Thesis 2012
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Item A Survey of Communicative Language Teaching at the Upper Primary Level in Bangladesh(East West University, 4/11/2012) Haque, RuaksanaEnglish is the most widely learnt and taught language all over the world. For many reasons, this language is becoming more and more popular in the countries over the world including Bangladesh. As a result, the the learning of English has become more important which is evident of the establishment of more and more English medium schools, introducing English as a medium of instruction at all private universities, and making English as a compulsory subject at all the levels of our education. But, despite all these efforts, English still remains a fearful subject to the students in Bangladesh and yet to achieve its functionality. In this context, we do have a detail fact analysis and probable solutions. The main reason behind the unfulfillment of the objective regardingItem Computer assisted language teaching (CALT) in Bangladesh at tertiary level(East West University, 1/2/2012) Akhter, MahmudaWe live in a world of constantly emerging new technology that challenges the field of education and presents many exciting opportunities. New technologies particularly computer and internet appear to offer possibilities for overcoming geographical and cost barriers of learning. Strategic use of new educational technology can enhance both learning and teaching (Webster and Murphy, 2008) and the introduction of computer in to foreign language instruction seems to conform to the statement. The world is heading towards a knowledge economy and a lot of money will be invested in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). However, the investment will be successful if the teachers and administrators can realize the importance of it and the teachers can execute the system properly. According to Levy (2008), effective CALL requires the teachers to select the appropriate resources and tools based on learners’ level and needs. So it is apparent that teachers’ training is important for the successful implementation of CALL. This study attempted to trace the existing facilities of the universities in Bangladesh. It also focused on teachers’ and administrators opinion regarding CALL. The study was conducted to find out the answers of three central research questions: 1. Do the universities provide technological support required for computer assisted language program? 2. Are the teachers tech-savvy enough to use computer in language teaching? 3. What types of training will be helpful for the teachers to conduct computer assisted language courses? 113 language teachers and 17 administrators of 17 universities (15 private and 2 public) were interviewed to collect data. Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism was used to analyze the data. From the analysis it was found that most of the universities did not have enough facilities required for CALL. Except two private universities, most of the other universities had only one multimedia projector for English department or language courses which was not always available. Two universities did not have any logistic supports for CALL. The teachers were also not very much aware of CALL and its benefits. They hardly had any knowledge of different uses of internet and other e-tools for language teaching. So they suggested different sorts of training that would be helpful for them. The administrators gave a mixed response in their interviews. While some officers expressed their interest in the successful execution of CALL the others were very sly during the interview session. One of the probable reasons could be that they were interviewed in office setting. So they did not feel comfortable to talk about the lacking of their universities. As Vygotsky (1978) says that language learning is highly influenced by the learning community that involves not only the teachers and students but also the parents, institutions, peers and so on. Each member of a learning community can play a vital role in the language learning process. This study proves that trained teachers and assistance of the institutions is important to implement CALL at tertiary level. So it is high time for the teachers and policy makers of tertiary level to think about the execution of CALL in Bangladesh.Item English Pronunciation in Policy and Practice at College Level in Bangladesh(East West University, 4/13/2012) Habib, Rabeya BintePronunciation, despite being an obviously important component of speech and anticipated communication, seems to enjoy little or no room in the policy and practice in Bangladesh. This study, therefore, aimed at exploring the issues of teaching oral proficiency especially pronunciation at the HSC level in Bangladesh. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether students at college level encounter problems in English pronunciation. The present study also aims to unearth reasons working behind the negligence toward pronunciation. To do so, students were interviewed with the Students Interview Questionnaire focusing on problematic utterance in terms of sound and orthography for Bangladeshi learners as suggested by some previous studies (Banu, 2004; Akter, 2007; and Maniruzzaman, 2008). Teachers were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire focusing on the reasons of students’ difficulty in pronunciation, their own attitude toward pronunciation and finally their suggestion for the beneficial implication in this regard. The current study also analyzed the syllabi and curricula and EFT for classes XI-XII for further support. The findings show that pronunciation teaching is inadequate in policy and practice. Finally possible remedial measure for integrating pronunciation with other skills with the help of a Balanced Approach to teaching pronunciation and same inquiries in other setting were recommended.Item "READING COMPREHENSION DIFFICULTIES AT TERTIARY LEVEL IN BANGLADESH: IMPLICATION FOR PEDAGOGY "(East West University, 4/18/2012) RAHMAN, MD. FAYZARIt is common knowledge that along with the other macro skills reading is considered as an active skill plays an important role in the process of teaching and learning language. It is affirmed by Carrel (1997) “for many students reading is by far the most important of the four macro skills, particularly English as second or foreign language.” In term of language proficiency, reading skill has greater importance. It usually known that in the process of developing reading skill some aspects like materials, ways of teaching and students interest have greater importance. This study investigates an important area of reading skill at tertiary level in Bangladesh. It examines the present situation of teaching reading skills of English, the problems students encounter during reading an English text and the learners’ proficiency level of reading skills when they are at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. It also examines the reading materials used at the tertiary level. The methods for empirical investigation in the study include students’ questionnaire survey. Reading components of the syllabus and the reading materials are also evaluated. The thesis consists of 5 chapters: Chapter 1 introduces and establishes the topic focus, outlines the objectives, highlights the problems in the field of study and discusses the significance of the study. Chapter 2 describes literature review in which it has been described different studies inside and out side of the country on reading skill. Chapter 3 briefly discusses the methods usually used in ELT research of this type, and the methods used in the present study. It discusses the instruments used for questionnaire survey, interview, and tests of reading skills. It also presents sampling plans for each method. Chapter 4 presents the results and analyses the data. It includes the results collected through the empirical investigation. Chapter 5 presents a summary of the findings, discusses the implications of the findings and makes some recommendations for improving the reading syllabus, materials and pedagogy in Bangladesh. It includes a general conclusion. The findings show that students’ present level of reading is not up to the mark; the reading pedagogy used in the country is also in most cases backdated.Item THE PRACTICE OF INDEPENDENT WRITING AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL IN BANGLADESH: A MYTH OR A REALITY?(East West University, 8/22/2012) Chakraborty, EvaWriting is a unique mode of learning and it makes a unique demand to engage learners to develop their cognitive ability, critical thinking power, higher order intellectual ability and creativity. Practicing of independent writing can enhance these qualities. This study wants to explore the present status of independent writing in Bangladesh at the secondary level classroom. This study also focuses on writing and student’s role to be independent writers. The study uses questionnaire teacher’s adopted techniques for teaching of independent in these classrooms survey and class observation as two main sources data collection procedures for the study. The findings, which are analyzed in both quantitative and qualitative way, indicate that practicing independent writing is still a myth for us. Teaching writing is going on in a traditional and mechanical way without following any scientific and research -based approach to writing. Finally, some recommendations on future direction to develop independent writing have been highlighted being influenced by the theories of social constructivism, constructivism and progressive education and process approach to writing.Item Impact of English Language Teacher Training in Bangladesh(East West University, 4/16/2012) Huda, Md. ShamsulTeacher training is an important aspect in the arena of English Language Teaching. Teachers need to be trained to increase their knowledge in their professional fields and enhance their teaching capabilities. Training is, even, more important when curriculum, teaching approach or methods or course books are changed or modified as teachers need to cope up with the changes and to apply new approach effectively in the classroom. Teacher training programmes have always aimed at the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning and developing the ability in teachers to teach effectively. With a view to enhancing the quality of English language teaching and learning, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach was introduced in Bangladesh and accordingly English teachers have been trained to equip them with the new approach. But question arises about the implementation of the training in the classroom. This study aims at finding out the rate of implementation as well as spotting different kinds of problems that may hinder the implementation of training in the classroom with a view to suggesting some possible ways to overcome them.