Principal Ebrahim Khan in his monumental work ‘Anecdotes from Islam’ quoting a few lines from Syed Amir Ali said that the modern Europe was still working with the legacy, the Arabs left behind. And similarly the people of the sub-continent are working with legacy, the Britishers left behind. 


            British rule in the Indian Sub-continent undoubtedly revolutionized the course of its history. Moreover Europe with its excellence in every hranch of inquiry has been enjoying predominance over other countries of the world. Colonial rule was peripheral but its intellectual predominance is global.
           
 With the defeat of Nawab Serajuddowllah in the battle of Plassey in 1757 India virtually passed into British rule. British culture, British education, British way of life how much were potential in the first half of the 19th century can easily be manifest from the life and activity of Michael Modhusudan Datta, one of the leaders of Young Bengal. During the Muslim rule in the India Persian was the state language of the land. In 1836 English replaced Persian. Though English Language was once only the colonial legacy, but today its rise as an international language is exerting multidimensional influence upon us.
            
 English has already crossed its national boundary and as a language of science and technology its grip is becoming stronger and stronger day by day. Recent statistics points to the fact that about 350 million people speak English as a first language and another 300 million people use it as a second language. 60 countries of the world use it as official and semiofficial language. A large number of international organizations including International Olympic Committee hold meetings in English. It’s important to take note of the fact that 80% of all the information in the world’s computers is in English. So a lot of people connected with fast-moving wheel of modern technology need to speak and write a standard form of English. In most of the job advertisements a good working knowledge of English is asked for.   

English has no enmity with Bangla. Most of the modern architects of Bengali language and literature excelled both in Bengali and English. During the 19th and 20th centuries. Bengali reached such a height under the colonial rule that seems to me amazing. Even during Muslim rule our literary masterminds excelled in Persian and Arabic. Even during British rule Raja Ram Mohon Ray wrote some books in Arabic and Persian. Dr. Mohammad Shahidullah did honours in Sanskriti. Girish Chandra Chandra Sen excelled in Arabic. And he translated the Holy Quran into Bengali. So studying English is in no way inimical to Bangla. All are the excuses found by the kingpins of the evil brain. They have no interest either in English or Bengali.

Language is a vehicle for communication. Minus communication language is dysfunctional. Language combines sound with sight. Communicative competence lies with doing things with a language. A learner should not feel worried about it. He should not be fastidious. The dearth of efficient English teachers is very much perceptible. The teachers like late Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan BA Distinction (English) and late Mokbul Hussain in the context of Bhuapur High School even did not come up to fill in the gap. Perhaps it will not sound irrelevant if I say that 4 students during British Period and Pakistan Period stood first in the S.S.C equivalent examination under Calcutta University and Dhaka Board from a village school like Sontosh Jhannavi High School in Tangail. Among the four illustrious students, the people of Tangail mostly know the name of Justice M.C. Ghosh I.C.S. Principal Ebrahim Khan with his rural background did his M.A. in English from Calcutta University in 1918.

Any educational institution first needs a set of good teachers. Moreover a good syllabus properly designed is of great importance. To master any language is a difficult thing. Our English syllabus cannot produce a Bangladeshi Shakespeare. At best it can impart to him that amount of knowledge, which can help him understand Shakespeare. One now requires having a good working knowledge of English to seek good jobs nationally or internationally. Where the overseas jobs are concerned, a good command of English is greatly needed. Its very much puzzling that most of the learners after 12 years’ toil can neither speak nor write English. Time is up to find an answer to this debacle.     

Present English syllabi starting from class 1 to 12 class are well designed and have the potentials to cope with the prevailing situation. But the problem does not lie with the conception but with the execution.
Reasons:
          
  A lot of reasons working behind the decline in the standard of English teaching in rural Bangladesh.
            a) Expertise in Teaching English is awe fully wanting in the countryside.
 b) With the independence in 1971, the general trend among the affluent in the rural areas is to seek settlement in the towns and that has consequently created a void.
c) The lack of uniform system has also created various standards affecting the general standard.
            d) More up-to-date, more scientific, more pragmatic syllabus is needed.
Remedies:
            Training of the teachers is not sufficient enough to cope with the changing tendencies of the modern world. Monitoring is needed for its successful follow-up. A trained teacher leaves behind his training at the training center and comes back with a blank heart. So no qualitative change is perceptible.

A language learner should aim at four skills:
            a) Fist a learner should learn how to speak English in different situations. Primary level is the foundation laying level. And from there speaking skill should be prioritized. Experts should occasionally supervise the on-going teaching process. The total teaching process should be inter-active. As the ‘Eloquent speaker and mute listener’ pros   is not at all productive in the fitness of things, interactive process should always be encouraged. A mentor accompanied by a teacher in a class can help make class lively and vibrant. A recent Article published in The Daily Star has shed light on this matter. This thing may also be taken in to account.
            b) During our school days reading from the text was compulsory in the classes. We should find out the best from the past.
            c) English papers of different categories should be a compulsory reading for the students.
            d) Viva-voice should be help on speaking and reading skill. Effective test should be made to judge the working knowledge of a student so far achieved.
            e) It is true that a sound knowledge in one’s mother language can help one profusely to learn a foreign language. We can recall Goethe while he said ‘We don’t know one language unless we know the two.’

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