Why is English a subject of terror to students?

Maisha (pseudonym) has always been a topper in her class and achieved stellar results in almost all subjects in the HSC examination. However, when she started preparing for admission to universities both home and abroad, she got a reality check regarding her English language skills. Turns out, the way she prepared notes for literature and learned the exercises of English grammar for almost 12 years of her life does not really contribute to the development of professional and communicative English skills. Like Maisha, numerous students of our country, especially those who studied under the national curriculum, suddenly fall into this crisis. Despite having an 'A+' in English in the HSC examination, many students fail in the English section of the admission test for universities.

From the records of the University of Dhaka from 2014-15 sessions, 22,000 examinees out of 40,565 failed in English, and amid them, only two had the qualifications to study in the English department, and this scenario has not improved significantly even till this day. The question remains, why does the English language come as a terror to our students even after having it as a compulsory subject in every class?

Sabbir Hasan, an HSC examinee from Dhaka City College, points out one of the major reasons for fear, "In case of English, we always get the introduction from our teachers and seniors that it is a difficult language and not everyone can master it which we are not told in case of Bangla." He also adds that this preexisting fear leaves no room for an interactive environment since most students are already hesitant to ask questions to clear any confusion or even try to practice the language without mastering it. This adds to the context that little do we know that we can master the language only if we put it to use.

Since colonial times, utmost stress has been put on the learning of English, which instead of making it accessible for everyone, turned into an unachievable skill for the masses. Reasons include the traditional method of teaching English through rules and written structures rather than using interactive techniques, including a significant portion of listening and speaking practices, hesitation of applying English for trial even if it has mistakes, and confining it within the syllabus of school and college rather than widening the boundaries.

Sabbir expressed his frustration by saying that he thinks our national curriculum is not well-rounded to meet the needs of modern career paths. As a result, only the students who have personal habits of watching English movies and series, reading books, listening to music, and participating in relevant English courses or competitions have an edge in mastering English for communication at a professional level. Still, the majority of students lack this development. Moreover, the situation is worse outside the cities, especially the capital Dhaka due to the lack of trained teachers and English language organisations like the British Council.

Noushin Anjum, a second-year student at IBA, University of Dhaka and an English instructor at Mentors', shared her observation from teaching admission examinee, "What I figured is that most people in our country deem English as an academic subject in which they need a good grade to move on to the next stage rather than a language that needs to be learnt to communicate with the rest of the world."

She also stated that most people in our country think it is a language for the elites only, so there is no need to try and master this language. Consequently, their learning remains superficial, and they lack the understanding of the basic concepts of English grammar.

Now, how can we break the long-existing ice of terror between students and the most widely used language in the world? Since the systematic changes need time to show outcomes, students and teachers should work on breaking the misconceptions at a personal level. Encouraging more organisations, clubs, and friendly contest on English language and increasing its usage among students without hesitation can remove the years of rust. In fact, if we take English as a language and a mode of communication rather than a part of our syllabus only, it will strengthen the usage of our mother tongue alongside.

Noushin also referred to a way out of this problem most students face as they pass the higher secondary level, "The teachers and institutions as a whole need to boost the students' confidence in using this language and give enough resources and opportunities to hone up the students' English reading, writing and speaking skills. People should realise that English is a necessity rather than a luxury a few privileged can use."

The writer is a sophomore at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka.

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