A second language is any language other than the first, or native, language

learned; it is typically used because of geographical or social reasons. The term is to be

distinguished from foreign language; linguist Eric Lenneberg uses second language in his

critical period hypothesis to mean a language consciously learned or used by its speaker

after puberty. In most cases, people never achieve the same level of fluency and

comprehension in their second languages as in their first language.

Historically in Europe, the most widely used second language (or lingua franca) was

Latin. It was used by the Church; by the Law (as it still is today); in Medicine (starting

much later); Horticulture and biological classification of plants, animals, fruits, nuts, etc.

Latin was used so much across Europe that it was called the vulgar (or common tongue);

this is why the Latin version of the Bible is called the Vulgate.

Nowadays, English is considered the world's most widespread second language; it is used

in areas as diverse as the internet, television and radio, and international aviation.

The success of English throughout the world stems from two major causes: the far

reaching influence of the British Empire, and the 20th century (and continuing)

dominance of the United States in the fields of business and entertainment.

French was for a time the lingua franca in Europe. In history, both England and France

were ruled by a single crown - the language used by the royal court was French (English

was considered "the peasant's language"). Afterwards, as was the case with English, the

French empire spread its language through colonization. French continues to be one of

the world's most widely spoken languages.

Mother tongue or first language is perhaps the most favorite thing for any person.

Language is an important aspect of our lives. In Bangladesh language played a key role in

our liberation movement. In 1952, we observed the Language Movement which

culminated into a nine month long liberation war in 1971. Today, Bangladesh is an

independent country. Bangladesh is considered to be a monolingual country in which

more than 98% of the population is speakers of Bangla language. However, there are

more than ten languages in such a small country like Bangladesh. Monipuri, Urdu,

Chakma, Santali, Garo, Rakhain, Tipra- are just some of the other languages present in

Bangladesh, but another language that gained lots of importance over the year is English.

Bangladesh was ruled by the British for two hundred years. Hence, English has been used

for quite some times in our country. Though English does not have the status it used to

have during the colonial period it still plays a very important role in our country. Along

with Bangla, English is taught to students in schools and colleges in our country but in

the constitution of Bangladesh, there is no mention of English language.

English language has been used in Bangladesh for quite sometime. During British period

and Pakistan period, English enjoyed the status of official language. It served as a lingua

franca between people of two different nations. During British period, English enabled

communication between people of the subcontinent and Europe. In Pakistani era, it

enabled communication between Urdu speakers and Bengali speakers. Post

Independence, there was a surge in nationalism and the government tried to implement

Bengali language in every sector. However, teaching of English continued in primary,

secondary and tertiary level not because it was the official language but it became the

language of trade and commerce. Over the years, the prominence of English continued to

rise but the government yet failed to clarify its position in Bangladesh.

On the other hand we can not live in isolation. We have to be in contact with the speakers of other languagesThe interesting thing is that Urdu is a Indo-European language but written in Arabic script, Santali belongs to the Mono-Khemar language family while Chakma belongs to the Chinese-Barmese language group. So, although Bangladesh is often portrayed as a country of linguistic unity based on Bangla language in reality it has notable linguistic diversity. To communicate with the speakers of other languages we either need to know their language or communicate in a Lingua-Franca that is comprehensible to both of us.English language is dominantly present in every side of our national life while on the

other hand in our constitution it is clearly declared that the language of the country is

Bangla. In fact, nothing is said about the status of English language in our constitution.

On one hand, economic activities in the private companies are carried out in English

while there is a government law (Bangla procholon ain1987) that government offices

must use Bangla in their official works. So from the government point of view Bangla is

the national- official language of Bangladesh and English is the most important foreign

language. But in reality English is the second language of the country and in many places

English is more important than Bangla in Bangladesh.

Today, the world has become a global village. Thanks to the advancement of

communication system and technology. Every country is dependent on others for trade

and commerce, education, politics etc. As a result, to constantly communicate with other

countries and speakers of other languages. Third world countries like Bangladesh have to

depend on foreign aid because they are not self-sufficient. As a result, many foreigners

come to Bangladesh. A third factor is the factor of religion. The sacred language of the

Muslims is Arabic, Sanskrit for Hindus, Pali for the Buddhists and Latin for the

Christians. All these factors remind the necessity for learning other languages in addition

to our mother tongue. According to this reality many countries of the world have adopted

a European language as second language which is often used in education, law court,

economic activities and government works. These languages have most of the time

official status in the constitution of those countries. Many of the cases the countries have

adopted the language of their past colonial rulers as the second language. Sometimes

these languages are also called official language. In many African countries we can see

this picture. On the other hand, some European languages have become very important in

the world for literary and economic purposes.

History of English Language in Bangladesh

Through history, Bangladesh has gone through various phases of development in English

language. From the time of the English rule to Pakistani regime and finally Bangladeshi

system, English language has evolved not only in methods but also in fundamental

aspects like use of language and governance.

During the British rule, education was mainly reserved for the wealthy class. The

language of pedagogy was English as schools were run by religious nuns and other

British people. The few natives who were fortunate to receive education were either from

wealthy families (Nawabs) or whose family had ties with the British governing body. For

one to receive higher education, such as a university degree, to become a professional,

one had to attend schools in England. As native people were treated as second-class

citizens, education was largely deprived from the general population. Thus at that time

Bangladeshi people knew little or almost nothing about English language.

After the British had left the Indian Subcontinent, the territory presently known as

Bangladesh came under Pakistani regime as the state of East Pakistan. Education during

this period was still very scarce but those who had the means of acquiring it were no

longer considered second-class citizens. The state language, however, was Urdu: the

mother tongue of Pakistan. In the region of East Pakistan, the native language was

Bengali and not Urdu. Hence, a conflict over language was eminent. School systems were

still largely functioned in the English language as few schools, such as the Holy Cross

and numerous Cadet Colleges, were still taught by the British and the nuns. However, in

order to obtain government jobs, one had to know Urdu as it was the state language.

Bengalis did not want to learn Urdu as the felt obliged to submit their rights to the

Pakistanis. As such, after a long and bloody language movement, Bengalis were given the

practice the language Bengali in their own homeland. So, to recap, during the Pakistani

era, the educational system was mainly to indoctrinate students to the Urdu language. But

through all these, English language evolved in to being used in schools, colleges, and in

universities. Most primary schools now taught English in fact it had become a

compulsory subject in some Bengali medium schools.

After the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, the People's Republic of Bangladesh

became an independent nation free to choose its own educational destiny. As Bangladesh

was, and still is, a secular state, many forms of education were permitted to co-exist. The

formidable British system was, and still is, largely practiced. English medium schools

emerged as being available to all.

Development of English Language through time

The tentative beginnings of English language acquisition in Bengal date from the 1630s

when the first English factories started being set up, first at Balasore and then at Hughli.

In 1651 the East India Company was born, which marked the beginning of the political

domination of the British in Bengal and India, also ushered in the use of the English

language. Though today English is no longer the official language as it was during the

British Raj, it is the most important foreign or second language in Bangladesh. It is taught

at most educational institutions as a subject and is a compulsory paper in almost all

public examinations. Many English words have also become part of Bangla vocabulary.

Recent research has also revealed that Deen Mahomed wrote what was the first book in

English by an Indian: The Travels of Dean Mahomet, A Native of Patna in Bengal,

Through Several Parts of India, While in the Service of The Honourable The East India

Company Written by Himself, In a Series of Letters to a Friend. Published by

subscription in 1794, its epistolary style conforms to the popular convention of the 18th

century.

This early acquisition of English was, however, sporadic and based on individual efforts

and circumstances. The large-scale spread of English came with the setting up of schools.

As early as the 17th century, schools were being set up for European children. The first

English institution established in Kolkata was in 1731 by the Society for Promoting

Christian Knowledge. In 1759 Rev. Kiernander opened another English school with 48

scholars. By the end of the year the number had risen to 174. It was not, however, till the

Free School Society of Bengal was founded in 1789 that Kolkata became the centre for

English medium education. Side by side with the numerous missionary schools, English

teaching schools mushroomed in and around Kolkata. Unlike the missionary schools,

these were commercial ventures Along with accounting and bookkeeping necessary for

procuring jobs with the British factors these schools trained students in reading and

writing English. Among the prominent writers and thinkers who had gone to these

academies were Radhkanta Deb (1783-1867), who studied at the Calcutta Academy run

by Mr Cummings, and Henry Derozio (1809-1831), who studied at Dhurramtallah

Academy run by David Drummond.

Two other associations that furthered the spread of English were the Calcutta School

Book Society (1817) and the Calcutta School Society (1818). The Calcutta School-Book

Society was set up to provide good texts in English as well as in Indian languages. The

Calcutta School Society was established to help improve old schools and set up new

schools where needed. One of its objectives was to promote in Kolkata, and elsewhere,

higher branches of education, including English..

Perhaps more important than what was taught at the college were the debates introduced

by Henry Derozio that trained the students in oration. The ability with which the students

debated in English on a variety of topics was remarkable. Before Derozio's unfortunate

departure from the college-he was accused by the management of corrupting and

misguiding the young men under his care-he had formed the nucleus of the Academic

Association and encouraged the students to publish a journal named Parthenon.

Though the Anglicist-Orientalist controversy continued through the first few decades of

the19th century, it came to a close with Macaulay's famous Minute of 1835 and the

subsequent decision by Sir Henry Hardinge to encourage the intake of new recruits from

the English schools. Hardinge's resolution of 10 October 1844 gave English the formal

recognition that in practice it was assuming as a language of economic importance.

Hardinge's resolution advanced the cause of English by making it the passport to higher

appointments. Though Bengali Muslims were initially hesitant about western education

and the English language, they also gradually realised the importance of English. This

awareness is clearly reflected in the introduction of English language in the curriculum of

the Calcutta Madrasa in 1826.

One of the most important factors that led to the establishment of English as the language

of higher education was Charles Wood'sEducational Dispatch (1854), which laid fresh

emphasis on primary education, but also encouraged the development of high schools and

colleges by a grants-in-aid system. Most important of all was the recommendation to set

up universities in the three presidency towns: Kolkata, Madras and Bombay. The medium

of instruction at the lower levels was to be the vernacular, while English was to be the

medium of instruction at the universities. University of Calcutta  was founded under this

programme in 1857. By the middle of the 19th century, English became the medium of

instruction at the higher stages of education. Because all aspirants for higher education

were required to know the language, an impetus was also given to the development of

English at the school level.

A major role in the spread of the English language was played by English language

journals. Not only did Bengalis contribute to these journals, they also started a number of

them. The first newspaper to be published in Bengal was the BENGAL GAZETTE  in 1780, by

James Hicky, but the paper was better known as Hicky's Gazette. The Bengal

Gazette lasted for only three years, but was followed by other newspapers published in

English: the India Gazette (1780) the Calcutta Gazette (1784), the Bengal

Journal (1785), the Oriental Magazine or Calcutta Amusement (1786) and the Calcutta

Chronicle (1786). Perhaps more important than these papers, as showing the state of

English-language journalism in Bengal, were those published by Indians, such as

Ramgopal Ghose's Bengal Spectator which echoed the title of Addison and Steele's well-

known periodical and Tarachand Chakravarti's publication, Quill. The Bengal

Herald (1829), of which Raja Rammohun was the proprietor for a few months, also

displays the interest of Indians in English-language journalism. Keshab Chandra Sen also

started several periodicals: The Sunday Mission, The Liberal and The New Dispensation.

English, however, was not just the language of everyday discourse; there were a few

Indians who had literary aspirations as well. Nawab Samsudaullah of Dhaka (1770-

1831), for example, despite his attempts to oust the British from Bengal, was fond of

writing poetry in English. Imprisoned on charges of conspiracy, the nawab was found

writing inside the jail by William Hickey. When asked what he was writing,

Samsudaullah replied that he was writing a Shakespearean sonnet. Hickey in

his Memoirs notes that the nawab was writing grammatical English. Bishop Heber (1783-

1826) met the nawab in Dhaka after he was released. In his Narrative of a

Journey (1827), Heber too avers that the nawab spoke good English and had literary

skills.

While the attempt of Samsudaullah remains a footnote in history, the efforts of others at

using the English language for poems and stories is part of the literary history of Bengal.

Even though these were perhaps not much more than experiments, the experimenters

acquired considerable literary skill which they later transferred to Bangla writing. Both

Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873) and Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay (1838-1894)

were part of the emerging intellectual and well-to-do Bengali middle class that benefited

from English and western education. Madhusudan joined Hindu College in 1833, after

the departure of Derozio. Thus the influence of Derozio on him was indirect.

Nevertheless, the spirit of free thinking and love for English literature at Hindu College,

part of it due to Derozio, undoubtedly lingered. Madhusudan converted to Christianity,

adopting the name Michael. He left for Madras in 1848 where his poem 'The Captive

Ladie' was published in the Madras Chronicle. In the poem Madhusudan used the

English language and the ballad form to write an Indian story. It was not, however,

through this English poem that Madhusudan made his name but through his Bangla

epic, MEGHNADBADH KAVYA  (1861), and his Bangla sonnets. Though, like Bankimchandra

later, Madhusudan discarded English to produce his Bangla masterpieces, he drew upon

his English learning to write his sonnets and epic based upon English models.

Bankimchandra, acknowledged as one of the first masters of the Bangla novel, initially

tried his hand at English fiction: The Adventures of a Young Hindu and Rajmohan's Wife.

Though neither of these two English books nor his earlier Bangla attempts drew the

attention of readers, his English reading, particularly of Walter Scott's romances, helped

to inspire, and also occasionally to structure, the subsequent novels which brought him

fame.

Rev. Lalbehari Day (1824-1894), less famous than either Madhusudan or

Bankimchandra, is nevertheless an acknowledged folklorist whose English writings have

stood the test of time. Though Lalbehari was born in a poor family, his father,

Radhakanta, realised the importance of English education and sent his son to Alexander

Duff’s free school. Lalbehari, like Madhusudan, converted to christianity, but, unlike

Madhusudan, he was actively involved in the Church. It was while working in Burdwan,

that Lalbehari saw the life of the rural Bengali from close quarters and wrote about his

observations in Bengal Peasant Life (1874). Lalbehari also collected Folk Tales, which

were published asFolk Tales of Bengal (1875).

Toru Dutt (1856-1877) was educated in England along with Aru, her sister (1869-73),

and learned both English and French. When Aru died of consumption, Toru published A

Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields, consisting of English translations of 165 French poems.

Barring eight poems, which had been translated by her sister, Toru had translated the rest.

The collection was favourably reviewed in both England and France. Toru returned to

India and started contributing poems and essays to local magazines, especially to

the Bengal Magazine. At the time of her premature death in 1874, Toru left behind

French and English manuscripts. Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan was

published five years after her death. Though Toru died young, her English contribution

along with that of her better known male contemporaries suggests the ferment that

English language and literature were causing in Bengal.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was essentially a Bangla writer. Nevertheless, he too

wrote fine English. His translation of the Gitanjali(1912) made his name known in the

western world and merited him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He also translated

a number of his other writings such as The Gardener (1913), Fruit-

Gathering(1916), Fugitives (1921) and The Crescent Moon. Some of his prose writings

were originally in English such as Personality and The Religion of Man (1932).

English had been introduced in madrasah education by the third decade of the 19th

century. However, opposition to English was so great that English classes were

practically boycotted. Some Bengali Muslims like Nawab Abdool Luteef (1828-1893)

realised the importance of English. At Calcutta Madrasah where he had studied, Abdool

Luteef had realised the necessity of English for success. Accordingly, he had taken

advantage of the English classes offered at the madrasah and gained considerable fluency

in the language. He also tried to explain to his fellow Muslims that English was necessary

if they wished to improve their lot. It was with this aim in mind that he offered a prize for

an essay written in Persian on the benefits to Muslim students of a scientific education

acquired through the medium of English. Abdool Luteef also founded the Muhammadan

Literary Society (1863), where the proceedings were in English.

Syed Ameer Ali (1849-1928) was another Muslim who realised the importance of the

English language. Like Nawab Abdool Luteef, Ameer Ali was also a madrasah student,

having studied at Hoogli Madrasah before going on to college and then Calcutta

University. Syed Ameer Ali believed that the regeneration of Muslims was possible only

if they remembered their past glories. Accordingly, Ameer Ali took it upon himself to

remind them of their past in several books. Two of these books, The Spirit of

Islam (1891) and A Short History of the Saracens(1898), have become classics.

While by the early 19th century, Muslim Bengalis were being educated in English, the

knowledge of English-and even of Bangla-was taboo for Muslim Bengali women. The

example of Roquiah Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932), however, suggests how Muslim

Bengali women were also learning the language. Roquiah learnt Arabic, Persian and

Urdu from a home tutor. It was by dint of her own efforts and with the support of her

brother and later her husband that she learned Bangla and English. Roquiah learned

English well enough to write Sultana's Dream (1908) in English, later translating the

story herself into Bangla. Sultana's Dream,about a female utopia where women reign, is

still eminently readable and in recent years has drawn considerable attention for its

feminist imagination and lucid English.

Much of the fine writing in English, however, in the first half of the century was not

creative but political.AK Fazlul Huq (1873-1962) and Huseyn Shaheed

Suhrawardy (1892-1963) were both fluent in English. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy later

wrote his memoirs in English, as did his sister, Shaista Ikramullah. Apart from a memoir,

Hasan Shaheed Suhrawardy, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy's brother, also wrote poetry in

English. While the Suhrawardy family, like that of Fazlul Huq, were born in affluent

circumstances, it was also possible at that time for an educated person from a humble

background to gain proficiency in English. Thus Tamizuddin Khan (1889-1963), born in

a humble peasant family and obliged to find a jagir to continue his studies, was able to

obtain an MA in English from Calcutta University. In later years, he wrote an

autobiography in English. Though incomplete, it reads lucidly and reveals the level of

English available to the educated person of the period.

Among the other writers of Bengal who wrote in English was Nirad C Chaudhari (1897-

1999). Despite the many controversies attending The Autobiography of an Unknown

Indian (1951), it has become a classic. Though Chaudhuri also wrote in Bangla, he

continued to write in English, books such as A Passage to England and Thy Hand, Great

Anarch.

University education in English had been available at all degree colleges under the

University of Calcutta since 1858. With the founding of the University of Dhaka in 1921,

English university education became available in East Bengal. English was one of the

twelve departments that opened in 1921. The medium of instruction in all departments

except languages was English. Academic papers were read and monographs were

published in English periodically by the university. A few years after its establishment,

the Dacca University Journal was published. In 1935, the journal was replaced by the

biannual Dacca University Studies. This publication underwent a slight change of

spelling with the change in the name of the capital, but continues to be published today,

in three parts.

At the time of partition in 1947, education at the primary and secondary levels was in the

vernacular, with the exception of a couple of missionary schools that offered instruction

in English. The level of English, however, at the matriculation level was fairly high with

students having to sit for two English papers. One could also opt to sit for the

matriculation examination in Bangla, Urdu or English. Intermediate, however, was only

offered at the colleges in English.

Immediately after partition, the demand for Bangla to be recognised as one of the state

languages of Pakistan grew intense. The language movement led to the acceptance of

Bangla as one of the two state languages of Pakistan along with Urdu. While the

nationalist sentiment led to the growth of Bangla literature, English language remained

the medium of instruction at the higher institutions as well as the common link language

between the two wings of East and West Pakistan. Although primary and secondary

education was mainly in the vernacular, education at the colleges and the universities-

first the University of Dhaka and then the universities of Rajshahi and Chittagong-

continued to be in English.

In 1972, Bangla became the official language of Bangladesh. The language of the

Foreign Office, however, remained English, as did the language of the army. Bangla

became the medium of instruction in all schools and colleges. At the universities, apart

from the English departments, students had the option of answering examinations in

either Bangla or English. The wholesale change, however, saw almost simultaneously the

growth of what were initially small, informal, private endeavours to preserve English

language education at the school level. A number of English medium kindergartens and

tutorials started offering alternative English language education and prepared students for

British O' and A' levels. Till the 80s these tutorials were on a minor key. From the early

90s, however, these tutorials proliferated into 'international schools'. The late 90s saw the

establishment of a number of full-fledged international schools run as commercial

ventures and often headed by foreign nationals.

By the 1980s, however, the general standard of English fell drastically. English was

eliminated as a compulsory subject at the BA pass level. This lead to a further

deterioration in the standard of English. Some students who had done well in the national

examinations and had gone abroad on scholarships were sent back because they could not

cope with the English medium of instruction. Affluent parents started sending their wards

abroad in an attempt to get quality education in English. With the passage of the Private

Universities Act in 1992, private universities, where the medium of instruction is English,

have proliferated. To improve the standard of English at the national level, the public

universities have also reconsidered their Bangla-only policy and have introduced an

English language course in the first year.

In addition to the growth of private universities, the 1990s saw the founding of English

language newspapers of a fairly high standard. There has also been a growth of English

language periodicals and magazines. Apart from Friday magazines, some English

newspapers bring out children's magazines, lifestyle magazines, and literary magazines

where columns, stories and poems are published-some of them revealing fairly

sophisticated linguistic skills in English.

Despite the emphasis on Bangla, there has been a consistent amount of academic

publishing in English. Most serious research whether in journals or books has been in

English. All the public universities publish journals in English. In addition, the

departments of English at the universities of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong and

Jahangirnagar publish their own journals. Other departments too publish academic

journals in English. The Dhaka law reports are published in English. Many government

publications are in English. The Constitution of Bangladesh is in both Bangla and

English. Most of the publications of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, including its

journal, are in English. The Bangladesh Institute of Strategic Studies also publishes an

English journal.

Though English is mainly a language of communication with the outside world, and a

functional language, there has been a steady stream of translation literature and a less

prolific growth of creative writing. While the Bangla Academy has been mainly engaged

in publishing books in Bangla and translating from English to Bangla, it publishes

the Bangla Academy Journal in English and, over the years, has published a considerable

amount of Bangla literature translated into English. While the quality of the translations

varies, this has meant that there has been a fairly large amount of literary material

available in English.

Creative literature in English is rather limited. Nevertheless, there is a fair amount of

writing in English, which feeds the Friday magazines and literary sections. Among the

earliest Bangladeshi creative writers in English was Syed Waliullah. Though he wrote

mainly in Bangla, he translated many of his writings into English himself and also wrote

a few short stories in English. Similarly, Razia Khan is another bilingual writer, writing

equally fluently in both Bangla and English. Kaiser Haq, who only writes in English, is

an internationally known poet.

There has also been some fiction published in English. SM Ali, better known as a

journalist, wrote a novel published posthumously: Rainbow Over Padma (1995). Adib

Khan, a Bangladeshi writer now settled in Australia, became internationally famous when

he won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize for his first novel, Seasonal Adjustments(1995).

Though the standard of English nationally in Bangladesh is not high, and English is still

an urban, elite language, with independence, globalisation, satellite television, FM radio,

etc, Bangladesh is being exposed to English as never before. The entrance of Bangladesh

into the garment industry has created an increasing awareness of the need for English

communication skills. The phenomenal growth of the IT industry in Bangladesh has also

made people aware of the importance of English as a language of communication. As in

the past, English has become essential for economic purposes. The importance of English

in Bangladesh today may be gauged by the formal recognition of English as a second

language in 2001.

Barriers to English Language

In Bangladesh, English is treated as a foreign language rather than as a second language.

As such the learning of it depends more on the aptitude and ability of the teacher and the

usage and, or necessity of the learner. Bangladesh has undergone a series of political and

socio-economic changes that have greatly influenced the learning of English as a foreign

language. The partition of Bengal in 1905 and its unification in 1906, the creation of

Pakistan in 1947 and finally the birth of Bangladesh in 1971 have all had their impacts of

the attitudes and motivation of learning English. In 1971, the spirit of Bengali

nationalism dimmed the urge of English as an international language. Also the cost of

education rose and the poor people especially those living outside the capital were

deprived of higher education. As a result, in the post-liberation period in Bangladesh the

learning of English has deteriorated and the practice still continues.

The reasons for the decline in learning of English are not difficult to find. The learning of

English, or any language for that matter is a two-way action. That is the teacher and the

learner. This is, of course, to be supported by the social, economic and political

environment, The necessity of learning English as an international language has to be felt

and understood. The merits and advantage of English has be nationally accepted and

given due attention. This aspect is primarily known as motivation for learning. Unless

you have a clear and comprehensive target for learning English the pursuit of English will

be deterred.

Bangladesh has a monolingual setting. Bangla is the only language that reigns here. It is

the state language and the mother tongue of the majority of the population. In this set-up

it is not very difficult to propagate a motivation for learning English as a foreign

language. The motivation has to be created indicating the privileges and advantages of

learning English in the present era of globalization. Once the motivation is established,

the attitudes of the learners will be significant and positive.

It is not that the students, who are mainly the young learners, are averse towards learning

English. Tests and sub-tests in this regard prove that 70% of the students are eager

towards learning English.

Some factors, mainly due to the lack of trained English teachers hamper the learning of

English in Bangladesh. One chief factor is the English class anxiety-students fear English

like a child that fears darkness. A discomfort prevails among the students while learning

English. Only experienced and trained teachers can help the students overcome the

tension and anxiety in the class.

The efficiency of the English teacher plays a vital rule in creating the attitude of students

towards leaning English. Besides knowing the subject well, he/she is required to have

qualities essential to become a successful teacher.

One main problem of learning English in Bangladesh results from saturation of English

teachers in the capital city, Dhaka. English teachers mainly reside and work in the capital

only. As a result the schools and colleges in the whole country outside Dhaka suffer

immensely due to lack of English teachers. This again is due to the economic status of

English teachers in Bangladesh. An English teacher in Dhaka gets a handsome salary and

also earns enough money through private tutoring. The schools and colleges in 'muffasal'

and remote areas in Bangladesh cannot offer such money. A national awareness in this

respect is necessary.

It is important to take into consideration all the factors integratedly and approach English

teaching in a positive manner. The teacher-learner relationship must be effectively

evaluated and only then can English teaching in Bangladesh be constructive and

productive.

English in Education sector in Bangladesh:

Frmal and institutionalized education system started in Bangladesh during the British

rule. At that time Bangladesh was part of British India. There was a debate about the

medium of education. Raja Rammohan Roy argued that the medium should be English

rather than Sanskrit or Persian. During the British period, the medium of education was

largely in English. Calcutta University took an initiative in 1935 to introduce Bangla as a

medium of education along with English. In Bangladesh the use of Bangla in college

level started in the 1960s. Now students can answer in the examinations in Bangla or

English. In the college level and university level, after 1971, the government tried to

patronize Bangla and implement it by replacing English in the education sector but this

did not came into reality because of some basic problems. The first problem is that there

were not enough books of any field in Bangla language. This problem is more acute in

science and technology. For example, there are almost no books in Bangla about

computer technology that can be used as a reference book in the University level.

Actually there are three kinds of education systems in our country- Bangla medium,

English medium, and Madrasa system. Bangla medium schools can be divided into two

sections- government schools, and kindergarten schools. In the kindergarten schools more

emphasis is given on English language than government schools. Some of the famous

kindergarten schools of Dhaka are Viqarunnisa Noon School, Willes Little Flower Higher

Secondary School, and Holy Cross Girls' High School. Although these schools belong to

Bangla medium the students have to study 3-4 English books like: Radiant Way, Active

English, Desk Work, Fundamental English, Brighter Grammar, and so on. On the other

hand, in the government schools there is only one English book (English for Today)

which is published by Bangladesh Text Book Board. The English medium schools do not

follow Bangladeshi education system and are under the supervision of British Council.

The medium of instruction in these schools is English and many of the students of

English medium are even very weak in Bangla language. There are two kinds of

Madrassas - Dakhil and Kawmi. The Kawmi Madrassas are not recognized by the

government and do not receive any assistance from the government. In these Madrassas

emphasis is given on learning Arabic, Persian, and Urdu while Bangla and English are

neglected. In Dakhil Madrassas, emphasis is mainly given on Arabic and Bangla and

English are not so much neglected.

So we can clearly see that the difference in education system in Bangladesh is solely

based on the difference in the medium of education. Although Bangla is the national and

official language of Bangladesh, it is the English medium education institutions that get

more money. The rise of private universities has only increased the status and importance

of English language in Bangladesh. There are now more than 50 private universities in

Bangladesh and the medium of education in all of them is English. These universities

charge 2 lakh to 5 lakh taka for bachelor courses. If the medium of education was in

Bangla then hardly any student or parents would get interested to pay such huge money

for the education in private universities.

From the above discussion it is clear that in our general education system, English has,

equal if not, more importance than Bangla. In our education system, English is really the

second language as all the students have to study it as a compulsory subject for twelve

years.

English policy and proficiency in public schooling

The standard of English may have fallen since independence in 1971. Policy and

practice have been fragmented and inconsistent. Lack of competent teachers has been

a crucial limitation. In 1974 the first commission report explicitly stated that Bengali

would be the medium of instruction and positioned English as the second language

(Ministry of Education, 1974). English was to be taught only from Grades VI to XII.

In 1988 the Ministry maintained a common starting point for English at Grade 6, but

also stated that English could be introduced in primary education at Grade 3

(Ministry of Education, 1988). It also specified a weekly time allotment for Bengali

of 33.3% from Grades 1–2, and 20.6% from Grades 3–5. If a school provided English

in Grades 3–5, the time allotment was 14.5% (Ministry of Education, 1998). In 1991,

the government recommended that English be taught from Grade 1, but this was not

implementable in 1997. The Ministry commented that this might not matter because

most graduates from basic primary education were expected to enter jobs where

English was not required. It recommended that the starting point for English be not

Grade 1 but Grade 3 (Ministry of Education, 1997). Even so, this goal has not been

achieved. However, in recent times the Bangladesh government has become more

concerned in promoting English language education. The President of Bangladesh

stated, ‘with a view to promoting employment abroad and encouraging transfer of

technology, emphasis will be laid on teaching English language along with the mother

tongue’ (The Daily Observer, 2002). It can be also mentioned here that since 1998, as

per the agreement between the Ministry of Education, the Bangladesh and the US

government, every year around 200 US volunteers come to Bangladesh in order to

teach English at the secondary schools (http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/

messages/467/2012870.html). Moreover, English teacher training specialists from

abroad come as resource persons in order to train up English as a Second Language

(ESL) teachers of Bangladesh (The Daily Star, 2005). A new policy is expected, focusing

on the training of teachers of English. The curriculum in teacher training is presently

being upgraded, using British Council funding.

Simply providing classes does not guarantee communicative competence. One

survey found that the average English language skill level of university students is

equivalent to the Grade 7 standard (The Daily Star, 2002). Another survey, on the

basic competencies of primary students, found that girls achieved 10% and boys

achieved 8% in English (Chowdury et al., 1999). In a study of selected English

language skills among 200 students in classes 11 and 12 in Dhaka City—where

English language skills should be better developed than in rural districts—less than

one in five students scored well. In contrast with primary education, girls performed

much less well than boys. Many students scored zero, as follows:

● 58% on ability to write independently;

● 40% on comprehension of a passage of reading;

● 19% on ability to use sentence patterns;

● 9% on ability to recognize words (Khatun & Begum, 2000).

Situation of English in Bangla Medium

Communicative English, one of the major objectives of which is to emphasize on

speaking skill, was introduced in the national curriculum more than a decade ago in order

to enhance our students' overall skills, specially speaking skill, that were neglected in our

curriculum since independence. But have we achieved any level of success and are we on

the right track to achieve our objectives? The answer is a big "no."

Our students in general are not able to achieve even a rudimentary level of speaking skill

even after they have studied English as a compulsory subject from the primary level to

the higher secondary level.

Firstly communicative method of language learning is a global phenomenon, and proper

implementation can produce positive result. Regrettably, in Bangladesh we have not been

able to use this method properly till now and probably success will not come until we

take necessary steps.

Although the introduction of communicative English in Bangladesh has not enhanced the

quality of our students' English language skill, it has contributed a lot towards the

increase in pass rate in SSC and HSC examinations. In fact, one of the major reasons for

the very poor output from communicative English is the exam system.

In Bangladesh, researchers have found that students are highly exam oriented and have

no interest in things that are not included/important in the exam (this is not the fault of

the students because we traditionally judge a student's merit by the marks s/he gets in the

exam).

The text books (English for today) up to higher secondary level provide materials to

engage students in oral communication by group work, pair work, dialogues, role-play

etc. But since these things are not included in the public exams, students do not feel

interested in such oral practice and language teachers face a lot of trouble in the

communicative language classes.

Experts, while designing communicative English language materials for the students and

guidelines/instructions for the teachers, provided sample questions that later turned into

so-called model questions and students got real interest here. Now, in most schools and

colleges, communicative English has dwindled to the practice of model questions that

exclude the oral practice of language. These models, which are almost the same items

from class six through twelve, have made the bar of exams much easier to cross.

In the present system of examination, it is very difficult for a student to fail in English

because if s/he answers even randomly without being sure of any correct answer, he or

she is likely to get at least pass marks, and in case s/he gets below the pass marks,

examiners these days are liberal enough to enhance the score to the pass mark. One of the

reasons, perhaps, is the pressure from the education boards that always want to raise the

pass rates higher.

We all know that pass rates in English matter much to the average pass rates because

most of the students who fail to pass in the SSC and HSC exams fail in English. In the

present situation the education board authorities may feel complacent because the pass

rate in English is no less than 70%, and that the number of students getting A+ in English

far outnumbers those getting A+ in Bangla. The pass rate in both papers of English in

2009 is nearly 90 percent as against around 70 percent in the last couple of years. The

number of A+ achievers in English this year is more than that in Bengali, according to

sources in the education boards.

Under Dhaka Board, the average pass percentage in English first paper and second paper

is 87.08. Last year it was 74.39 percent. The average pass percentage of SSC, SSC

(Vocational) and Dakhil examinations, held under 10 education boards, showed a

tremendous boost with pass rate of 79.98 percent, a leap of 9.09 percent from last year’s

70.89 percent. The pass percentage in English was 72.18 in 2008, 58.36 in 2007, 62.22 in

2006 and 54.10 in 2005.

Also, those who are not familiar with the exam system may have this delusion that our

students are doing better in English than in Bangla, meaning that they are gaining better

in English than in Bangla. But the reality is different, and this can be guessed from the

general impression that a huge number of our educated youths who have gained

certificates but not good jobs in the country or elsewhere due to their lack of English

language skill.

In a service oriented economy our country is bound to be more impoverished and

vulnerable if we cannot educate our youths with speaking skill in English. Moreover, our

agenda for building a digital Bangladesh through vision 2021 will be jeopardised because

in the present global context English language will be a driving force for digital

Bangladesh.

In the present context of necessity of English as a tool for development the prevailing

communicative method of English language teaching needs to be reshaped along with the

exam system. In the public exam at least 20% marks needs to be allotted for speaking

skill (that will cover listening skill as well). Then, students will be encouraged to develop

their speaking skill. Practice of speaking English should be enhanced at least in the

educational institutions and English classes must be conducted in English.

suggestion is that a lot of materials for discussion in English could be chosen from

Bangla literature, including the literary materials of Bangla syllabuses of the respective

classes. This will not only hold students' interest but also increase their passion for

Bangla language and literature, simultaneously developing speaking skill in English.

From personal experience it is found that a very good output engaging my students to talk

about some Bangla poets or writers or on Bangla short stories and poems. Teachers

should be aware that not all Bangla words have English synonyms because "no two

languages are similar." Besides we can use our culture bound relationship words such as

abba, amma, bhabi, assalamu alaikum, namasker etc. while speaking in English.

Situation of English in English Medium

The British rule in the Indian Subcontinent is still very influential as the second

official languages of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. are still English. Students in

Bangladesh have the right to attend schools in the English medium where courses are all

taught in English using English books with the exception of the Bengali courses and the

Religious course which are offered in Bengali and Arabic. However, English medium

schools are mainly private and thus reserved for the wealthy class. After three years of

pre-school, students must successfully pass through ten grades to be eligible for writing

the Ordinary Level Exams, also called the O-Levels. Then after one more year of studies,

students can write the Advanced Level (A-Level) Exams. Both these routines are offered

for Arts students and to Science students. The O-Levels and A-Levels are both prepared

in England and are common to every country in the world at the same time. To write

these exams, students must go to the British Council in Dhaka (capital city of

Bangladesh). Once the exams are written, they are sealed in envelopes and sent to

England for corrections. After the A-Levels, students are free to choose their subjects in

the Universities but most tend to leave the country to study abroad.

Although in recent times English medium education is very much affordable, even for the

middle class. The number of English medium schools in Bangladesh is increasing

rapidly. This increase is not only because it is profitable but also due to the increased

number of students and parents eagar to go for English medium schools. English medium

schools have not only within Dhaka but in recent times other districts of Bangladesh have

also experienced increase in English medium schools.

In Bangladesh, English is treated as a foreign language rather than as a second language.

As such the learning of it depends more on the aptitude and ability of the teacher and the

usage and, or necessity of the learner. Bangladesh has undergone a series of political and

socio-economic changes that have greatly influenced the learning of English as a foreign

language. The partition of Bengal in 1905 and its unification in 1906, the creation of

Pakistan in 1947 and finally the birth of Bangladesh in 1971 have all had their impacts of

the attitudes and motivation of learning English. In 1971, the spirit of Bengali

nationalism dimmed the urge of English as an international language. Also the cost of

education rose and the poor people especially those living outside the capital were

deprived of higher education. As a result, in the post-liberation period in Bangladesh the

learning of English has deteriorated and the practice still continues.

The reasons for the decline in learning of English are not difficult to find. The learning of

English, or any language for that matter is a two-way action. That is the teacher and the

learner. This is, of course, to be supported by the social, economic and political

environment, The necessity of learning English as an international language has to be felt

and understood. The merits and advantage of English has be nationally accepted and

given due attention. This aspect is primarily known as motivation for learning. Unless

you have a clear and comprehensive target for learning English the pursuit of English will

be deterred.

Bangladesh has a monolingual setting. Bangla is the only language that reigns here. It is

the state language and the mother tongue of the majority of the population. In this set-up

it is not very difficult to propagate a motivation for learning English as a foreign

language. The motivation has to be created indicating the privileges and advantages of

learning English in the present era of globalization. Once the motivation is established,

the attitudes of the learners will be significant and positive.

It is not that the students, who are mainly the young learners, are averse towards learning

English. Tests and sub-tests in this regard prove that 70% of the students are eager

towards learning English.

Some factors, mainly due to the lack of trained English teachers hamper the learning of

English in Bangladesh. One chief factor is the English class anxiety-students fear English

like a child that fears darkness. A discomfort prevails among the students while learning

English. Only experienced and trained teachers can help the students overcome the

tension and anxiety in the class.

The efficiency of the English teacher plays a vital rule in creating the attitude of students

towards leaning English. Besides knowing the subject well, he/she is required to have

qualities essential to become a successful teacher.

One main problem of learning English in Bangladesh results from saturation of English

teachers in the capital city, Dhaka. English teachers mainly reside and work in the capital

only. As a result the schools and colleges in the whole country outside Dhaka suffer

immensely due to lack of English teachers. This again is due to the economic status of

English teachers in Bangladesh. An English teacher in Dhaka gets a handsome salary and

also earns enough money through private tutoring. The schools and colleges in 'muffasal'

and remote areas in Bangladesh cannot offer such money. A national awareness in this

respect is necessary.

It is important to take into consideration all the factors integratedly and approach English

teaching in a positive manner. The teacher-learner relationship must be effectively

evaluated and only then can English teaching in Bangladesh be constructive and

productive.

Situation of English in Madrasah

Currently, there are three different systems of madrasah education in Bangladesh.

They are the old darse nizami system, the revised and modified nizami system, and the

alia nisab (higher syllabus). The first two categories are popularly called Qawmi or non-

government madrasahs. Amongst them the most notable are Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul

Ulum Moinul Islam in Hathazari, Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Patiya, in Patiya and Jamia

Tawakkulia Renga Madrasah in Sylhet.

As of 2009, there were 17,000 registered Qawmi madrasahs with the Befaqul

Mudarressin of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board, though the figure could

be well over double that number if unregistered madrasahs were counted. The situation of

English in madrasah is not very pretty. The madrasahs in Dhaka city and in other citys

did manage to increase the capability of students to write English. But the speaking

quality of English in both rural and urban area is poor. Most of the students in Madrasah

does not have any actual English teacher in madrasahs. So English language is the subject

is not the subject they favors to like. Madrasah students need to learn Arabic language,

Arabic is most emphasized there, after that learning English language becomes more and

more harder. After the introduction of madrasah board in Bangladesh in 1979, English

language was introduced much later.

Official language:

An official language is something that is given a unique status in the countries,

states, and other territories. It is typically the language used in a nation's legislative

bodies, though the law in many nations requires that government documents be produced

in other languages as well.

Officially recognized minority languages are often mistaken for official languages.

However, a language officially recognized by a state, taught in schools, and used in

official communication is not necessarily an official language. For example, Ladin and

Sardinian in Italy and Mirandese in Portugal are only officially recognized minority

languages, not official languages in the strict sense.

Half of the countries in the world have official languages. Some have only one official

language, such as Albania, France, or Lithuania, despite the fact that in all these countries

there are other native languages spoken as well. Some have more than one official

language, such as Afghanistan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Eritrea, Finland,

India, Paraguay, South Africa, and Switzerland.

In some countries, such as Iraq, Italy, Russia and Spain, there is an official language for

the country, but other languages are co-official in some important regions. Some

countries, such as Australia, Sweden, Tuvalu, and the United States have no official

languages.

The official languages of some former colonies, typically French or English, are not the

national languages or the most widely spoken language.

In contrast, as a consequence of nationalism, Irish is the "national language" of the

Republic of Ireland and its first official language, although it is spoken by only a small

fraction of its people. English, which is spoken by the majority, is described only as the

second official language (Constitution of Ireland, Article 8).

In some countries, the issue of which language is to be used in what context is a major

political issue.(Source-Wikipedia)

From the above definition, it is seen that the notion of official language is complicated.

According to our constitution English can not be termed as the official language of

Bangladesh since it has no status in our constitution. The only language that is mentioned

in our constitution is Bangla. But English is allowed in our parliament and many

government events. For example, when there is a government event in which some

foreigners attend then in many cases the speakers use English language. Many important

government documents are written both in Bangla and English. The parliament

proceedings are kept into these two languages. When a government body organizes a fair

then often the souvenir is published in English.

English in Law court in Bangladesh:

After Independence the government took the initiative to implement Bangla language

in law court. As a result, now the lower courts carry out their activities in Bangla but

English is yet very influential in High Court and Supreme Court. If a lawyer wants to

practice in Supreme court then he must have a good command over English language.

Many of the judges still give their verdicts in English language. It seems that this trend of

using English will remain for the foreseeable future.

English and Administration:

During the language movement, the people of Bangladesh were afraid that if Urdu

was established as the state language of Pakistan, then all the government activities will

be carried out in Urdu and our people will suffer. As a result of the language movement,

the Pakistani regime kept on carrying out government activities in English language.

After Bangladesh became independent, the government of Awami League decided to

replace English with Bangla in administrative works but after the death of Sheikh Mujib,

this process came to a halt and English continued to remain as the dominant language. It

was during the rule of Ershad, “Bangla Procholon Aeen of 1987” was created and

implemented. From that time, English started to lose its significance in administration.

However, it has to be mentioned that all the international communication of Bangladesh

government is carried out in English.

English in Economic activities:

The economy of Bangladesh is dependent on foreign aids and export of some

common items like ready-made garments, jute, tea, fish etc. We also import a lot of

things. Bangladesh is not economically self-sufficient. Trading is more popular than

production. Trading requires constant communication with foreign companies. Many of

the companies that are involved in trading have to use English in dealing with foreigners.

Suppose, a company is trading with China, which is not an English speaking country,

then the company has to contact the Chinese company in English. If we look at the

advertisements of the private sector jobs then we would notice that most of the job

advertisements are posted in English. Even most of the private sector job advertisements

that are posted in Bengali newspapers are posted in English. Almost all the private jobs

state that the applicants must have good proficiency in English language. Almost all the

public limited companies publish their annual reports in English. Some of these

companies produce a Bangla version of their annual report but the emphasis is always on

English. So it is clear that English is the dominant language in our economic activities.

Comparison of English with foreign languages in Bangladesh:

Arabic, Sanskrit and Pali are the religious languages of Muslims, Hindus and

Buddhists respectively. Even the uneducated people try to learn these languages as they

are considered to be holy. If we compare the learning of English with these languages

then we can see that English is given more importance. For example, the tuition fee of a

English coaching center is much higher than that of an Arabic coaching centre. English

private tutors get 4-5 times more money than Arabic private tutors (Huzur). So although

Arabic has religious sentiment attached to it, English is considered to be more important

as it has economic benefit.

French and German have become very popular for economic reasons in our country.

Learning these languages help us to increase our possibility to get jobs in various

international organizations. Learning French is also helpful for getting immigration to

Canada. There are good facilities to learn these languages in Dhaka University, Alliance

Francaise, and Goethe Institute. Recently, the English Institute of North South University

has introduced French course. On the other hand, during the Muslim reign, Persian was

the language of the Royal administration and law court in Bangladesh. At present, a

student can attend Farsi course for one semester by just paying tk. 250 in Iran Cultural

Center but there are not many students who are interested to learn Farsi, French, and

German. On the other hand, hundreds of students each year appear for TOEFL and

IELTS exams in English language.

From the above picture it is clear that the status of English is much higher than foreign

languages like German, French, and Persian. We can not deny the reality that if a person

is good at English then he can earn money in any part of Bangladesh but if a person is

good in French, German, or Persian he has hardly any scope to earn money by using his

linguistic skills.

Problems of global English in Bangladesh

Continuity with the colonial period

The global role of the English language and English-speaking cultures derives not

from an inherent superiority, nor from the natural outcome of market forces on a level

playing field, nor from a spontaneous movement towards global unity (despite Crystal,

1997). Rather it derives from the past and present hegemony of the USA and the UK

in economics, politics and in the cultural sphere. The English language is a chief

instrument of global hegemony. The necessity for global English is a function of

institutions,

trans-national companies, and governments able to ensure their own culture

is given universal respect. Pennycook (1995) argues that the spread of English constitutes

the ‘deliberate policy of English-speaking countries protecting and promoting

their economic and political interest’ (p. 42). Here certain governmental and private

agencies play a key role, such as the British Council (Pennycook, 2001, p. 61).

The promotion of English as standard British or American English, enforced by

international examinations and credentials, is in direct continuity with the colonial

period (Carnoy, 1974). Naysmith (1987) argues that teaching English is ‘part of the

process whereby one part of the world has become politically, economically and

culturally dominated by another’ (p. 3). While Britain no longer directly rules the

Indian sub-continent, it can be argued that in education it is playing the same old

game. In the postcolonial world, the medium of the continued Anglo-American

colonization,

one less visible and more subtle, is not so much economic seizure or military

intervention as trade, technology, education and language. But colonization always

was more than economic or political-military domination. It is also an attitude of

mind, rooted in a sense of superiority that at bottom is often racist (Pennycook, 2001,

p. 67). In countries such as Bangladesh the colonizers’ sense of superiority is

absorbed by the colonized locals as a sense of inferiority, admiration and imitation.

Edward Said quotes Coleridge: ‘Language is the armoury of the human mind; and at

once contains the trophies of its past and the weapons of its future conquests’ (Said,

1991, p. 136).

Within Bangladesh the English medium school directly reproduces Anglo-American

hegemony. Arguably, these schools play a similar global role in most Asian countries

once directly ruled by the UK: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore,

Hong Kong, Burma. In these countries, English has become dominant not so much

in the number of speakers but in the power–knowledge relations that govern its use

and are sustained by its use. Likewise, in many African countries, English medium

education is strengthening (Brock-Utne, 2001). Demand for the English medium is

encouraged by government policy and sustained by a globally aspirant middle class.

Globally connected English-speaking elites tend to monopolize national privileges.

Popular appeal and popular illusions

The paradox here is the popular demand for English in the developing world, where

English is widely seen as a tool of economic and social advancement. Nevertheless,

when English language skills become more widely diffused in developing countries,

the effects are two-sided. Nationally the country becomes more globally connected—

but is also rendered more globally vulnerable. Individually, the acquisition of English

allows members of the social elite to maintain their position within the country, and

perhaps to gain more freedom of action offshore—but by no means everyone who

acquires English will join the local or global elite. Many people in Bangladesh believe

that with access to English they will gain secure high profile jobs and perhaps a

‘luxury’ life abroad. Good local jobs are limited in numbers and entry often determined

‘not by English language as much as by political connections’ (Judd, 1983,

p. 271). Many English educated persons who go abroad secure non-career jobs.

Rogers (1982, p. 145) asks whether it is ethical to allow education to sustain this kind

of illusion.

In contrast, the benefits to economic, political and educational institutions in the

first world are clear-cut. The diffusion of English opens up developing country

markets. In Bangladesh it is now essential for even factory workers, who earn less than

the minimum wage, to know some English, the language of the labels on goods and

packaging. The western world secures the main benefits of their cheap labour, not

Bangladesh. These workers learn ‘enough English to read the boxes but not enough

to take over the factory’ (Judd, 1983, p. 271). Nor can factory workers use English as

a tool for becoming rich. The spread of English also facilitates those non-government

organizations (NGOs) that use programmes of aid, credit, or business activities

through micro-finance (Chowdhury, 2001) to control key social and governmental

policies. Again this helps to open Bangladesh to western markets. Gibbons (1985)

argues that ‘the third world itself began to experience a measure of disenchantment,

when it was discovered that development aid was not really aid, but a business

investment

camouflaged to look like development aid’ (p. 40).10 Likewise the promotion of

western education in English creates a market for western publications, and encourages

local students to pursue international education, which is three times the cost of

local education and generates revenues for the developed nations. English language

education and NGOs also promote employment for western people as teachers—

especially in English teaching—and consultants who take half the money of development

projects (Altbach, 1981).

Social polarization

Within Bangladesh global English functions as a tool for social-political differentiation

and discrimination since English education is restricted to a specific class only.

Judd (1983) finds that ‘one reason for the poor quality of ESOL instruction in several

countries is government awareness … if too many nationals acquire English at a

highly functional level, they will agitate for changes and potentially become a threat

to those in power’ (p. 271). Pennycook (1995) notes that English acts as a gatekeeper

to positions of wealth and prestige both within and between nations, and is the

language through which much of the unequal distribution of wealth, resources and

knowledge operates.

English as displacer of national tradition

Given that the national language is particularly important to the national identity of

Bangladesh, the growing prestige of English, which poses a medium term threat to

the unifying and standardizing functions of the national language, poses a great challenge

—

the more so because of the dominance of English within the Bangladeshi elite.

To assess the character of the problem it is necessary to monitor the respective roles

of English and Bangla in all domains, and to examine the cultural contents of

language use in each case.

One key is the extent to which Bangla is the medium for government, education

and public discourse. These spheres all affect each other: for example, an advance of

English in the educational or cultural sphere is likely to affect its role in government,

and vice versa. Thus one issue is the relative prestige of Bangla and English medium

schools. Another is the medium of expression used in communications, the arts and

university education. Artists who want to be part of the global conversation as well as

the national one, can face agonizing choices about the medium of expression.

Another key is the content of English language courses. Pennycook (1995) remarks

that ‘students around the world are not only obliged to reach a high level of competencies

in English to pursue their studies, but they are also dependent on forms of

western knowledge that are often of limited value and extreme inappropriateness to

the local context’ (p. 43). There is a profound difference between English language

courses moulded to fit the national context, and English language courses that treat

the national context as irrelevant.

Situation of English in rural areas

Shortage of good English language teachers in rural schools is a significant factor

that results in an increase in gap between education of urban and of rural students,

educationalists say. Most schools in rural area are suffering from an English teacher

shortage. In lot of schools, there is no specialized English teacher. Teachers of other

subjects teach English.

The shortage of English teachers contributed to poor performance of rural schools.

Almost every rural school has shortage of English teachers. It is not possible to improve

the quality of education in rural areas without increasing the number of teachers and

developing the infrastructure.

The Junior School Certificate exams results published on December 30 showed that

students outside Dhaka did far less well in the exams.

While students under the Dhaka education board had a pass rate of 80.58, under the

Comilla board the pass rate was 73.56, under the Chittagong board, it was 70.26, under

the Rajshahi board the pass rate was 63, under the Jessore board it was 62.45, under the

Dinajpur board it was 62.18 and under the Sylhet board the pass rate was 61.97

Students under the Barisal education board were, however, an exception with a pass rate

of 81.75.

The number of students scoring GPA 5 was also higher in Dhaka than in areas outside the

capital.

Under the Dhaka education board, 3,218 students scored GPA 5, under the Rajshahi

board 1,508 students, under the Dinajpur board 763 students, under the Jessore board

740, under the Comilla board 624, under the Chittagong board 518, under the Barisal

board 478, and under the Sylhet board 203 students scored GPA 5.

Teachers of rural schools said that in many schools, no student at all could score GPA 5.

It is a social problem. The poor results of rural schools indicate a class division in the

education sector. Nowadays well-to-do families do not want to stay in rural areas. As

result, it is only children of comparatively poor families that stay in the rural schools.

If children of well-to-do families had studied in rural schools, such schools would have

got good teachers and good infrastructure. Schools in rural areas must be improved.

The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, said, ‘The education ministry is working to

bring about equality in education in rural and urban areas. We have taken various

measures to bridge the gap between the education standards of rural and urban areas. But,

it is not possible overnight and it will take time,’

Future Of English Language:

English is very important component of our education. ELTIP is interested to

promote the present state of English Teachers as well as our education system of our

country. The importence of English is increasing.

The last decade or so has been marked by a new phenomenon called globalization. This

has a profound impact on different domains of life-social, political and economic. It has

also experienced significant changes in the communication dynamics of the world.

English language and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-have become

the two most crucial gears of this new communication euphoria. English as a subject is of

paramount importance in equipping the secondary level students to take up the challenges

of the competitive survival and growing globalization. This is high time that we see the

future development of English as a world language and take proper initiatives to develop

our English language learners to a global standard. It can be done by upgrading the

secondary level English teaching capacity. The government of Bangladesh is very much

concerned with the reform of teacher education which includes pre-service and in-service

training for English teachers. Particularly, there has been a dying need for a time befitting

and well structured training programme for the secondary English teachers of the

country. ELTIP is addressing this need by training the secondary English teachers

through its 27 centres across the country.

In the recent past very purpose of learning English has been changed in the context of

Bangladesh. Many old Bangladeshi school teachers (who learned in a different socio-

political context) still speak and teach English as a second language (ESL) while their

students need English to speak to people from other countries (as in EFL). Since the

beginning of the 90s, in Bangladesh, there has been a growing demand for using English

as a foreign language (EFL) rather than as a second language (ESL). But to introduce the

learning of English as a Foreign Language was not an easy task and some innovative

methodological reforms made the whole thing more complicated. In this consideration

ELTIP is trying to make a shift from the Grammar Translation method to Communicative

approach. In ELTIP training courses, teachers have been trained in communicative

language teaching so that they can make the best possible uses of the newly written

communicative textbooks with a view to developing the four language skills (listening,

speaking, reading and writing) of their learners.

This action plan is intended to give an overview of the past, present and future activities

of ELTIP with particular focus on its prospects and limitations. The plan also puts

forward a line of action to be followed in order to achieve the expected outcomes of the

project within the project tenure. The objectives of ELTIP are:

a) To strengthen human resource development efforts of GoB through the teaching and

learning of Communicative English.

b) To continue the already introduced Communicative English language Methodology

i) A program to create more and effective teachers training.

ii) Developing appropriate teaching and earning materials

iii) Reform initiatives in examination system.

iv) Developing communicative competence in English language among the secondary

education learners.

c) To introduce contextualized grammar teaching and learning.

d) To monitor the performances of the trained teachers in the classrooms.

Recommendations:

There is no doubt that English is the second language of Bangladesh but this reality is not

reflected in our constitution. Officially Bangladesh is not known as an ESL country to the

outside world. So, Bangladesh should be declared as an ESL country by the government

without any delay. We learn English not because we like Shakespeare or Dickens. We

learn English out of every day necessity. If Bangladesh is declared as an ESL country and

English language is given a clear status in the constitution then it will not only reflect the

reality but also will help us in many ways. Now, Bangladesh is desperately trying to

attract foreign investors. Before any company comes to Bangladesh for exploring

investment opportunities, one of the key areas they would look for is the availability of

English graduates and they also expect that the normal workers will have basic

understanding of English language. If we become an ESL country, then these foreign

companies while searching about Bangladesh will get assured about the strong presence

of English language in this country.

The same picture is there about educational sector. Many Bangladeshi students want to

go to developed countries like USA, UK, Canada, and Australia for higher education. If

Bangladesh is declared as an ESL country then these students will be benefited because

then the universities of those countries will get the idea that English has special

significance in Bangladesh.

So, I recommend to the government of Bangladesh that English should be declared as the

second language of the country by amending the constitution.

Conclusion:

Bangladesh is the only country in the world whose people sacrificed their lives for

the language. Now the historical language movement of 1952 is acknowledged

internationally as the International Mother Language Day. It is true that our people are

emotional about their language, Bangla. However, it is equally true that now our people

have become desperate about getting skilled in English language. And the amount of

people knowing English is increasing day by day. Even the people in the rural areas are

also trying to learn English and English. After 10 to 15 years people of speak every

aspect of our country will be able to speak little or enough bit of English.

Language planning and strategy in Bangladesh

In language policy, there is no general rule about national/global language

policy that

holds for all times and places. It cannot be argued that promotion of a local

language

instead of a dominant language, or promotion of a dominant language at the

expense

of local language, are in themselves good or bad (Pennycook, 2001).

Sometimes the

emphasis will be on uniform standards, at other times the main task is to

safeguard

diversity and difference. Sometimes the crucial educational issue is to build

competence in the global language, sometimes to sustain the local dialect, or

the

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482 S. R. Imam

national language, or an optimum mix of each. In other words, language

policy can

only be judged in terms of the historical and cultural circumstances of each

particular

case. From the Bangladeshi national viewpoint, the crucial educational issue

is to

identify the policies, plans and strategies that will best contribute to the

economic,

social, political and cultural development of Bangladesh as an independent

nation.

Because the national identity is unusually language-dependent, it is all the

more

essential to pursue a language policy that sustains Bangla language and ways

of seeing

the world. Because the other conditions underlying nation-building are

relatively

weak, it is all the more essential to augment long-term national capacity by

building

a strong education system (Sen, 1999). At the same time, the connection to

the global

is inescapable. Notwithstanding the problems posed by global English, not

being

competent in English is a non-option. The task is to ensure that the global

connection

is conducted on national terms, that is, Bangla terms.

One problem for national language policy is that in the minds of most

people,

national identity and learning English are positioned as antagonistic, not

complementary.

This is a direct result of the colonial tradition itself with its long usage of

English

as tool of divide-and-rule; the comprador character of the English-focused

elite (which

ought to be at the heart of national leadership); and the polarization of the

school

system between English medium schools weak in Bangla, and Bangla

medium schools

weak in English. Arguably, the notion of learning English and learning

Bangla as

contradictory is also fostered by World Bank policy strategy. The Bank sees

education

in Bangladesh as a market: a notion which rests on private investment in

global English

as the source of individual advantage, an investment pursued without regard

for the

development of the nation as a whole. One problematic result is that global

English

and international education are seen as the source of good quality in

education. Public

schooling and local university education are relegated to lower status, unable

to hold

the social support of the elite or attract sufficient government investment. It

is vital

that national policy secures more effective control over educational

development.

Educational language policy and planning must help to build both universal

literacy

in Bangla and competence in global English. If a path that combines global

English and national identity is not found, ideologically insular forces within

the

nation may take advantage of this, adversely affecting both national progress

in

science and technology, and sociocultural development. In summary, there

are three

starting points for educational planning.

The first starting point for language planning is that a strong Bangla medium

education system, necessarily funded primarily by government, is the

foundation for

both universal literacy and the building of widespread competence in

English.

Developing nations that have lifted literacy to high levels have mostly used

the mother

tongue as the medium of instruction, at least at primary level. Students with

a sound

foundation of literacy in the mother tongue acquire literacy in a second

language

more quickly (Mehrotra, 1998, p. 479). One reason is that psychological

factors

relating to the sustainability of local culture are central to identity and self-

respect,

which form the basis of all human agency, and are at the heart of learning

(Sen, 1999;

Brock-Utne, 2001, p. 116).

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Nation-building education in Bangladesh 483

All else being equal, educating people in their own language both maximizes

the

take-up of the curriculum and helps to break down the old colonial era

barriers

between masses and elite. Learning English is not the only element in a

global modernization

strategy. Learning the national language is foundational to Bangladesh’s

global

strategy, the first necessary condition for modernization.

The second starting point for language planning is to provide more

extensive,

better quality and higher standard English classes. The typical provision in

public

schools is less than five hours of English classes per week, often with

untrained

teachers. This is not good enough.

The third starting point for language planning is to provide English classes

within

the terms of the nation-building project, founded on a living developing

Bangla identity:

● English should be provided primarily in specific language classes within

Bangla

medium schooling, rather than English medium schooling;

● English should be acquired not as a global or foreign culture that replaces

the

national culture, but within the educational context of national culture. It is

important

to learn English more as a survival skill than as a set of values and a way of

life,

thereby following the knowledge of others not Bangladeshi knowledge,

becoming

caught in their purposes not our own purpose. Language is always culture-

bound,

the question here is which culture should be dominant in the national

education

system;

● The English curriculum should draw on local cultural examples, rather

than British

or American examples, and it should enable students to adopt a critical,

nationallyindependent

vantage point on the English language countries themselves;

● Standards in English should be determined not by authorities in London,

or

American linguistic norms but by local boards. The old imperial controls

and elite

training circuits should be broken up. A levels and British examinations

should no

longer define what is prime educational quality in Bangladesh;

● There should be space for the evolution of a more distinctively

Bangladeshi style

of English that is inflected by national characteristics.

Conclusion

Phillipson (2000) argues, ‘education policy should have multilingual aims

and means,

and build on local resources, rather than being articulated in terms of the

false dichotomy

between local language and English’. Thus the argument here is to develop a

strong educational base through a strong language education policy that will

resist all

kinds of threatening forces and help establish its own identity and serve its

own interest.

Perhaps Pennycook’s (1995) notion of ‘counter-discourse’ provides a

strategic

orientation for non-English-speaking developing countries like Bangladesh.

If non-

English-speaking nations are to address global inequalities within the global

setting

dominated by English language powers, the language of dominance and

inequality

must become the medium for developing a counter-discourse, using non-

standard

English to express a critical national viewpoint. Mazrui (1975) describes

how in

Africa the language of the colonizer helped to form opposition to

colonization. In the

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484 S. R. Imam

case of Bangladesh, both in Bangla education and English classes

Bangladesh needs

its own educational content, which will reflect its own counter-discourse,

and which

takes account of the fact of imperialist influence and understands that fact

critically.

Critical language teaching practices allow students, and teachers, ‘to resist

and

change the discourses that construct their lives’ (Pennycook, 2001, p. 112).

Pennycook

also notes that if we pluralize control of English, we begin to shift global

relations

of power. ‘If we elevate language, culture and discourse to a central role in

the

(re)production of global inequalities, the relationship between English and

these

inequalities becomes on one hand stronger but on the other more open to

resistance’

(Pennycook, 1995, p. 48).

It is precisely because they are integral to identity and self-determination

that

language and culture, joined to national political leadership, can provide a

way out of

the determinist trap that the imperialist variant of globalization has set for

the

developing ountries.