President Dr Arif Alvi has said that in addition to learning and promoting the national language, learning of other languages, especially English, should also be encouraged so as to benefit from the vast reservoir of scientific, technical, and business knowledge available in these languages. The President gave these remarks while addressing the inaugural session of the three-day 1st Pak TESOL international conference on emerging trends in English language teaching in Pakistan, at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Islamabad, today. US Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr Donald Blome, Vice-Chancellor AIOU, Prof Dr Zia ul Qayum, also addressed the conference. Addressing the ceremony, the President said that Urdu was our heritage and a language of communication at the national level, therefore, we should appropriately focus on its promotion and development. He added that the English language was spoken by a large community of people and was a language of international communication, and could be beneficial for acquiring modern scientific and technological knowledge as well as for communicating Pakistan’s perspective effectively to the international community. The President said that scientific knowledge and terms were usually available in the language of developed countries, therefore, it was important to learn those languages. He further said that although modern research and development was taking place in other languages as well, however, a vast amount of research was being done in the English language, which made its learning essential for increasing the pace of the country’s development. The President said that the latest advancements in the field of Information Technology (IT), especially in the form of Artificial Intelligence, were affecting every facet of life, adding that modern applications and technology could be used to learn languages in an easy and effective manner. He further stated that modern technology had altered the concept of learning and education and that the memorization of information had gained secondary importance as compared to analytical and logical decision-making. The President highlighted that the Muslim world in the past had displayed reluctance in adopting the latest technology, especially the Gutenberg printing press, which caused Muslim societies to lag behind in science and knowledge. He added that the Muslims of the sub-continent also showed resistance to learning the English language due to its colonial nature, however, they were urged by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to learn English to acquire knowledge and advance socially, politically and economically. The President said that earlier a vast resource of knowledge and philosophy was available in Greek which was later translated by the Muslims into Arabic. Later, this vast reservoir of knowledge was translated and transferred to English and other languages, he added. The President said that human vocabulary was limited and the failure to understand the context and background of communication may lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication, which may create issues among families as well as nations. He said that the world was faced with the issue of fake news and out-of-context communication, which needed to be addressed so that misgivings and apprehensions among the people and nations may be avoided. He recalled that he had a long association with the process of learning different languages, including Arabic, English and Urdu, during his academic and professional life. The President appreciated the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) for using hybrid educational methodologies to achieve the dream of “education for all” by imparting education to students, especially in the far-flung areas of the country. He said that he had been making efforts for the promotion of online and hybrid modes of learning in Pakistan as it was the easiest and the most cost-effective solution to impart education. US Ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome while addressing the ceremony said that the lives and livelihoods of a large number of people have been affected due to the catastrophic floods in Pakistan whereas millions of people had also been left homeless, adding that America stood with Pakistan in this difficult time. The US Ambassador said that the United States had been making efforts for many years to enhance the capacity of students and teachers in Pakistan through the Fulbright and other scholarship programs. He added that under the Fulbright program, 800 students and teachers were sent to the United States this year. He said that the American Embassy had also trained 30 thousand teachers in Pakistan. Allama Iqbal Open University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor, Prof Dr Ziaul Qayyum, also addressed the conference. Welcoming the President and other participants, he said that the university was taking steps to equip millions of students in remote and backward areas of the country with quality education as well as to increase the capacity of teachers. He also thanked the President for his continuous support and guidance to AIOU in the causing of promoting quality education in Pakistan.
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