Barriers in Learning English

Problems Bangladeshi Students Face in Learning English

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English is a global language. It is the medium through which different cultures and countries are connected. Therefore, the importance of learning English, especially in the context of Bangladesh, is massive. English is considered as a must needed skill in almost every reputed working sector. Educational institutions also focus on English. Parents, teachers and students make a combined effort so that students can have proper knowledge and skill of the language. However, students of our country still cannot develop proper communication skills in English. This shortcoming can be found in most of the graduates as well. There are many issues that contribute to this failure.

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1. The Method: In our country English is taught in GTM (Grammar Translation Method) in which teachers read particular texts and translate them for the students. Grammar is taught methodically like formulas. Students are given some particular questions which they memorize from some notebooks. They learn new words with the help of Bengali language. The method is effective for beginners like primary school students but we need to implement some modern and advanced methods for upper classes. Sadly, from class 1 to 12, all the students are taught in the same method. We need to remember that learning a language means developing four skills in the language- listening, speaking, reading and writing. GTM focuses mostly on reading and writing. As teachers do all the speaking and students are given to write some answers, the speaking skill of the students gets overlooked completely. Moreover, students do not develop self-confidence to speak in English. No time is spent on the pronunciation. As grammar is taught precisely, subconscious habits of using the rules do not develop. Besides, as GTM uses mother tongue, in our case Bengali, the target language- English remains ignored. The class is conducted totally in Bengali?and students do not speak English in class. The students do not develop the habit of thinking in English. They learn to translate their ideas from Bengali to English and vice versa. Everything in the method is taught like formulas instead of a conversational method. Students do not get to explore their ability either. The method is old fashioned and hardly used in America or Europe. We need to find a better method that will be more beneficial and suitable as well for both students and teachers.
2. A misconception: Most of the students of Bangladesh consider English just as another subject that they have to pass and obtain a good grade. They often forget that it is a language and the purpose of language is being able to use that language. As students solely focus on getting a good grade, they do not bother to communicate in the language, they memorize lots of grammar rules and paragraphs and other stuff and forget them eventually as soon as the exam is over. Because of this attitude, a lot of students who have the highest grades cannot use the language for communication purposes. The syllabus is also designed in such a manner. Students are taught the same paragraphs from class 7 to 12, without understanding the meaning of what they are reading. Like other subjects, students believe they can master English by repeatedly solving problems like sentence transformation, and filling the gaps, though, in reality, they had to practice using the language in day to day conversation, in writing their own thoughts and ideas.

3.?????Lack of practice: Some research shows that sometimes students know the words, know the necessary grammar rules but when it comes to speaking or writing something on their own, they cannot express their ideas. This happens due to the lack of practicing opportunities students get. Students memorize vocabularies without knowing how to use them in different contexts. They memorize grammar rules without learning their implementation. Besides, students are not encouraged to think on their own. When it comes to writing, they are told to memorize from notebooks and write them exactly the same to the book. This is a very bad practice. Students should be taught and encouraged to write on their own rather than blindly memorizing from books. In schools, they are taught many things they do not even understand completely. They take the shortcut way of memorizing in order to get a good grade on exams. They do not get to practice using what they are learning to use in real life. It has been proven through research that learning a language is a habit. Since students do not develop the habit of using English in day to day life, their learning remains incomplete.

4.?????Social circumstances: Social circumstance plays a vital role in setting a barrier in learning of the students. As most of the students belong to a society where English is rarely used as a means of communication, they do not get the opportunity to practice the language outside the classroom. Many students suffer from shyness while asked to speak in English. Students from middle class families hardly have an English speaking environment at home. Their parents or relatives are not educated enough or they also lack the ability to communicate in English. Again, using English in day to day conversation with elders sometimes is regarded as bad manners. Thus the students get demotivated in practicing English.

5.?????Underqualified teachers: It is sad but true that most of the teachers in schools and colleges are not qualified or trained enough to teach students properly. In most cases, teachers suggest the students memorize grammar rules and writing stuff. If a student tries to write on his own, he is discouraged and sometimes even punished. The teachers are not skilled enough to conduct the class in total English. Therefore, other advanced methods such as DM (Direct Method), ALM (Audio Lingual Method) can be applied. As many parents cannot afford to send their children to better schools but kindergarten where the fees is less and so is the salary of teachers. As a result, schools cannot afford qualified teachers and so they hire University students who often do not have proper skills and training. Teachers cannot set unique questions on their own. They rely on notebooks and previous years questions. This practice makes the students just go through the notebooks. This creates double problems. First of all they are mainly taught grammar precisely in GTM, secondly, they do not even learn the rules properly. Therefore, unlike other countries who follow GTM, our students are often not capable of translating texts either.?Most of the teachers are not skilled in multimedia either. So, they cannot make their lessons interesting which is our next big problem

6.?????Monotonous lessons: Students are taught in a boring, out of date style. We need to consider the advancement of the current age. As students are used to using cell phones, watching TV and videos on the internet, it has become harder for them to concentrate on teachers' monotonous lectures. They are given the same home tasks of changing sentences or filling in the blanks that they are doing for years. They have to listen to the same speech on different grammar items, memorize the same paragraphs, essays and letters every year. All these make English very boring for the students.?If we compare the current syllabus for class 8 and 10, we will find them almost identical. Besides, schools do not have multimedia systems to provide visual aids. It has been proved that our surrounding affect our learning. Therefore, some methods suggest to make classrooms comfortable while our classrooms are mostly uncomfortable. Also, attending classes always in the same room male it boring for students. Taking classes sometimes in the garden or by a pond or waterlake may provide the students with a new experience and they too will feel fresh and gossiping. If students can be encouraged to gossip in English or told to write a poem on their own or to explain the surrounding on their own, this would help them to a great extent. Sadly however, our schools hardly have gardens or beautiful sights around them. Most of the schools are by the roads and full of noise pollution. For this, students do not enjoy going to schools.

7.?????Class duration: Most schools distribute only 40-45 minutes for each period while the classes consist of 50-60 students. Therefore, teachers cannot focus on every student. In a short time, a long syllabus requires to be covered which puts teachers in a haste. They cannot spend time helping students grow their linguistic skills. According to experts, students spend 5-10 minutes on a topic before starting to write for planning and mind mapping. Since the duration of classes are not enough, students are not given enough time to think and so they memorize as a shortcut. On the other hand, due to the shortage of time, teachers cannot check answer scripts properly nor can they guide students properly on freehand writing.

8.?????Reluctance: Students often feel reluctant to learn new words or to practice free handwriting themselves. If they are told to listen to English radio or read English newspapers or watch English news channels they do not find interest in doing them. Sometimes, they think that they can learn English after completing higher Secondary by doing some English courses which is another wrong idea. Gaining competence in a second language requires much effort and time. Students?lose their motivation soon and just let it go. Again, for them gaining speaking, thinking, listening or writing competence do not seem to be important as they can easily get better scores in exams just by memorizing some pages.

9.?????Age factor: Children often begin their English learning at the age of 7 or later. By this time, they already acquired their first language which hampers and slows learning throughout their English learning. It became difficult for them to learn the new sounds and alphabets and immediately they come to a conclusion that English is a difficult subject or language. Hence they develop a fear of English that restrain their efforts of learning the language. Before they are admitted to schools, at home they are not taught English phonemes. Unlike other countries, Play lr nursery classes are not a source of fun and learning. Little children are forced to memorize some English sounds without learning how to join those sounds to make a full sentence.

The importance of learning English is beyond description. Without proper knowledge of English, it is difficult to have a good career both abroad or in the country. And thousands of students fall victim to this problem. Many meritorious students cannot get their dream job for want of proper knowledge of English. The problem is only getting worse day by day. We need to take proper steps to eradicate this problem. We can do the following things to overcome the barriers:

1.?????First of all teachers should be trained properly so that they can take class in other methods like DM or ALM or even a new method which is more suitable to our context. Also, schools should be more sincere while hiring teachers. How the teachers speak or how much they can develop the thinking skills of the students should be taken under judgment.

2.?????Schools need to be redesigned. Schools should be beautiful and full of life. It should not be a sufferer of noise pollution. This will help the students be attentive in the class. Besides, schools should have gardens and playgrounds so that students can get rid of their fear of school and stress.

3.?????The syllabus too should be redesigned. Exam format has to be redecorated as well. Creativity of the students needs to be given more priority rather than memorizing.

4.?????Students should be encouraged to communicate in English with friends and teachers. They need not be worried about making mistakes. Mistakes are Only a way of learning the right things.

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English is a must in this modern era. We cannot but focus on removing the barriers of learning English in order to build a potential youth who will be not just local but global employees and leaders. Most of the teachers are not qualified, schools are uncomfortable, students bear wrong ideas, the syllabus is not ideal- these are the problems that are barring our students from learning proper English and soon we need to overcome them.