This article examines four Afghan refugee parents/guardians in Islamabad, Pakistan for their beliefs about literacy and language(s). Semi-structured interviews with each parent/guardian showed that they all highly valued reading and writing as essential life skills. However, while they viewed literacy as having instrumental value, they also strongly believed it shaped and developed a person morally and supported one to think critically. In terms of language(s), all of the parents/guardians wanted their children to learn to read and write in their first language, and believed that speaking only one’s first language was not enough. They believed that the school their children attended should offer classes to teach them to read and write in their first language. In addition, they supported their children learning Urdu, the national language of their host country, Pakistan. All of the parents also mentioned the importance of having their children learn English, as they believed it is an international and useful language in the world. This study offers important findings regarding parents’/guardians’ beliefs about language and literacy from one of the largest refugee groups about which little is known.

本文考察了巴基斯坦伊斯兰堡的四名阿富汗难民父母/监护人对读写能力和语言的看法。对每位家长/监护人的半结构化访谈表明，他们都高度重视阅读和写作作为基本的生活技能。然而，尽管他们认为识字具有工具价值，但他们也坚信识字在道德上塑造和发展了一个人，并支持一个人进行批判性思考。在语言方面，所有的父母/监护人都希望他们的孩子能够用他们的第一语言学习阅读和写作，并且认为只说自己的第一语言是不够的。他们认为他们的孩子就读的学校应该开设课程，教他们用母语阅读和写作。此外，他们还支持孩子学习乌尔都语，东道国巴基斯坦的国家语言。所有的家长也都提到了让孩子学习英语的重要性，因为他们认为这是一种国际化且有用的语言。这项研究提供了关于父母/监护人对语言和识字的信念的重要发现，来自一个鲜为人知的最大难民群体。