistic awareness (Benson, 2002; Bialystok, 2001; Cummins, 2000; Heugh, 2002; King and Mackey, 2007; Lightbown and Spada, 2006; Littlewood and Yu, 2011). The way forward is to raise critical language awareness among educators about the value and the role of children’s L1s/native languages; create opportunities for sound and solid education of educators about the theoretical complexities of language acquisition/learning, and foster the value of languages in plurality. Moreover, there is a need to create ideological spaces for linguistic and cultural diversity within the schools. In the end, it is also critical to cultivate a belief system among educators that L1/native languages are neither wastes of time nor instruments of educational and linguistic deficits. Rather they are valuable resources which not only make educational processes smooth, but they also mediate and reinforce the learning of additional languages such as English. References Benson, C.J., 2002. Real and potential benefits of bilingual programmes in developing countries. Int. J. Biling. Educ. Biling. 5 (6), 303–317. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/13670050208667764. 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Please cite this article in press as: Manan, S.A., Khadija-Tul-Kubra, The younger, the better: Idealized versus situated cognitions of educators about age and instruction of English as a second/foreign language in Pakistan, Language Sciences (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.07.002