LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:11 November 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Meeting the Challenges of Reconstructing English Proficiency to the University Students
Fossilized By the Inapt CLT Implementation at School and College Levels
in Bangladesh

Sharmin Sultana Mitu, M.A. (English), B.A. (Honors)

Abstract

In Bangladesh, the state of English is rather in puzzling position as the context for using it cannot be fully termed as either ESL or EFL. On one hand, the social context allows for no use of English in everyday communication, and English is taught as a subject in schools and college rather than being used as a language for medium of education which defines it as an EFL context. On the other hand, English is used as a means of education in the universities and communication in the offices which gives it more of an ESL status. Now, in schools and colleges the CLT based syllabuses have been included with an objective of improving learners’ communication skills. However, paradoxically, this has resulted in disrupting students’ language proficiency even worse than before for the inappropriateness of various factors. As the students have long been exposed to a wrong learning environment till college level, it has caused to the fossilization of their learning process. When these students get into universities, where they have frequent exposure to English, it becomes really difficult on the part of the teachers, to deal with them as to which way their proficiency in English can be improved.

Therefore, my paper focuses at identifying various aspects, affecting the students at school and college levels and consequently, leading to the challenges faced by the teachers at university level to improve their proficiency in English. Accordingly, it provides probable solutions by which the challenges can be met.

Key Words: EFL, ESL, CLT, fossilization, motivation, grammar, Task- Based Language Teaching, Integrated Skills, UGC (University Grants Commission).

Introduction

Being parts of global world, Bangladesh and many other countries use English either as a foreign language or as a second language. But unfortunately the state of English in Bangladesh is still in confusing position as it can be called neither a foreign language nor a second language here. The reason is that, though it is used as official language and as a language for means of education in universities, it is not at all used for communicative purpose as the second language of Bangladesh. Despite the fact that English is taught from the primary stage, very few students can acquire the knowledge of communicating in English as there is no real life usage. With a motto to improve students’ communicative competence in English, English Syllabus has been designed by concentrating on CLT in both school and college level. But, paradoxically, learners’ efficiency in English has been more in alarming position than before since the inclusion of CLT in the curriculum. The problem arises from the facts that the syllabus is not designed for communicative purpose as a whole and though recently Communicative English has been added to the syllabus, it is much focused on examination rather than using in real life situation and most importantly the teachers are not well-trained to create contexts for motivating the students to communicate.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Sharmin Sultana Mitu, M.A. (English); B.A. ( Honors) Aligarh Muslim University
Lecturer
Department of English
Southeast University
Dhaka
Bangladesh
riya_sharmin@yahoo.com
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