ITllnia Hossain
Engnsh as a GlobaI Language in Post-ColoniaI
South Asia: Perspective on Bangladesh
一
八
一
English has gained status ofgiobaHanguage in 1900’s. This is a revolutionary
period in the neld oflinguistics varieties. ln this decade intemet emerged, awareness
of the crisis of endangered language increases and also increases public awareness
ofthe position ofEnglish as a global language (Crystal,2003),Without a question
most people will agree in the world that English is a global language. Undoubtedly
English is regarded as a global language. lt is either used as a first language, second
language or as a fi)reign language in almost every country of the world. ltisbyno
means divested itself of a cultulal public context. English plays two important
roles: one is that in post-colonial contexts. ln many countries, English plays an
important role in the educational systems where 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. lt
distinguishes the well~educated and economically advantaged urban dwellers fiom
the undereducated and economically distressed rural population. At the same time,
English is now emerging all over the world as a medium of communication。
lt is said that English was in the right place and at the right time (Crysta1,
2003).English was a language ofBritish colony at the 19th century as well as the
leader of the industrial revolution. ln the 20th century, it became a language of a
super economic power U.S.A.and also it is the language oftechnologies, linguistic
opportunities,intemet,broadcasting authorities.AIl these incidcnts make English
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English as a GIobal Language in Post-CoIonial South Asia: Perspective on Ban9ladesh
as an intemationally leading language politically, economically and academically.
The history of English education in Bangladcsh has been the history of
coIonization.English gained a foothold in the subcontinent (Bangladesh,lndia and
Pakistan)with the advent ofBritish rule which lasted almost fi)r 200 years. During
the British period(1757-1935),English become the m4jor language of
administration,govemment, and intemational relations in the subcontinent. The
accesstojobswascloselytiedtotheknowledgeofEnglish.KJIowledge of English
was limited to a ccrtain number of people. The British came to Bengal in 1757 and
were present unti1 1935; no reliable data are available regarding language policy
and education p011cy. lt is assumed that there was no specific language and
education policy at that time・ lt is a1so not evident the British wanted to teach
English to the people of the lndian subcontinent. Rather,the situation is opposite・
At first, the British placed importance on Iocal languages, but it was the lndians
who at first wanted t0 1eam the English language. For instance in 1 820, the people
of the town Panswell expressed their desire t0 1eam English and they wrote to the
Govemor of Bombay that “t0 1eam English that we may be empIoyed in your
service and maintain ourselves” (Parulekar 1955:133, quoted in Rahman, 1995, p・
30).ln 1823, the Govemor ofBombay wrote that,
“A man with such knowledge of English as we require, would easily get 150
0r 200 rupees as a clerk to a merchant” (Basu 1952: 203, quoted in Rahman, ibid).
lt is to be noted that most of the demands for leaming English came 斤omthe
Hindus,and the Muslims were anti-British. lt is evident in Shah Abdul Aziz’s
statement,he mentioned, “it was abhorrent and, therefore,improper to leam
English, either for a better relationship with the English or for empIoyment under
the㎡’(Mujeeb 1967: 398, quoted in Rahman, ibid).To some orthodox Muslims,
English was inimica1. ln 1935, an Educationa1 Committee noted that Arabic and
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Persian would not be treated as qualifications fbr getting a job. At that moment
Muslim students understand the importance ofleaming English (Rahman,ibid)。
Reliable data conceming British language policy can be fbund 丘om the year
1935.Lord χVilliam Bentinck who was appointed as a Govemor-General lndia in
1928 accepted the Minute, which was formulated in 2nd February 1935 by Thomas
Macaulay. His Minute asserts the supremacy of English and χVestem culture.
BentinckwasavigorouspromoterofEnglisheducationinthelndiansub-continent.
His main interest was to create an anglicized lndian elite. He aIso recommended
that vemacular languages should be used among the masses. Maculay was supporter
ofEnglisheducationandheldthatIocalpeoplewouldwelcomethisminuteifitled
to incrcase empIoyment. This change can be observed in 1835 (the Govemor-
General-in,CounciPs resolution)which declares:
“The great object of the British govemment ought to be the promotion of
EuTopean literature and science among the natives of lndia; and that all the funds
appropriated fk)r the purpose of education would be best empIoyed in English
edueation aIone” (Sharp 130, quoted in Rahman, 1995,p.37)。
He aIso suggested that Madrassah (lt is one kind of Boarding SchooIs where
religious education is taught to the students usually to the poor students)and the
Sanskrit college of the Muslims should be abolished and no sch01afship will be
given for onentaI studies and all the Arabic and Sanskrit books should be ceased. lt
really creates an agitation among the lndians especially those who were supposed
to Iose their income and social status because of this change (Rahman,ibid).The
reaction of the Muslims was very extreme because they thought that they would
suflbr if Madrasah 丘om Calcutta were abolished. As Madrassah was a source of
income for many Muslims, some Muslims held the view that the Govemment
wanted to transfer people to Christiamty. The agitation continued but the policy
remained unchanged. 0n the other hand, the reaction of the Hindu Bengali was
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En911sh as a Global Language in Post-Colonial South Asia: Perspective on Ban9ladesh
divided into two groups. 0ne approved of westemizationand thc other supported
traditionalism.The traditionalists organized themselves and establishcd Dharma
Sabha(a kind of religious meeting).The lndians reaction to the Macaulay Minute
wasambivalentanddividedthroughouttheBritishperiod.Those who were working
fbr the British were supporters ofthis policy and the others were not. This language
policy increased theuseof English in all domains of lndia especially in the higher
leveIoftheJudiciary.ActuallytheBritishdesiredthattheEnglishshouldeventually
be the language of business throughout the country. However, Lord William
Bentinck realized that the imposition of English language for al1 10cal languages
would be impossible and then in one Resolution Governor-General-in-Council
declared that lndian people could conduct Judicial and fiscal proceedings in any
language that they understand. Thissortofcontroversywentonatthetimeofthe
British and the British did not formulate any clear language p011cy. However,the
lndian elites were the supporters of an overa1I British language stance (Rahman,
ibid)。
ln 19471ndia gained its independence from the United Kingdom and then
Pakistan separated fiom lndia. Language plays an important play in Muslim
separatism in South Asia. Hindi was a part of the Hindi separatism and also the
identity marker of Hindu. The Hindi-Urdu connict constantly divides lndia and
Pakistan.Historically,East and West Pakistan fought fbr their identity. Bengali was
the identity fbr the East Pakistan and Urdu for the identities of the West Pakistan.
ln 1952 the East Pakistan emerged with the language movement Known as “The
Bhasha AndoIon” (Rahman,ibid).The language movement led to the recognition
ofBangladesh in 1971. Here l want to explain history of Bangla language.
一七八
History of the Bengali Language
The Bengali language has a 10ng history and in an area that today includes not
IZ9
only Bangladesh but also West Bengal and K01kata in lndia. lt is a member of the
lndo European family of languages. ln the tenth centtlry Bengali emerged from
Prakrit or Middle lndo-Aryan. The modem Bengali script derives from Brahmi
Alphabet in 273 t0 232 BC. ThehistoryoftheBengalilanguagecanbedividedinto
three periods: 01d Bengali (950-1350),Middle Bengali (1350-1800)and Modem
Bengali(1800 to the present day)(Bengali language: Retrieved August 3 1 , 2006,
丘om http://1anguages.iIoveindia.com/bengali.html)。
Only Forty-eight poems of 01d Bengali between the years of 1050-1200 have
survived.These are knoxvn asdαnノa songs, which are composed by siddhacharyas
who were Buddhist. Middle Bengali covers, fiom the 14th century to the middle of
the 1 9th century. The content ofthe 15th century Bengali literature mainly consists
ofnarrative poetry, the theme ofwhich is basically religious.Among these Krittivas’
Ramayan,Srikrishnavりaya,Srikrishnakirttan etc. 1 6th centuries Bengali literature
deaIs with the epic poems. Epic poems ofthat time mainly deal with the stories of
popular goddesses like Chandi and Manasa. At the end ofthe century, Vaishnavism,
a new lyrical poetry combined with music, emerged.Seventeenth century literature
dealt with the romantic verse, and was mostly composed by Muslims. The romantic
verse Sati Mayana was written by the Bengali Daulat kazi, the nrst Bengali
Arrakanese poet who wrote romantic verse. Secular poetry and narrative verse took
an amnity in eighteen century Bengali literature; at the end ofthis century, the Kavi
and Panchali forms ofpoetly came into being (ibid)。
The nineteen-century was a period when the renaissance of Bengali took
place.The ev01ution started from the later half of the century, with the emergence
ofaprosestylevisibleatthebeginningofthisperiod.This period begins from the
establishmellt of the Fon William C011ege in K01kata by the British. Thc foundcrs
ofmodem Bengali poetry were Datta (1834-1873)and Bankim Chandra Chattedee
(1838-1898).The nrst Bengali poet who wrote blank verse and combined westem
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English as a GIobal Language in Post-Colonial South Asia: Perspective on Bangladesh
innuence and lndian literature was Michea1 Madhusudan Datta. £)u啄eshnandini,
the nrst Bengali romantic nove1, was written by Bankim ChandTa.A huge renewal
can be seen in the drama and literary prose in this age. Poetry also became popular
in this age. Rabindranath Tagore poet, novelist, short story writer, dramatist,
essayist and literary critic gave a new meaning of Bengali literature. He received a
NobeI Prize for his poem Gitanjali and he was the first lndian poet who received the
NobeI Prize. TheModemageofBengaliliteraturebeginswiththeestablishmentof
theAr£フ//θ/,amodemistmovementmagazine founded in 1923 by a group ofwriters.
Kazi NazruHslam and Mohitla1 M4jumdar were among the most famous poets of
this age (ibid)。
Many languages have influenced Bengali vocabulary. Due to Islam, a strong
Perso-Arabic innuence can be seen in such as greetings “Salaam aleykum” (peace
be unto you)and the reply “Wa aleykum as-salaam” (unto you a1so peace)as well
as the names ofthe family members “abba” (father)and“amma”(mother).Because
of British c010nization, a strong inf1uenceofEnglishcanalso be seen in Bengali
vocabulary such as table, timn etc. Currently,because of the g10bal nature of the
English language, Bengali borrows many words n・om English such as television,
telephone,vide0,radio etc. ButinBangladeshEnglishisnotcompetitorofBengali
and a1so it is not used as a lingua franca. lt is mother tongue of 98 percent people of
Bangladesh.ln the later chapters l will discuss the status of Bengali and English in
Bangladesh(Bangla- The o伍ciaI Language of Bangladesh: Retrieved 3 1 August,
2006,from http://www.betelco.co㎡bd/bangla/bangla.html)・
Dialects of Bangladesh
Very few studies have done on dialects in Bangladesh to date. Many groupings
eχist regarding dialects on Bangladesh. Inonegroupjt is mentioned that dialects
of Bangladesh can be divided into four groups:
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一七六
A110therlypoIogy divides Bengali dialects into two m司or categories: 1. Spoken vs.
literary variants
2.Regional variants.
2.1 PhonoIogical vanations
2.2 Fricatives
2.3 Tibeto-Burman influence (Bengali Dialects: Retrieved 15 July, 2007,
110m http:// en.wikipedia.0rg/wiki/Benga1しdialects)
1.North Bengal dialects which include Dinlljpur, R耐shahi,Bogra and
Pabna.
2. R4jbanshi,the dialect of Rangpur・
3.East Bengali dialects which include Dhaka, Mymensingh,Tripura,
Barishal,Shyhet,Faridpur,Jessore and Khutna.
4.South Bengal dialects which include Chittagong, Noakhali and the
dialects of Chittagong Hil1 Tracts which are spoken by Chakmas and
Murongs
(Dialect: Banglapedia Article: Boi-Mela (Book Fair),Retrieved 15 July 2007,
fiom h即://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/Dj)212.htm)
Spoken and Literary Variants
Bengali has a strong diglossia between the spoken and written f1)rms ofthe
language, Two difTerent written forms eχist in Bengali. They are known as
Shadhubhasha and Cholitobhasha.
一七五
Shadhubha硫a.ThetcrmShadhu mcans ‘chastc’ andBhashamcans ‘1anguagc’・
Shadhubhasamostly used in modem writing. ln the wTitten system of品α励功みα∫α,
most ofthe vocabulary derived 丘om Sanskrit and the verb innections is 10nger than
182
Cholilobhasha.Thetermchonto means ‘current’ and Bhasameans ‘language’
・
C加/加晶心αis written in colloquial idiom、Cholitobhasa is standard of written
Bengali. Wtiting in C/,。/汲7晶む加become popular at 19th century. The writings of
Peary Chand Mitra (Ålaler ghare dulal),Pramatha Chowdhury (SabltjPatra,Jgj4)
and later Rabindranath Tagore renect this form (Bengali Dialects: Geographical
distribution: Retrieved 1 5 July, 2007,fyom http://en.wikipedia.0rg/wiki/Bengalし
dialects)。
The variation 017 Chohtobha油ais faf more in the spoken form rather than
written form. Formal spoken Bengali like news reports, speeches, announcements
and lectures delivered on Chontobha油a、The spoken form oI Chonlobha硫ahas
many variation and those are known as j刀c力θ/jc召力心α(regional Bengali).Mostof
Bangladeshi people can communicate in more than one dialect. Sometimes speakers
are nuent in Chohtobhashajn onejηc/zθ/jc召力心αand aIso in one Gn7朋房Qβ/1心α
(rura1 Bengali).The difTerences of these dialects are mostly phono10gical and
phonetic one rather than grammatical one. Some dialects share the feature of
Shadhu Bhasa(ibid),
English as a Global Language in Post-Colonial South Asia: Perspective on Ban91adesh
Cholilobhasa.The national anthem oflndia is composed in Shadhubhasa(Bengali
Dialects: Retrieved l 5 July, 2007,n・om http://en.wikipedia.0rg/wiki/Benga1し
dialects).
一七四
RegioBaIVariants
The name ofthe regional dialects generally originates f10m the districts where
the language is spoken. There isnoagreement of the description of regional
dialects.Even the standard Bengali language does not show how many dialects are
available in the Bengali language. ln spoken Bengali regionaI variation constitute a
dialect continuumL Speech varies with the distance of few miles. Among the
183
religious communities speech also takes distinct fk)rms.
?/1θ77∂/θがcα/vαΓjαΓjθ心.ln the westem and eastem Bengal, there is a marked
phon010gical difTerence between the speeches of Bengalies. The grammar is same
but only difTbrence is on accent (ibid).
Fricat佃es.The difference of n・icatives is visible between the Kolkata and
Bangladeshi Bengali. Many stops and am・icates in Kolkata Bengali are pronounced
as fi‘icatives in Dhaka (ibid)。
77かeΓθ-jz4r。7α,7 iy!/yz4Ez7cE.The innuence of Tibeto-Burman language is seen in
the Bengali language. The i㎡1uence is mainly on phonoIogy. lt is visible through
the lack ofnasalized voweIs in Bengali and, a more n・onted place of articulation for
the apico-postalve01ar stops and the lack of distinctions between two “/r/ sounds”
or “ tw0 1iquids” (ibid)・
Sometimes different speakers pronounced same words in a dif秘rent way. lt
happens because of socia1, educationa1,cultural and religious persuasion. This
variety is widely visible among the Bengali speakers.
Bangla language has 10ng history and culture and a1so in spite of the thrust of
the Bengali language movement and afier the independence ofBangladesh English
plays a continuing important role in Bangladesh. Today,about 3 percent of the
population of Bangladesh is using English as a second language (Baumgardner,
1996,p. 1).English is aIso assigned importance in a1I Education Commission
Reports.lt is used as a medium of communication in the intemational and gIobal
community. Nationalist sentiments strongly promote the indigenous language,
Bengali,in place of English, and the Bengali lmplementation Act (1987)in
Bangladesh revea1s this fact. ln spite ofthis movement and its legalization, English
isstillbcing1camcdandisamarkcrofsocial,cconomical and p011tical advancemcnt
of South Asia (Baumgardner,ibid)・
English retained its o伍cial standing within the Bangladeshi society, continuing
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En911sh as a Global Language in PosI-Colonial South Asia: Perspective on Ban9ladesh
to be used within the legal system, govemment and secondary and higher education.
The acquisition of English is linked with economic and educational gain while
English education is accessible to a very fbw people ofBangladesh. The aim ofthis
paper is to state English as a global language in South,Asia with special reference
of Bangladesh.
The bulk of data in this paper consists of results of interviews with thirteen
policy planners. ln this paper l will discuss what the policy planners think about the
present educational system ofBangladesh. This paper is organized by the key ideas
or themes. This paper presents the responses of the policy planners that were
acquired through in-depth interviews. ln this chapter I will discuss policy planner’s
views over the status of Bengali and English education, necessity of English
education,medium of instruction p011cy in the secondary school and methods of
English teaching in Bangladesh.
l tried to conduct the interviews in a very informal way. l tried to use the
langulage/thlolugh which inlterviewees felel colmfolrtable.Moslt ofthe policy planners
spoke in English, but two of them seemed to me fbeling comfortable speaking in
Bengali.l conducted their interviews in Bengali. lnterviews took place in p011cy
planners’ homes and other Iocations.
l nrst explained to the interviewees that l had come f¥om Japan where l am
studying.l explained to them that l am working on English language education
policy ofBangladesh. lt01dthemlamparticularlyinterestedtoknowabouttheuse
of English and its importance in our education system. l also showed them my
interview questionnaire. I sometimes gave my interview questionnaire to the
interviewees prior to my interview, as some of them were busy and did not have
time to answer my questions.
All the collected data were recorded. The recorded versions were transcribed
and the data were reduced to fomlat for coding. ln the following paragraphs l wiII
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一七二
deal with the results of my interviews. l wi11 100k at the debate on language policy
with specific reference to the place of Bengali and English.
IS English Threatening Bengali?
The constitution of Bangladesh states Bengali is a national language of
Bangladesh(Bangladesh constitution, 1979)and Govemment declared English as
a second rather than a foreign language (Zaman,2004).My second question asked
to the interviewees was whether English threatens Bengali (Here by threatening l
mean the problem of survival of Bengali language).ln this section l will discuss
interviewees’viewsofthepositionofBengaliinBangladesh。
AIl thirteen interviewees agree that English is not threatening Bengali. They
believe that Bengali is a we11-established language and there is no concem about its
surviva1.Bengali is given importance in the constitution and it is used in the
parliament.Bengali has a high priority almost everywhere in Bangladesh. There is
no competitor of Bengali language. lt is the o伍cial language, it is used extensively
everywhere and in every sphere of life. English is a required language fbr
intemationalism and job opportunity, but it can never take the place ofBengali. ln
this view, there is no connict between Bengali and English. These tw0 1anguages
are not competitors but instead complement each other。
One ofthe interviewees mentioned that English does not threaten Bengali but
Bengali threatens many other minority languages, such as Marma. Minority
speakers need to leam Bengali t0 1ive in Bangladesh and Bengali is accessed by
almost all people ofBangladesh. Bengali has a 10ng tradition, literature,culture and
history
ln this section l discussed p011cy planners’ views regarding the Bengali
language and its survival. All the interviewees think that English does not threaten
Bengali at al1. Bengali has its enriched literature and culture. There is no question
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English as a GIobal Language in Post-Colonial Soulh Asja: Perspective on Ban9ladesh
regarding the survival of Bengali. But Bengali threatens many minority languages
in Bangladesh.
English lMedium lnstruction
One of the policy planners fllvored more emphasis of English language in
education and language p011cy, due to the relation between English and economic
deveIopment. According to him, Bengali is a national language of Bangladesh,
used widely in Bangladesh, but fbr intemational eχchange and dip10matic reasons
knowledge of English is necessary. He mentioned that language policy of
Bangladesh emphasizes Bengali but in reality knowledge of English is necessary
everywhere. Thus there is a gap between the language policy and reality,
He recommended that a healthy language policy should give more emphasis
to English. English education needs to be more accessible and more use恒1 for al1,
both in remote areas as well as in urban areas, though it would not be an easy task
to d0.
Bengali Nledium lnstruction
Eight among the thirteen interviewees favored Bengali as a medium of
instruction in aII streams. They preferred to introduce English as a subject to study
not in the primary level but in the secondary level. 0ne ofthem said,
Actually we do not have any proper language p011cy in that sense. l do not
know about English whether it is a foreign language or second language. How
EnglishwillbetaughtandwhatkindofmethodoIogywillbefollowedisnotknown.
But l personally think that English should be taught from grade six. lfstudents leam
English f10m grade six up to grade tweIve, l think that is enough for a student to
study at the higher studies. As you know the medium of instruction in the higher
education is English.
Eight of the interviewees recommended that English should be introduced in
18Z
一七〇
the secondary level but not in the primary level while f1)ur of the policy planners
recommended English should introduced from primary level. 0ne of the p011cy
planners had no opinion regarding this. According to these eight p011cy planners,
Bengali teaching is not adequate and needs to be improved. Many Bengali teachers
do not know standard Bengali. They use regionaI Bengali in the class. They a1so do
not know how to teach Bengali. Therefore,govemment should work to improve the
textbooks in Bengali and Bengali teaching。
The interviewees favor implementation of English-medium instruction from
the secondary level because of the availability of the textbooks. Most of the
textbooks in the higher education are in English. So,at present knowledge of
English is necessary. Govemment should take m4jor efTort to translate books into
Bengali or to produce original books in Bengali. Although the Bangla Academy has
done a lot in this regard, many m4jor attempts need to be taken. Supporters of this
approach argue that mother-tongue education is the most efTective education for all
levels of the educationaI system.
BilinguaI Education
Three among the thirteen interviewees mention that English should be
introduced丘om first grade ofthe school. They argue that English is necessary for
globalizationso xve cannot implement only Bengali as a medium of instruction.
Theyfllvorabilingua1-education system from the first grade. They recommend that
the process of English teaching needs to be refbrmed. Bangladesh needs to
implement communicative methods rather than grammar translation methods fbr
English teaching. AII streams of education should fbl10w the same methods。
ln this section l discussed the views of the p011cy planners on medium of
instruction p011cy. There are disagTeements regarding this issue. Eight ofthe p011cy
planners prefer mother-tongue medium of instruction with the implementation of
English丘om the secondary scho01, three of the p011cy planners prefer a bilingual
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一六九
English as a Global Language in Post-Colonial South Asia: Perspective on Bangladesh
education system with the implementation of English fyom the first grade of school
and one of the interviewees argued English should be given more emphasis in the
language p011cy. Although there are disagreements among the policy planners, aII
ofthem support English education 丘om the nrst grade or 丘om the secondary level.
Benelits of English Language
Bangladesh faces son!eofthe most dimcult problems in educationaI systems
in thc world. 38%of the population is initcrate. Although the constitution of
Bangladesh declares that education should be free and compu1sory fk)r a1I children,
in reality many people know the alphabet but cannot read books (Hossain&
ToIlefion,2006)and 42.7 percent people live beIow the poverty line (Ahmed,
2002).χVithin this socia1 conteχt, English remains a language of education and
empIoyment,but English is accessible to a very few people in Bangladesh,
especially in rural areas (Hossain&ToIlefson,2006).My fourth question to the
interviewees was: Can English be a language that will be helpful for al1? ln this
section l will discuss p011cy planner’s views regarding the benents of English
education in Bangladesh.
There are disagreements among the policy planners over this issue. Eight of
the policy plannersrnentioned that English can be a language that would be help血l
for a11. Supporters of this view believe that one can survive in Bangladesh without
the knowledge of English, but fbr a better life, knowledge of English is necessary.
According to them, Englishisnecessaryforgettingjobsinmultinationa1companies,
fk)r getting jobs abroad, for social and economic reasons, f1)r globalization and aIso
fbr higher education in Bangladesh. They also argue that Bangladesh needs a model
for English language teaching which would be appropriate for this country. lfthe
present education system changes, English can be a language that would be helpfUI
fk)r a11.
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一六八
Three among the thirtccn p011cy planners believes that English could be a
helpfill language fbr a certain number of people, but not for everyone, English has
little value for people like fishermen or peasants who rarely leave their villages・
Bilingualism is a burden for them. Supporters ofthis approach believed that English
can be helpful fk)r some, especially those who go f1)r higher education. But in
Bangladesh very few people go for higher education. English is not necessary or
helpful for a11。
1n this section l fi)cused on the policy planner’s views regarding the benents
of Enがlish.Therel arel disagrelements amongl thel p011cy plhlnnersl regardinlg lthe
necessity of English. Some of them mentioned that knowledge of English is
necessaryforallandothersmentionedthatknowledgeofEnglishwouldbehelpnlI
only for some.
GoalOfBengalijVlediumEduCatiOn
ln Bangladesh, the fbrmal education system consists ofthree types of scho01
which are distinguished by the medium of instruction and aIso by the role of
religion.Most rural public schools and many urban schoolsareBengali-medium
schools(Hossain&T011efson,2006).My finh question was: W11at is the goa1 0f
Bengali-medium education? There are no disagreements among the p011cy makers
over this issue. AII ofthem agree that the goaI ofBengali-medium education is to
educate young people to become educated citizens of the country. 0ne ofthem
stated,
“The aim of Bengali medium education is to truly educate an individual. This is
likely to be achieved by providing appropriate knowledge and moral values. These
moral valucs arc consistent with thc spirit of Bcngali nationalism and cultures.
Bengali medium education would ultjmately help one to grow uph01ding these
cultural traditions and values.”
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一六七
En911sh as a GIobal Language in Post-CoIonial South Asia: Perspective on Bangladesh
Another clear goal of Bengali medium education is to develop the Bengali
language itselfl The history of the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent
nation is clearly connected with the language movement. 0ne of the 血nctions of
the Bengali medium education is to reemphasize Bengali in all spheres of national
lifb.
GOaI Of EngUsh lVlediUm EducatiOn
Beside the Bengali-medium schools, there are also many English-medium
schools in Bangladesh, where t�