Abstract

English Language Teaching has become a compulsory subject in the curricula of many developing countries. There has been an increase in the trend of skeptic viewing of the credibility of this subject for teaching only a language and not its ideology and culture. Studies show that under the impact of ELT learners develop a positive attitude to English culture and depreciation of the indigenous one. Same is the case in Pakistan. English ideologies and cultural representation were uncovered through the application of CDA. The main ideologies found in these books were superiority of “Us/Self” and the inferiority of “Them/Other”. The paper present the source and target culture in their true perspective making the source culture part of esteem instead of the foreign culture.

Key Words

Hegemony, Ideology, Source Culture “Us/Self”, “Them/Other”, Values, Idealization, Target Culture

Introduction

The system of education in Pakistan is heavily dependent on the textbooks provided by textbook boards for different subjects. The Ministry of Education of Pakistan looks over all the matters related to curriculum design and implementation. The subject of English also passes through the same criterion. In this way, textbooks contain invaluable set of information for the students getting education under the indigenous system of evaluation. And the students rely upon them heavily. As far as SSC level is concerned, textbooks for ELT contain a valuable proportion of Islamic ideology and culture but the HSSC or intermediate level ELT books are profused with Western ideology and culture (chiefly, Anglo-American and French). 

Unfortunately a majority of teachers as well as the taught have not yet pondered upon the negative impact of the ideological and cultural  

load of these books upon the identities of Pakistani students. It is because people are so crazy about learning English that they are oblivious of this factor. They believe as if “English is the magic wand that can open the door to prosperity. Policymakers, the wielders of economic power and the social elites have also perpetuated this myth to their own advantage” (Mustafa 2012). Different other factors like time constraints to cover the syllabus on the part of the teachers and the pressure of exams on the part of the students contribute to this ignorance from such unavoidable aspect of language teaching. But any excuse, however strong it may be, does not alleviate the loss arising from this negligence. This paper examines the ELT textbooks, used at intermediate level in the indigenous system of education in Pakistan, for any foreign ideologies and culture imbued in them. 

Theoretical Perspectives

Pakistan is an ideological state. The constitution of Pakistan 1973 declares Islam as the state religion. Hence the ideology of Islam is the ideology of Pakistan. This is also certified in the National Education Policy (2009). Moreover, The Objective Resolution 1949 (an important constitutional document) holds the state responsible for the provision of environment, “Wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah;” To promote and safeguard the ideology of Islam in Pakistan is held the responsibility of every dignitary of Pakistan from the prime minister to the judges of courts. Every official in these categories asserts it in his/her oath in the words “That I will strive to preserve the Islamic Ideology which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan”. Ministry of Education of Pakistan has always tried to safeguard and promote the ideology of Islam and put a check against the invasion of any foreign ideology through any means. It is because these foreign ideologies put a great impact on the minds of the learners. They bring a significant change in the world view of the learners (Yaqoob 2011) and construct a new political identity (Varzande 2015; Waseem 2009). Under the influence of the dominant ideologies and culture, the learners develop “an irresistible attraction” towards them. Which results, as Thiong’o claims, into annihilation of:

“a people's belief in their names, in their languages, in their environment, in their heritage of struggle, in their unity, in their capacities and ultimately in themselves. It makes them see their past as one wasteland of non-achievement....Amidst this wasteland which it has created, imperialism presents itself as the cure.”(Thiong’o 1986: 03). 

In this way the mentally oppressed people are robed of their personal identity as Viswanathan (1989) claims. They look upon things and matters from the oppressprs’ point of view. In that case, it becomes most difficult to decolonize them because they dare not risk new patterns of thought Simut (2017). Therefore, if some foreign ideologies invade any society, they must be put under check, especially when these invading ideologies are from the foreign oppressors and are in contradiction to the indigenous ones. 

For the purpose of this article, the definition of ideology by Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary will be relied upon along with the synthesis of the definition of culture by different philosophers. While defining ideology the dictionary goes as, “a set of beliefs, especially one held by a particular group, that influences the way people behave”. Whereas, “culture” is the practical expression of these beliefs through customs, values, habits, arts and traditions.

But ideology is not a materialistic identity which could be identified with the sense of sight and felt by the sense of touch. It can be ascertained from some signs like we find in some statements and also in the practical expressions of some cultural representations. It can be imbibed in any writing or symbolic expression through an unfelt way under the covering of some euphemistic terms and ideas like as Phillipson (2009) sees a secret agenda of Anglo-American linguistic imperialism behind the neutral term of “Globalization”. So has the foreign, especially Anglo-American ideologies, intervened in the syllabus of English language taught at intermediate level in Pakistan. There are a significant number of ideological and cultural representations which go against Islamic ideology and culture. Though some of them are not directly or explicitly in clash with Islamic worldview but are implicitly working to lure the untrained minds of the youth towards the ways of life that are in contradiction with the ideologies of Islam.

English language teaching is the most efficient/irresistible source of transmission of English ideology and culture in Pakistan. Though the Ministry of Education has always tried to eliminate the foreign ideological and cultural expressions from the syllabus of English language at both SSC and HSC level but still some of the expressions escape from the vigilant eyes of the course reviewers. Moreover, English ideology and culture also creep into any society through other sources like electronic and print media because English nation is considered as developed nation of the world as far as science and technical development is concerned. Teaching of English language in collaboration with the idealization of Anglo-American life style through media brings a mass invasion of foreign ideology and culture in the country against which it is difficult to raise a wall until the minds of the learners are trained enough to critically examine the foreign ideologies and culture for which it is essential for students to beware of their own ideology and culture first. Because in the absence of training into their own culture “the authority of the imposed culture is virtually left intact” as has also been opined by Viswanathan (1989:103). One of the solution to this problem is that the teachers must take upon themselves as an obligatory duty to hold their ideological and cultural antennas high enough to catch any signals of this attempt of cultural or ideological subjugation and to transfer this consciousness to the learners of English language so that the tender minds of the students may be saved from this oppression. At the same time they should provide the students with “the knowledge and beliefs needed to challenge the discourse or information they are exposed to” (Van Dijk 2008, 92).

Methodological Perspectives

Four books prescribed for intermediate examination under indigenous system of education serve as the data for this paper. These books are prescribed by Punjab Textbook Board (PTB) Lahore and are as under:

1.       English Book I     (Contains 15 short stories)

2.       English Book II   (Contains 15 essays)

3.       English Book III (Contains 03 plays and 20 poems)

4.       Good-Bye Mr. Chips        (Novel)

The present research limits itself only to the analysis of foreign ideologies and cultural representation contained in these books. It focuses only on the dominant ideologies and cultural representations that go against the ideology and culture of Islam that served the basis for the creation of Pakistan. For the purpose of analysis the text was analyzed at thematic, sentence, paragraph or even at the whole text level as was suited to the purpose and space.

To achieve the purpose of this study, the following questions were put forth:

1.       To what extent does the study material of ELT textbooks, for intermediate level prescribed by PTB in Pakistan, give the comparative presentation of the Euro-American ideologies and culture and that of Islam/Pakistan?

2.       What kind of contradictory foreign ideologies are predominantly present in the textbooks for ELT for intermediate level prescribed by Punjab Textbook Board in Pakistan.

3.       How are these ideologies and cultural representation in contradiction with the ideologies and culture of the Islam?

The present research was two dimensional: qualitative as well as quantitative. Two types of analysis were made: Content Analysis as well as Critical Discourse Analysis. For the Content Analysis, Framework for Content Analysis by Krippendorff (2004) was used. The data was codified and presented quantitatively. Critical Discourse Analysis was made under Fairclough Model of CDA 1989.

Some of the textual references ascertained fall into more than one category but to keep the research transparent in quantitative terms, these were counted only in one category.

The following section presents a brief description of the content analysis which lead to the Critical Discourse Analysis. To meet the requirements of question no. 1, Table 1 presents the data in comparative perspective.

 

 

Table 1. Comparative Presentation of the Different Ideologies and Culture

Course Components	Literary Form	British	American	French	Islamic/ Pakistani	Other	Total
Book I	Stories	03	07	01	03	01	15
Book II	Essays	05	04	01	02	03	15
Book III	Plays	--	03 = 12	--	--	--	03
	Poems	10	02	01	06	01	20
Good-Bye Mr Chips	Novel (Chapters)	18	--	--	--	--	01
Total		36	25	03	11	05
% age		45%	31%	4%	14%	6%

Note: As the three plays cover the space and weightage of almost 12 stories or 12 chapters of the novel, therefore, for the purpose of analysis their count is taken to 12.

This table shows that there are 15 stories in book I and 15 essays in book II. From the stories only three and from the essays only two represent Islamic or Pakistani ideology which formed a very weak ratio i.e. of 25:5 only. Among these, both the essays are even from the point of view of non-Muslim writers which again contain some non-Islamic ideologies. Book III is comprised of two parts: part I consists on plays and part II, on poems. As far as plays are concerned, they are from American playwrights only and therefore are heavily invested with American ideology and culture exclusively.   As a play on average is equal to the length of four stories of Book I or four chapters of the Novel (Good-Bye Mr. Chips), therefore as a whole the three plays are taken for 12 stories for comparative weightage purpose. Part II of the book consists of 20 poems among which only 06 represent Muslim ideology. The fourth book, that is, the novel is comprised of 18 chapters and as it is from a British novelist, therefore, is teeming with British ideology and culture exclusively. Though French ideology and culture is given a short representation of a story, an essay and a poem but it has got representation in other parts of the syllabus as well. The rest of the literary forms: a poem, a story and three essays do not contain either Euro-American or Islamic ideology or culture, therefore are put in the column of “other” category.

Viewed in overall perspective, Islamic ideology and culture constitutes only on 14% of the total representation of ideologies and culture in which Euro-American prevails a major part, i.e. 80% of the total representation.

Table 2. Ideological and Cultural Representation in ELT Books at Intermediate Level in Pakistan

Ideologies	No of occurrences	%age
1.        Racism: Positive self-presentation
I.            Superiority of “Us/Self” (The Anglo-American people – the white race) and Inferiority of “Others”	07	5
II.            Idealization of Americanism	15	11
III.            Idealization of British generosity, English language and literature	06	5
IV.            Idealization of the French demeanor	04	3
V.            Idealization of Euro-American people, places, institutions, blood & distinctions	12	9
VI.            Idealization of the Western dress	03	2
VII.            The “Whiteman Burden”: Common Agenda for Western Nation	08	7
VIII.            Negative “Other” presentation	03	2
Total	58	44
2.        Denunciation of Islamic values	04	3
3.        Promotion of Non-Islamic values/ideologies (Values direct in clash with Islamic values)	35	26
4.        Idealization of Christian traditions	09	7
5.        Belief about the Origin of life	02	2
6.        Desire for worldly pleasures/family planning	05	4
7.        Value of science greater than the value of religion	03	2
8.        Machine: an obsession, a miracle	04	3
9.        Life is only to be enjoyed (Desire for worldly pleasures; No consideration of the hereafter)	06	5
10.     Consideration of money is above all other considerations	05	4
11.     Transient nature of human life (but given the wrong direction)	01	1
Total	132	100

This table shows the number of occurrence and percentage of representation of different ideologies and cultures. The table shows that the ideology of Racism i.e. positive Self-Presentation permeates in these books most of the times. It occurred 58 times of 132 in these four books. This ideology was rarely imbibed explicitly: The most of the times were the instances in which an implicit imbuing was made in almost every part of each book. Different techniques were used for this purpose for example, positive self-presentation was made through superiority of “Us/Self”, idealization of Western people, places, institution, dress and activities and through negative “Other” presentation. Promotion of non-Islamic values and ideologies were second on the number of occurrence. It was 35 times out of 132 that these ideologies were pointed out from certain texts. Idealization of Christian traditions was made nine times in these texts. “Whiteman burden” came forth eight times in these texts. It was six times that the life in this world was presented as the final life, therefore, to be enjoyed through any available worldly pleasures.

It was presented as if there wouldn’t be any Day of Judgment or the concept of hereafter. Consideration of money and the desire for worldly pleasures and family planning was present five times each in these books. The machine was presented as an obsession with the modern man and was presented as if it could do miracles. This concept was given five times in these books. In this way a belief was presented in machines that they could do anything which was impossible in the past. From this belief a by-product belief was tried to promote that as the West, specially, Anglo-Americans are advanced in technology and hence are superior to other nations in the world. An implicit denunciation of Islamic values and ideologies like the women’s veil and the caliphate was made four times. The ideology that science has greater value and worth than religion in the modern age was also infused three times in these texts without any explicit mentioning of it. The belief about the origin of life as a simple organism instead of a full-fledged human being was imbued very explicitly twice in these texts. The transient nature of human life was recognized as the Muslims also believe in this concept but its direction was changed. Instead of comparing it with the everlasting life in the hereafter, it was compared with the beauty of nature, and, therefore, the strong impact it could have created on the minds to think about the hereafter was once again turned to the beauties of this life only.

 

CDA of Certain Textual References for Ideological and Cultural Contents

 

Certain types of racial discrimination were maintained throughout these four books in one or the other wayas in: Superiority of Euro-American people i.e. British, American, French – mainly, the white race and Inferiority of “Others”; Positive self-presentation, negative other-presentation; idealization of Euro – American people, places and activities. Some of the textual references in this regard are as follows:

 

Superiority of “Us/Self” (The Anglo-American People – the White Race) and Inferiority of “Others”

 

1.       (About the question of murder by pushing the button unit, Norma does not

consider it even a murder) “if it’s some old Chinese peasant …? Some diseased native in the Congo?”

(Book 1, Button, Button, p. 4)

2.       “Richard shouted at the cook boy. Old Stephen yelled at the houseboy….The labourers soon poured out to the house and “Richard and old Stephen were giving them orders – Hurry, hurry, hurry…and off they ran again, the two white men with them”

(Book 1, A Mild Attack of Locusts, P. 62 )

3.        (Mr. Bittering said) “We’re clean, decent people.”

(Book 1, Dark they were, and Golden– Eyed, p. 19)

4.       “…the sweet child looking so pretty in her furs, giving Bovril with her own dear little hands to the shivering street arab”

(Book 1, The Angel and the Author – and Others, P. 94)

The idea that is presented in these textual references is that the white people believe that they are the only human beings deserving the moral and civic laws and vested with the authority to rule; the rest of the world is devoid of these rights. Even the murder of some Chinese or some black person in Congo is not a murder of a human being according to the opinion of Norma (a white woman). The Africans are shown in subordinate positions like cook boy, houseboy and labourers in these references. They were to be shouted and yelled at and summoned by the ploughshare beaten as if they were not respected human beings and were like animals and slaves to be driven even with the ringing of a bell. They are presented as if they have no personal intellect and understanding. They were only to obey whatever they were ordered by their masters – the two white men. To maintain class distinction the writer uses the proper adjective “white” with the common noun “men”. All the commanding positions were associated with the whites as can be viewed from the third reference above; even administrative activities like answering the telephone calls were associated with the white woman. Who she was answering was definitely her neighboring white landlords. The writer did not even feel the need to refer the Africans by name, as in point 6 above, rather “a man” as if they have no identity, no value in the whole scenario. This racial discrimination echoes the discrimination held out with Friday in the novel Robinson Crusoe as pointed out by the postcolonial readers. Moreover, it also reinforces Nelson Mandela’s views, “We were taught—and believed—that the best ideas were English ideas, the best government was English government, and the best men were Englishmen” (Rahman 2005).

Throughout these books, Americans projected the most. They are presented as determined, adventurous, clean and decent people. They are so determined that no hardship can hinder their way to accomplish their adventures. They are so clean and decent people to be called civilized. Moreover, they are to be obeyed and respected. References 5 and 6 above show that the Arab driver and the greaser initially thought that Christopher was French and therefore they hesitated to take him along as they hated the French for their occupation of Africa but when they found him to be American their attitude became positive at once towards him as if Americans were the well-wishers of the whole of humanity and it is obligatory upon the rest of the world to love them, respect them and cooperate with them.

The second valuable emphasis is given to British ideology and culture in these books. British people are presented as very generous and the rest of the world is presented as the dependent on their generosity. The sixth reference points out certain activities in which the British people were involved at the occasion of Christmas. They turned out to be most generous and charitable people in the world to the effect that even the angels felt tired when they wrote their account. From the small children to the old squires all became charitable on the holy occasion of Christmas. The idea of the white race being superior to the Arabs is also promoted in the reference to the   “the sweet child looking so pretty in her furs” as she is giving alms to “the shivering street [a]rab. In this way the Arabs were kept in subordinate positions taking alms from the Whites. Reference to English literature and to Shakespeare was meant to glorify it in the minds of the readers. Churchill’s idealization of English language in reference 9 above is again an attempt to strengthen the myth that English is the best language which should be learnt with full devotion for the material benefits attached to it. Oliynyk (2013) is also of the view that in ELT books English is promoted as the most popular language for learning.

The French nation comes at number three in the weightage order whose ideology and culture was given representation to. From reference 10 above it becomes clear that the writer wants to promote the belief that French people are the most determined people who, even in spite of their physical incapacity which hinders them do physical activity, do wonders in the fields involving mental energy. Some references are there which promote the idea that French education was a need for the Africans to which Balanguernon had devoted his life in French occupied Africa.

 

Western World is presented as the Deliverer

 

1.       The war was over. Throughout the entire Near and Middle East the armies of the democracies had been hailed not so much as conquerors, but as deliverers.

(Book II, Mustafa Kamal, p. 78)

2.       This was Professor Claude Balanguernon, a remarkable Frenchman who has devoted himself to helping the Tuareg people.

(Book II, Hitch – Hiking across the Sahara P. 53)

Numerous references were found in these books which show that the Whites of the West are born to lead; they are always sacrificing for the rest of the world; and they have devoted themselves to emancipate the world from tyranny and oppression of the “Others” and alleviate the illiteracy. In this way they are shown as the real deliverers of the whole humanity. In this way a resounding of “The White Man’s Burden” is given voice to. The reference promotes the idea that the caliphate in Turkey was the rule of oppression for the Muslims of Turkey, and, therefore, when the Western armies entered Turkey they were taken as deliverers of the Turkish people. In the second reference, Claude Balanguernon devoted himself in occupied Africa as the alleviator of illiteracy and the Tuareg people were happy with that education. It reminds us once again of Robinson Crusoe’s idea that he taught Friday what he thought the best. Balanguernon was also educating the African Muslims what he thought best with no consideration of their concept of education. The third reference promotes Americans as the conquerors of the world and they had reached Mars to rescue the people stranded there. The words “the democracies” in the first reference refer to the Western world as democratic world where each of the individuals is valued for electing governments. “the remarkable Frenchman” in the second reference highlights the sacrifice of Balanguernon against the illiteracy of the Tauregs. “We” in the third reference personalizes the achievement and the spirit of the whole of America against the subordination and subjugation of the rest of the world.

Thus, the superiority of the white race and English nation, is being established through these scripts present in the textbooks being taught in the ideological state of Pakistan which got independence only on account of its Muslim status. Instead of believing in the superiority of any other nation, the Muslims should have a strong belief in their own superiority as is certified in the Holy Quran:

Trans. “You are the best Ummah (Nation) ever raised for mankind. You bid        the Fair and forbid the Unfair, and you believe in Allah….”

(Qur’an 03:110, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

But one must be conscious of the fact that this superiority is crowned on Muslims not on the basis of colour or any materialistic distinction but on account of two deeds and their conjoining belief – bidding the Fair, forbidding the Unfair and belief in Allah. History tells us that while the Muslims remained true to these tasks they dominated the whole world and when they left this path, they were downtrodden. The need is the revival of these acts by the Muslim community.

 

Negative “Other” Presentation

 

There were some of the instances in the textbooks mentioned above which were the epitome of the negative “Other” presentation. It was not necessary that it would be done explicitly. There was an implicit backgrounding through which the Othering was pictured.  In the following stanza the behavior of the Blacks was presented in the background. Blacks were presented as uncivilized people; they did not know how to eat.

1.       They take it, break it open, let

   A gold or silver fountain wet

Mouth, fingers, cheek, nose, chin:

             (Book III, In the Street of the Fruit Stalls by Jan Stallworthy, p. 65)

Uncivilized behavior is attached to the blacks. While eating they used hands and fingers instead of forks and knives. In this way they got their face dirty. No white is supposed to do such follies. The idea behind is “We” are the most civilized people who use these knives and forks for eating purpose. Though the word image of the white people is not presented here, the emphasis put on the non-civilized eating habits of the black children are understood to be viewed in contrast to the whites who we find always presented as civilized.  In this way racism is still kept continued as is also pointed out by Mohamed (2015) as well when he gives forth that, “the non-whites are still disempowered despite the constitutional change in post-apartheid era. This would advance the ideological conception of the non-whites as the victims of the past, present and future (P. 105).

In the same vein, the poem A Sindhi Woman can be taken to as a “Negative other presentation” in the background. The idea was that Pakistanis were backward people suffering from poverty and lacked any civic sense of cleanliness.

 

1.       Bare foot, through the bazaar,

……………………………..

Watching her cross erect

Stones, garbage, excrement and crumbs

Of glass in the Karachi slums,

                                    (Book III, A Sindhi Woman by Jan Stallworthy, p. 68)

If we look behind the foregrounded tribute to a Sindhi woman, the poverty, uncleanliness and clumsiness of one of the big cities of Pakistan, once the capital, was described in these stanzas which is a reflection upon the uncivilized nature of Pakistanis. We should not run away with the idea of a white man paying tribute to a Pakistani woman in the last two verses out of 12. We should also think what the rest of the poem depicts if we apply CDA on that.

These instances of negative “Other” presentation when read against the positive “self-presentation” lead to the idealization of Western ideology and culture resulting into the learners’ aspiration for assimilation of that ideology and culture and self-depreciation. This resultant attitude is detrimental to the identity of the learners as Viswanathan propounded and would cause an annihilative attitude as proclaimed by Thiong’o.

 

Denunciation of Islamic Values

 

There are certain occasions where Islamic values were depreciated as outdated and impractical. Some of the textual references are as below:

1.       Finally, to complete this account of Kamal’s reforms, we must mention that which was most striking, namely the abolition of veil.

2.       He proposed that the Sultanate should be abolished. The Grand Turkish National Assembly gave the verdict: (Book II, Mustafa Kamal, p. 81)

In Islamic ideologies, the veil is the basic identity for a Muslim woman. It keeps her distinct from the ladies of other religions. The Holy Quran advises the Muslim ladies as:

Trans. O prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the        believers that they should draw down their shawls over them. That will           make it more likely that they are recognized, hence not teased. And Allah             is Most- Forgiving, Very-Merciful.

                                                (Qur’an 33:59, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

Cladding oneself in such a way that covers the face is called a veil as in the above reference from the Holy Qur’an. But reference no. 1 above from Book II shows that the Islamic ideological values like veil and the caliphate are looked down upon as if they were a hindrance and obstacle in the path of the progress of Turkey. The abolition of the veil was presented as most striking and the following desires to become strong and to achieve women’s rights were presented in contrast to the veil,as if the veil was the only restriction that led to weaken the nation and to the higher education of women. On the other hand we see now that the women in Pakistan and in some other parts of the world have succeeded in winning the same degrees as men while remaining steadfast to their veil. The bare noun “sultanate” is contrasted with “Grand Turkish National Assembly” with “Grand” as positively reinforced adjective. “The abolition of veil” was termed as “the most striking” as if Western style of life and of politics was the guarantee to progress.

 

Promotion of Non-Islamic Values/Ideologies (Values direct in clash with Islamic values)

 

Alcoholism

 

There were some references to the ideology of alcoholism in these books as well which is totally prohibited (haram) in Islam. But it is shown as a normal activity in the Western world.

1.       “My dear fellow, you’re fitter than I am,” Merivale would say, sipping a glass of sherry when he called every fortnight or so. (Good-Bye Mr. Chips, p. 1)

2.       Having offered himself as soldier where now he was refused on the score of physical incapacity, this unconquerable man turned to the sword of Science and took up the study of brewing… (Book II, Louis Pasteur, P. 71)

Sipping a glass of Sherry is taken as normal in Western culture but a social taboo in Pakistan not to speak of the study of brewing. Sipping of Sherry was equal to sipping of tea in Pakistan. The phrases “unconquerable man”, “the sword of Science” and “study of brewing” have equally positive value and appreciative terms which give forth the juncture that the activity of brewing is the job of the people who have great faculties of head and heart and a great contribution in science. The attachment of these appreciative phrases to this activity leads the students take the opportunity of brewing as a scientific challenge and of great service. Whereas in Islamic ideology taking wine is considered a great sin and, therefore, is totally forbidden. The Holy Qur’an says:

Trans.  O you who believe! Wine, gambling, altars and divining arrows are filth,            made up by Satan. Therefore, refrain from it, so that you may be         successful.

(Qur’an 05:90, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

Moreover, in one of hadith, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) termed it as “ummul khabaais” (“the mother of all evils”). But in these textbooks, it is referred to as a normal act like sipping a glass of water or taking tea. It is a big clash between the culture and ideology of the West and that of Pakistan.

Along with these opposing ideologies the referred books are replete with the ideological and cultural representations of the West as a liberal and free society. These representations go against the ideology of Islam and hence the ideology of Pakistan. Some typical examples of these representations are as under:

 

Culture of Liberal/Free Society (A pretty girl in a swimming suit comes into the shop)

 

1.        The girl. (She sits almost angrily in the chair and speaks very softly.) I’d like a poodle haircut if you don’t mind Mr. Van Dusen.

 (Book III, The Oyster and the Pearl, p. 38)

2.       She, too, was staying at a farm, on holiday with a girlfriend, and as she considered herself responsible for Chip’s accident, she used to bicycle along the side of the lake to the house in which the quiet, middle-aged, serious-looking man lay resting. (Good-Bye Mr. Chips, p. 9)

 

A girl roaming in the streets in a swimming suit and sitting in a barber’s seat to get her hair cut by a male barber. Moreover two young girls staying alone on a farm and afterwards one of them alone staying there and visiting a bachelor alone on a farm are the representations of the culture which Islam does not allow at any cost. Such representations in the syllabus invite the student’s imagination to look for such opportunities in their local context or they create and raise the desire in them to visit Europe to enjoy such liberty. In both cases it is hazardous for the morality of the students and ultimately the Pakistani society, and, therefore, any attempt to create such a situation in society is condemned and threatened with severe punishment. The Holy Qur’an warns:

Trans.   Surely, those who like that lewdness spreads among the believers, for     them there is painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. ALLAH           knows, and you do not know.

                                                            (Qur’an 24:19, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

Moreover, women are not allowed to come out of their homes in swimming suits which are usually made up as to expose the parts of the body as if they are naked. They are also advised to lower their gazes not to speak of going to barbers and public places in such a tight fittings. The verse of the Holy Quran, in this regard, goes as:

Trans. And tell the believing women that they must lower their gazes and guard their private parts, and must not expose their adornment, except that which appears thereof, and must wrap their bosoms with their shawls, and must not expose their adornment, except to their husbands or their fathers….

                                                            (Qur’an 24:31, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

Certain other ideologies like the origin of life on earth and life to be enjoyed at any cost are there which turns the focus of the Muslim students away from the concept of the hereafter which leads them astray from the path of Islam and results in the moral depravity of the Islamic society.

 

Belief about the Origin of Life

 

1.       “It started in simple organisms, whose living power consisted chiefly in their being able to reproduce themselves before dying….  “Life does not seem to have any part in the plan of the universe.” (Book II, The Dying Sun, p. 2)

Life, according to Jeans’ view took place by chance on Earth. Believing such ideology leads to the conclusion that the birth of humanity has no purpose here in the panorama of the whole universe which Jeans also gives vent in this reference and the above. This belief leads to the conclusion that man is free to do whatever he wants; there will be no accountability, no Day of Judgment at all. Whereas Islamic belief is that life started with complete human being along with desires of the heart due to which he was even evacuated from the heaven. About the perfection of the creation of human beings after four swears Allah assures in the Holy Qur’an:

Trans. We have created man in the best composition

                                                (Qur’an 95:04, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

 

Life is only to be Enjoyed

 

Some of the references in these books present the motto of this life “eat, drink and be merry”. Following are the textual references in this regard:

1.       “Fifty thousand dollars, Arthur,” Norma interrupted. “A chance to take that trip to Europe we’ve always talked about.” (Book 1; Button, Button; p. 4)

“A chance to buy that cottage on the Island.” (Book 1; Button, Button;  P. 5)

2.       What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

……………………………………

 

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

 

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

 

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

(Book III, “Leisure” by William Henry Davies, p. 80)

These and many other references promote the ideology that this life on Earth is to be enjoyed at every cost without any consideration of the hereafter. The longing for a lot of money to fulfill worldly desires and excitements, the culture of carefree life, dancing and the close observation of the beauty of the women not related to one’s self is against the ideology of Islam.

The creation of humanity on the planet Earth is not a by-chance happening but there is a purpose behind it. The Holy Qur’an invokes our attention towards the realization of this purpose thus:

Trans. So did you think that We created you for nothing, and that you will not be            brought back to Us?”

                                                            (Qur’an 23:115, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

The purpose of human creation, according to a verse of the Holy Qur’an is:

Trans. I did not create the Jinns and the human beings except for the purpose                 that they should worship Me.

                                                            (Qur’an 51:56, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

According to Islam, the life on this earth is to be lived with full care so that one may not do any misdeed consciously or unconsciously. The purpose behind this steadfastness is that we may succeed in the hereafter which is an everlasting life.  According to Islamic ideology, we are supposed to live this life full of care and a consciousness of the wrath of Allah. This is called “taqwa” (fear of Allah) in Islam which compels us to live out this life with full care that anything inviting the anger of Allah may not be done by us. So a Muslim’s life is always full of care. It will not be a poor life as the poem “Leisure” claims, but rather it will be a rich life according to the ideology of Islam as this life is of a very short span and Muslims are supposed to sacrifice the desires of this life to please Allah Almighty for achieving the eternal bliss of the hereafter.

Secondly, according to the teachings of Islam, it is a sin to put a second look on a woman not related to you (na-mehram): instead, some want to have such a close observation of a female dancer as the poet wants from us. Muslim men are ordered to lower their eyes before any woman not related to him not to say of looking upon them so closely.

Trans. Tell the believing men that they must lower their gazes and guard            their private parts; it is more decent for them. Surely Allah is All-           Aware of what they do.

                                                            (Qur’an 24:30, Trans by Taqi Usmani)

In this way the thought underlying this poem is in conflict with Islamic ideology and the culture of the Muslim community.

Conclusion

ELT contains a lot of foreign ideological and cultural contents at intermediate level in Pakistan. Numerous researches have shown that English language teaching puts a very strong ideological and cultural influence on the mind of the learners in the third world because they are extensively exposed to the ideology and culture of the West in ELT books. Though the majority of these researches have been carried out on the students of elite schools where students read ELT books by foreign publishers meant for O’ level but this aspect of my research shows that there is no dearth of foreign ideological and cultural contents in the books prescribed for the indigenous system of education at intermediate level, and, therefore, the same results could be expected from reading these books as well. There is a need for mass education in that every culture has different model and must be looked upon from different approach. Pakistanis must not feel a depreciation of their own culture on account of its differences from Western culture but they should take an original approach to the ideology of Islam. They must realize the fact that it was to preserve and promote Islamic ideology that this piece of land (Pakistan) was acquired and being Muslims our eternal salvation is attached with observing and following the Islamic principles. 

Taken from another perspective, about ELT in Pakistan the claim is that it is only the English language that is being taught to our students. If we look into the matter, we see that language constitutes grammar and the pragmatic use of the language. How is the grammar being taught through the literature presented in the ELT books prescribed by PTB? Is it not more of English ideology and culture that is being taught than English language? Is it not what is meant more than what meets the ear? This, according to my opinion, is an attempt to maintain foreign ideological and cultural domination; it is a form of domination by consent as propounded by Gramsci (1971) to which educational institutions, as is propounded by Althusser (1971), are unconsciously helping a lot. For the cultivation of this type of domination, I fully agree with Gauri Viswanathan who propounded that it was through their language, that is, English and their literature that the English people prolonged their dominance. In this regard, I contend that after the independence in 1947 the same attempt has been carried out by the remnants of the English nation, that is, the majority of the elite class in Pakistan who believe that their survival and their dominance over the rest of the general public rests in continuance of the same system of education. 

From these views, the reader may not form the opinion that I am against teaching of English language. Rather, I am a staunch supporter of the teaching of this subject so that by achieving mastery of this subject our nation may be kept abreast of the latest developments in the field of science and technology for which English language is a major medium. But my concern is that this job may be done with some precautions. The topmost of these precautions is that the teacher must be trained enough in the theories of teaching any foreign language and culture in their local context. The new emerging self-consciousness of the nations who have adopted English as the second language do not depend upon the theories of teaching English that originated in the “native” English countries. Until now we have been believing blindly what the English theorists had said about teaching of English language. For example they had developed certain myths regarding the teaching of English Language like English is the best language, English people are the best people, English is best taught by a native speaker in native accent etc. But in the present scenario of the world we find that the English language has no more been left as the property of England and America. Certain varieties of English have been recognized as standard varieties so why should we believe in these myths? Since it has not been left the property of England solely, why should English ideology and culture be taught accompanied with the teaching of English language? Why should not the ELT syllabus be language based instead of literature based where maximum exclusion from Western ideology and culture could be possible? Why should not we adapt this language with our own ideology and culture? To avoid the cultural teaching as an implicit and integral part of English language teaching we teachers have to pass the teaching of this language through the ideological funnel. If at all nothing aforesaid could be done by the individual teacher, as it is beyond his/her power, following the Chinese model of ELT as is viewed by Jamalvandi (2013), a proper awareness regarding the ideological and cultural underpinnings must be provided to the learners for alleviating the fear of predominance of English ideological culture over the culture of Islam. English teachers can thus help the students “activate their ‘cultural anten-nas’” by making them aware of important ele¬ments of their own culture and helping them understand how their culture has shaped them (Byram 1997 as stated in Frank 2013). Different researchers like Abdollahzadeh & Baniasad, (2010) have shown that usually the teachers are aware of these ideological and cultural undercurrents but they do not transfer this awareness to the students. The solution, hence, reached at is that for ELT in Pakistan, ideological and cultural antennas must be raised by the teachers and this awareness must be transferred to the learners as an explicit teaching strategy.

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