“Examining the Effects of Early Bilingual Education on English Language Development During the Critical Period in Pakistan”

Abstract

Bilingualism which refers to the instance of mastering two languages has emerged to be a common order in multilingual societies such as Pakistan. This paper will examine the role that early bilingual education plays in acquiring the English language at the critical period which is a time of vulnerability in childhood whereby the language acquisition process of the brain is understood. Based on Critical Period Hypothesis, this study will examine how exposure to both language mother tongue and English at very young age prepares children better to understand grammar, sounds, words and communicational prosperity. It also reviews the cognitive advantages of being a bilingual like critical thinking ability, analytical thinking, and cultural insight. In this research, it has been made clear that English is a second language but also a language of learning, since early education in Pakistan and far more in elite private and urban schools, it is a language of teaching. The research examines the data of the bilingual learners and educators in Kohat with a qualitative and quantitative approach to assess the practical effect of bilingual training at a very young age. It has been found that early bilingual education has a substantial positive impact on the level of language proficiency, cognitive learning and inter-cultural communication skills. It also proposes policy measures to incorporate structured bilingual in the primary level education so that the benefits of the critical period could be taken full advantage of. Findings of this study have something to do with the debates currently being made on language planning, bilingual education policy and English language pedagogy in Pakistan.

Keywords: Bilingualism, Critical Period Hypothesis, English Acquisition, Early Education, Pakistan, Language Learning, Cognitive Development, Kohat