Language teaching policy and the teaching of English in Bangladesh

We often hear people saying that although we have a national language policy, we do not have a language teaching policy. It is perhaps useful to distinguish between a national language policy and a language teaching policy.

A national language policy is determined by such factors as the language spoken by the majority of the population, the standard of that language, the hopes and aspirations of people and so on. In a monolingual country or nearly so, it does not create a serious problem. In a multilingual country, there may be more than one national language. Sometimes a foreign language is accepted as the official language in order to avoid internal conflicts.

English was imposed on the Indians by British colonial rulers after the adoption of Lord Macaulay's Minutes of Education in 1835, long after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. After the partition of India and creation of Pakistan in 1947, English remained a link language between East and West Pakistan. But after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Bengali was given the status of national language in the 1972 constitution. Later on, by the enactment of Bangla Procholon Ain (1983), it was made obligatory to use Bengali as the sole official language in the conduction of state activities. The law made it compulsory for all employees in government, semi-government and autonomous bodies to use Bengali in writing official memos and correspondences except in case of communication with foreign governments, countries and organisations. As a result, Bengali began to be used in almost all fields of national life. Thus, English lost its previous status as a second language and began to be treated as a foreign language.

However, it was soon realised that English could not be neglected in Bangladesh for national development, cooperation and commerce with the outside world. Educationists and political leaders began to feel that English should be given due importance. There emerged a positive attitude towards English both in government and private sectors. Efforts began to be made to improve the teaching of English at all levels of education.

Evolution of an English language teaching policy: English was the medium of instruction at secondary and higher secondary levels of education during the British rule, and to a large extent during Pakistani rule. As such, people who completed the secondary levels of education at those times were able to carry on their academic activities through the medium of English when they came up for tertiary level of education. But in the 1974 Education Commission Report, emphasis was laid on the use of Bengali as the medium of education at all levels. But it also said that the necessity will remain for English to be learnt as a second language (p. 15).

An English Teaching Task Force was set up by the Ministry of Education in 1975 to assess the situation of English language teaching in Bangladesh and suggest ways of improving the conditions of its teaching. Some of the major findings in the Task Force Report were (pp. 1 -4):

a. The English proficiency of students of class 9 was two years and in class 12 four years behind the level assumed in their textbooks.

b. At least 70% of the trainees at the secondary training colleges are not proficient in material beyond that used in class 7 textbooks, yet they are expected to teach up to class 10.

c. At all levels there is a grave shortage of trained teachers of English. In private (non-government) high schools, about 50% of teachers are not trained and in colleges (classes 11 and 12), almost no teachers are trained.

Two of the recommendations of the Task Force were (Ibid: pp. 34 - 36):

a. English should be taught compulsorily either from class 3 or class 6. If English is made compulsory from class 3, English language and training in teaching English should be made compulsory at each Primary Training Institute.

b. The single biggest obstacle to teaching English in Bangladesh is the lack of competent teachers at all levels. Large-scale short and long-term training programmes should be undertaken for secondary school teachers.

c. An appropriately graded syllabus should be introduced at each level together with new textbooks related to the needs and capabilities of students.

In July 1976, the National Curriculum Committee was formed by the government to devise syllabuses of different classes for all subjects. It made provisions for teaching English from class 3 because it was felt that there was a need for a good foundation in English (Report of NCC, 1978: 265). English was made compulsory from class 3 in 1980, syllabi were prepared and textbooks written for classes 3 to 10.

In 1975, English was made an optional medium of education at the tertiary level. As a result, a mixed situation arose. The medium of education at the university level is in some faculties English (especially in science and technology-oriented subjects) and in some faculties a mixture of the two. An examination of syllabuses of different faculties reveals that textbooks and reference books in different subjects are still predominantly in English. For the foreseeable future, students of different disciplines will have to be able to read textbooks and research journals in English. But the level of attainment in English among university students in Bangladesh has gone down so much that it is now nearly impossible for them to read textbooks in English and obtain information from them.

In order to stop the decline of the standards of English at various levels, successive governments had taken different steps. An attempt to introduce English in Class 2 and Arabic in Class 1 in 1983 failed because of strong opposition from the intelligentsia, student bodies and political leaders on the ground that the teaching of two languages at the Primary Level would be unscientific. However, a decision was taken by the government in 1990 to introduce English as a compulsory subject from Class 1, and so far, has remained to be so.

A further decision was taken by the Ministry of Education in 1994 to introduce English as an alternative medium of education at the school level, which has given rise to National Curriculum English Version schools. In order to facilitate the process, NCTB has produced English versions of National Curriculum Bengali Medium textbooks. A good number of private schools in and out of Dhaka have taken up the opportunity and established such schools, where the elite class of people send their children. So, in effect - there are four systems of education existing in the country: National Curriculum Bengali Medium, National Curriculum English Version, English Medium Schools (following O and A level curricula of UK) and Madrasa Education (with two tiers in it - Aliya and Qawmi).

Opportunities of learning English in these different types of institutions vary greatly, and as a result there arises unsurmountable disparities in the competence levels of English among students coming out of these four systems of education. This affects the life chances of students passing out from National Curriculum Bengali Medium and Madrasa Education systems in terms of higher education, going abroad by taking IELTS, or even getting a good job within Bangladesh as many government and corporate bodies are alleged to select employees having a good command of English.

We may not perhaps be able to do away with the current class-divided system of education and establish equality of opportunities for all in learning English, but the government and educational institutions can take steps to establish some sort of equity by improving the quality of learning English at primary and secondary levels of National Curriculum Bengali Medium and Madrasa education systems. Such an action may help reduce the inequality of English language competence among students coming out from different systems of education.

It is not that the government has not tried to do anything to improve the conditions of the teaching and learning of English at National Curriculum Bengali Medium Schools. Ministry of Education implemented various projects for the development of English Language Education in Bangladesh during 1980 to 2020. Two of them are: English Language Teaching Improvement Project (1998 - 2003), English in Action (2009 - 2017).

It is necessary to investigate the impact of such projects on the teaching and learning of English at Primary and Secondary levels of education, and ascertain if they have made any qualitative change in the conduction of classroom teaching by English language teachers. It is also necessary to investigate why our students are failing to achieve the desired levels of competence in English after 12 years of compulsory study of it and find out how we can resolve the situation by making the teaching and learning of English at school and college levels more effective.

The main obstacle to progress seems to be the existing examination system. The examination boards, i.e. Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs) appear to have examination syllabuses, different from National Curriculum syllabi, which only tests the reading and writing skills of learners in traditional formats conducive to rote learning. Although Listening and Speaking skills and development of Communicative Competence among learners have been given due emphasis in the NCTB curricula, these skills are not tested in JSC, SSC and HSC exams, consequently not practised in classroom teaching. As such, teaching has largely become exam-oriented and the main task of the teacher is to prepare students for exams.

In view of difficulties observed, we may keep in mind the following observations in order to design an appropriate English Language Teaching Policy for National Curriculum Bengali Medium education system:

1. All teachers of Primary Level schools need to be given practice-oriented training in the teaching of English and an arrangement needs to be set up for continual help and support to such teachers. Teachers need to be trained in teaching the basic skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing - as envisaged in the syllabi and textbooks of this level.

2. Short-time intensive training needs to be imparted to all Secondary Level teachers, and a separate monitoring and mentoring team should be set up to give continued support to such teachers. Syllabi and textbooks of this level of education need to be oriented towards the development of the four language skills, not the study and appreciation of literary works.

3. The purpose of learning English at SSC and HSC levels is to develop the Study Skills of learners in addition to the overall development of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing skills, not to transform them into literary critics (unfortunately that had been attempted in the abrogated 2021 SSC and HSC level syllabi).

4. At the Higher Secondary Level, all existing teachers need to be given short-term training in Approaches and Methods of Language Teaching and applying suitable techniques of teaching English in their classrooms for developing the four language skills of leaners. The syllabus and textbook for this level need to focus on the development of critical reading and academic writing skills as a preparation for tertiary level non-literary education.

5. The most difficult thing, as discussed earlier, is to change the examinations system - it will require careful planning and gradual implementation of the plans with a careful management of change. Students need to be familiarised with any changes in the examination system, teachers need to be trained in evaluating listening and speaking skills.

6. A Central Coordination Cell for the development of English Language Teaching may be formed by Ministry of Education (along with specific cells for Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary levels of education) to monitor and help the implementation of a well-thought-out, pragmatic and achievable English Language Teaching Policy for our country. But for it to happen, the Policy needs to be formulated by an assemblage of ELT specialists and researchers along with educational administrators.

The writer is a professor at the Department of English, Daffodil International University, and formerly a professor of English at the Institute of Modern Languages, Dhaka University

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