Dr. Tania Hossain,
Waseda University, Japan
English is regarded as a global language. It is by no means divested itself of a cultural context. Like many other Islamic countries, English plays an important role in the educational systems of Bangladesh. It is used as a second-language although it is spoken only by 3% of the population. Bangladesh suffers from continual poverty and more than half of the population is living under the poverty line. English plays two important roles in Bangladesh. One is that in post-colonial contexts, English had always been an elite language, and another is that it creates inequalities in the society. At the same time, English is seen as an essential instrument in the economic development. The medium of education- Bengali or English – distinguishes the well- educated and economically advantaged urban dwellers from the undereducated and economically distressed rural population. A two-pronged ethnographic method—(a) depth interviews with key policy planners; and (b) historical document analysis—was used to answer the following research question: How does English empower and privileges’ elite and creates inequalities in the Bangladeshi society? Results indicated that English is linked with the individual opportunity. English offers significant economic opportunity and privileges for its speakers. Given the obvious economic advantages middle-class families try to ensure that their children have access to English-medium instruction. Thus public pressure for English language teaching at an early age is widespread. However, for most children, English language proficiency is quite low because of the low level of teachers’ English language proficiency and the low quality of English language education. Thus, the present policy continues to support advantages for groups having access to English education, while contributing to the ongoing educational difficulties facing the rural and urban poor. This paper calls for language planning and policy that emphasize pedagogic equity.
The above abstract is a part of the article which was accepted at The Third International Conference on Current Issues of Languages, Dialects and Linguistics (WWW.LLLD.IR), 31 January-1February 2019 , Iran-Ahwaz.