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Developing communicative English skill in secondary schools

Published : Friday, 18 June, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 658

National Curriculum Committee (2012) mentioned that they reviewed the curriculum of secondary schools of some developed countries to study the feasibility in case of Bangladesh.  No doubt, education system of Bangladesh has a trend to raise the education. But it is a question, how far the quality of education has reached to the level of education of developed countries. Criticism is heard from elites that standard of education has gone down.

If so, nation has to give utmost attention to raise the quality of education to international level following their curriculum and methods of teaching. Standard of education can help the nation to reach desirable goal of economic development and science & technology. But it is difficult to reach the level without introducing proper curriculum and method of teaching in educational pulpits.

We know curriculum is a dynamic process which needs to be revised time to time. Teaching has mainly two sides such as language teaching and core subjects teaching. Language teaching includes teaching Mother Tongue (Bengali) and English as a foreign language but core subjects include mathematics, physical sciences and social sciences etc.

School curriculum is more or less tautology as that of any international school is framed with the help of international experts. Actually curriculum between developing countries and developed countries may not be same because of difference in life style and social structure. Core subjects may be similar but language teaching and livelihood education may be different. Teaching of English may differ between English belt countries and non-English belt countries. Suppose Bengali is taught in school following traditional system. Students as well as teachers don't bother for study Bengali as it is a native language.

Teaching of English follows the same method as that of Bengali which causes the blunder. Communicative skill in English practicing by teacher and students seldom happens in the classroom. Bengali is widely used outside the classroom such as at household, playground, marketplace and everywhere, but English has not that scope in non-English belt countries. As students have not the scope to speak English inside or outside the classroom they become weak in communicative English. Classroom is the only place where English can be practiced intensively by teachers and students. But class teaching does not activate the students in communicative skill and as a result students become weak in spoken English.

It is irony of fate that out of four skills of teaching English such as listening, speaking, reading and writing, communicative (speaking) English is scarcely practiced in the classroom. As a result, our students become deaf and dumb in communicative English. It is meant that students become weak in spoken English following existing method of teaching English. As English is one of the widely spoken international languages, so a Bangladeshi national can't develop his/her career unless he/she becomes well conversant in English. Communicative English greatly helps national development as job seekers may earn more from abroad, better exchange in international trade and commerce.

As our students can't speak English fluently that brings a great adverse effect on national life. Do our curriculum experts care the matter? Language teaching differs greatly between teaching native language and foreign language. More stress should be given on communicative skill in teaching English as a foreign language, which may not be necessary in case of teaching mother tongue. But our school system has emulated two separate methods of teaching language together, which spoils the interest of the nation. Teaching trend is that teachers can't work in school unless they have specific teaching guidebook.

Teachers have a motto that teacher's method is the best method which is generally speaking in favour of teachers that they can apply any method whatever they like in context of topic in the classroom. Whatever the motto is, for improving communicative skill in English for students, specific instructions are to be given and marks are to be allotted in the examination that the teachers abide by teaching English in the classroom and examination.

What is that instruction? That is viva voce in English would be a part of examination where teacher will ask questions and students will describing Aesop's fable and biography of great men &women. Student will be asked to speak fluently for developing their communicative skill. It will go a long way to develop communicative skill in English. This system will make students as well as teachers aware of developing communicative skill in English.

What is the benefit of developing communicative skill in English for the students? English as international language has a great value about earning foreign remittance, economic development. Unless we realize the fact, our nation would be weaker economically and in technical knowhow. Huge numbers of job seekers go abroad sometime as manual labour. If a job seeker can speak in communicative English, salary would be double or triple of an ordinary labour gets. But our job seekers fail to have higher salary from abroad due to lack of communicative skill in English. Employees from neighbouring countries are fluent in English and working everywhere in the world higher in number, get higher salary than our job seekers.

Why can't primary or secondary graduates talk in English? Who will answer the question? Primary graduate may speak in English fluently if they are taught communicative skill at school properly. Government has declared English as compulsory subject long ago from Grade-I so that primary graduates may speak English fluently and learn other skills and contribute to national economy. But our curriculum framers care a little in line with the aims and objects of the government where the problem lies.

School curriculum is developed such a way that our primary & secondary graduates have little chance to engage in self-employment after ending education either in their household or outside. Self-employment may be taught in schools introducing subjects like Life skills, Livelihood Education and Home Economics etc.   
The writers are ex-professor, IER, Dhaka University & ex-deputy director, Directorate of Primary Education respectively









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