表題番号：2013A-6086
日付：2014/04/11
研究課題Globalization and English Language Education Policy in Bangladesh
| 研究者所属（当時） | 資格 | 氏名 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| （代表者） | 文学学術院 | 准教授 | ホサイン タニア |
- 研究成果概要
- Globalization and English Language Education Policy in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is trying to respond to the needs of globalization and it gives importance to the preservation of the national identity. Bangladesh suffers from continual poverty and more than half of the population is living under the poverty line and over the half of the population is illiterate. Past research shows that poor students have less chance of completing any given education cycle than more affluent ones. Both Bangla and English play significant roles in the education systems of Bangladesh. But English is one of the major languages of education and employment. Past research shows that learning English contributes to the social and economic inequality.
This situation still prevails in Bangladesh. Within a population of 160 million, it is estimated that only 3 percent of Bangladeshi people can speak English, and not all of them with great proficiency. Ninety-eight percent of the total population uses Bengali as their first language. However, Bengali has not acquired the honor that it perhaps deserves. The literacy rate at present is 48.7 percent (1998-BBS). Although in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh it is stated that, education should be free and compulsory for all children to such a stage as will be determined by law (Constitution of Bangladesh, Article.17a, P.7) in practice such literacy and education is not to be seen. Many know the alphabet but cannot read books. The vast majority of the population does not know the correct usage of Bengali. Actually, many do not know Bengali in the functional literacy sense. Those who know Bengali need not use it in their socio-economic life. Their social and commercial interaction actually tends to be carried out in English not in Bengali. Thus, Bengali is not properly used either by the very rich or the very poor people in Bangladesh. This is one of the reasons for giving up writing books in Bengali. The Readers are very few. Books are expensive to print and difficult to sell. This problem actually emerges from the deep-seated socio-political and economic problem of Bangladesh .
After independence, the status of English became further enhanced in Bangladesh. The medium of instruction in higher education is English. Middle and lower middle class parents tried their best to send their children to the English medium schools. For some parents, for practical reasons, the importance of English is greater than Bengali. Interest in the learning of the English language is not declining but the proficiency of English is declining. As a second language, English is crucially important. However, the most important question is whether the Bangladeshi needs to learn English from the first grade of elementary school. There are many students who learned English from the age of five but they do not understand it. Learning English from grade one does not reveal its importance as an international language but it does express its importance as an element in school education.
As reflected from the historical documents, for international communication, English is important. In spite of the fact that English plays an important role for the development of Bangladesh, English is important for economic and financial reasons since work abroad is one very significant way of solving unemployment and earning foreign exchange. However, all the economic rewards still accrue to English rather than Bengali. At present it seems that the English language will function as a most important linguistic vehicle in the development of Bangladesh. English in Bangladesh is a prestigious language and it is also a language of power. It is a marker of economic prosperity and social mobility. English is highly esteemed. This situation is stable; nationalism is now taking second place to economic security and prosperity.
Bengali seems to be a hopeful if idealistic symbol of social equality: unlike the elite symbolism of English.
Within a certain socioeconomic group, the upper class and sometimes middle class people use English for everyday conversation and interaction. It is considered to be a sign of affectation, of putting one over one’s peers of considering oneself better than they are. English is something which determines how life should be lived in Bangladesh. It is not only a struggle for power but also a struggle for possession between the elite and the rural people. Bengali may possibly take over this role but it seems that it is a long process.
The purpose of the research was to find out in what ways Bangladesh responded to the globalization and what role has its language policy played? Bangladeshi people are motivated towards English instrumentally not integratively. This implies that English is not a competitor of Bengali but a complement to Bengali. English has been taught in Bangladesh as a compulsory subject for over 150 years but it was never the medium of instruction. It is now used in Bangladesh in different places. The motivation to learn English especially now among the middle lower middle classes is as high as ever because of the access it gives to jobs abroad: in the Middle East and in other parts of Asia such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and also in Europe such as Britain, America, etc. Not only for work in foreign countries but also for getting jobs inside the country, a knowledge of English is necessary. There is hardly a high range or middle-range job, which cannot be obtained without a knowledge of English. However jobs advertised by certain institutions and organizations, such as international companies, embassies and high commissions, UN organizations, and some local commercial companies, specify requirements for competence in both Bengali and English language.
The result shows that in Bangladesh English is not connected with the global capitalism rather it is related with the individual opportunity. Time was not adequate to collect comprehensive historical data and no complete lists of subject-based results of the national exams could be located. Interviews of the policy planner would be needed to fine more reliable results.
Purpose of this research is to find out how language policies are linked with national ideologies and with social inequalities and also argues how Bangladesh has competed with the demands of globalization.
A two-pronged ethnographic method-(a)depth interviews with the key policy planners, and (b)historical document analysis-will use to answer the following questions:
1.