English in Bangladesh as a Corporate Language: Problems and Solutions

Abstract

In Bangladesh a number of foreign languages like Arabic, French, Japanese, Persian, etc. are used for various purposes. Besides, for a number of reasons only one foreign language i.e., English is taught as a compulsory subject across primary, secondary, higher secondary, and even the tertiary levels. English is used as a lingua franca for global communication. For this reason, to deal with different international bodies and organizations working within and outside the country people need English. English gives us easy access to the ever-expanding knowledge of science and technology, arts and education, innovations and discoveries as all the works - books, journals, reports, research-findings - are available in English. English as the language of information technology has, in fact, made the whole world a global village. English for occupational/ professional purposes can help find jobs in other countries. But unfortunately the standard of English in Bangladesh is deplorable. Students who are applying for jobs could not get a better job in the corporate world because of their inefficiency in English, although it is taught from the very beginning of their education. In this research the researcher intends to highlight the problems and prospects of corporate English. The research sites were located at different Corporate houses of Dhaka city. Both qualitative and analytical methods have been incorporated in the study in analyzing the data. Based on these, few recommendations have been made to create awareness and to minimize the problem.