English is the world’s most commonly spoken language, with 2 billion speakers. The British Council interviewed six English language students in order to gain a greater grasp of how their English classes impacted their everyday lives.
They learned that English, as the most widely spoken language, was a liberating force, permitting them to compete in their fields of work, pursue higher education abroad, and improve their capacity to access information and establish networks online.
After dedicating time and effort to learning English, you will be able to converse with about 20% of the human race and will be open to all of these cutting-edge opportunities!
So what are you waiting for?
Challenges And Opportunities For English Learning In Bangladesh
Learning English in Bangladesh presents significant challenges, including problems connected to teachers, students, curriculums, and teaching, among others.
Because of the appalling education program, in which English is learned in a very subtle way without exploring the core, students frequently use memorization as a strategy to pass the exam, particularly in Bengali Medium.
Despite the challenges, there are still many ways to learn English effectively. Providing the necessary training to make skilled teachers who can assist a large number of students in learning English which can increase the opportunities of students in Bangladesh to reach out to the world and achieve higher goals.
Effective Strategies to Teach Kids English
To keep children focused and prevent them from forming a fear of the language, English teachers have to use distinctive fluid, and engaging methods. Here are a few effective strategies:
- Set a Routine: Develop a consistent practice regimen that includes short and sweet satisfying sessions.
- Play Games: Make learning more entertaining by using activities such as flashcards, Pictionary, and crosswords.
- Use Songs or Rhymes: Show videos of actions that will assist children comprehend the meaning of songs and rhymes.
Teaching English can be challenging for some. However, we are going to break the assignment into sections to better understand the scenario and make learning easier and clearer.
Section 1: Understanding the Learners
1. Age Group Differentiate
We separate learners depending on their age and learning abilities. Based on these elements, we may create different strategies for different types of learners.
Preschoolers (3 to 5 years old):
Teaching English to preschoolers includes determination, enthusiasm, as well as effective classroom management.
- Keep your message plain and uncomplicated. Kids will disconnect if your directions are excessively lengthy and full of waffles.
- TPR (Total Physical Response) is your friend. Create activities in which kids can produce words through bodily actions, such as standing up, sitting down, or standing by a window.
- Make them interact with each other. Create scenarios among them and let them role-play. It will be both fun and educational for them.
Elementary / Primary School (6 – 12 years) :
During this time, students learn the basics of English, and the alphabet, improve their vocabulary, and how to read tiny texts.
The beginning of English education using the communicative method focuses on developing abilities such as writing, reading, listening to English, and spoken communication in children.
Furthermore, the lessons and assignments have an authentic theme, with dialogues and materials about family, weather, school, hobbies, work, and so on.
High school (13 to 17 years old) :
To create an optimal atmosphere for learning, high school English teachers must enhance students’ ability to speak by using pronunciation cassettes, interactive whiteboards, internet devices, literature, and role-playing.
Use grammar exercises and writing challenges to hone students’ expressions.
Activities include vocabulary development, collaborative learning, and methods of criticism for evaluation.
2. Cultural Context
In Bangladesh, cultural influences influence how English is acquired and utilized. Historical associations, societal immigration, and ideals all contribute to the image of English as a representation of status and opportunity. This impacts people’s drive to learn the language and their mindsets towards it.
Incorporating Local Instances And Situations Into Lessons
To enhance English learning experiences, teachers could bring local examples and situations into their classes.Teachers may render learning easier and pleasurable for students by using traditional cultural references such as Bengali literature, rituals, and festivities.
Using local examples helps to bridge the gap between the English language and the students’ daily lives, making learning more convenient and applicable.
Section 2: Creating Engaging Lessons
1. Interactive Activities
Learning a foreign language is not deemed difficult and involves significant effort. In the classroom, students are not hesitant to make mistakes when doing tasks. At the same time, you can add songs, cartoons, and friendly competition to the lesson to keep it exciting.
To practice practical actions
- Snow globe – the first student announces a new word, the second repeats it and adds their own, and so on, until a group of 10 or more words is obtained. Instead of words, you can use taught rules or grammatical examples; it is all up to the teacher’s ingenuity. Children can sit or stand in a circle, without needing to be at their desks.
- Talking ball- the teacher throws the ball and delivers the word; the student must return the ball to him with the translation.
- Friends- activity involves students passing the toy around and asking each other questions on the material they have covered.
- The Guessing game- This involves participants guessing the subject by creating outlines on the board employing already-owned words.
- A Check Your Luck- This game requires an enormous alphabet or sliced letters in a bag. The aim is for the child to randomly pull and poke the letter, naming as many words as possible on it.
Incorporating songs, rhymes, and storytelling
- Ask some questions about the title. Before having listened to the song you can teach a couple of words and give a simple task for the first listening. Give three or four words from the song and ask to them to listen out for the words that rhyme with them.
- Highlight any particular verb tense or grammar-related point.
- Research vocabulary, idioms, and expressions.
- Explore the meanings, via additional scenarios as proper.
- Ask questions about objects.
2. Visual Aids and Materials
Using illustrations and digital media for greater comprehension While teacher-created visual aids can help students express themselves, the Kennedy Center recommends that students generate their visual aids.
Incorporating artistic expression into English instruction could assist English language learners gain an expanded awareness of terminology across subjects.
Drawing, performing, and “picto-spelling” are all activities that will help youngsters understand whilst additionally offering them a more accessible means of conveying what they understand.
Multimedia learning is an effective strategy for improving reading comprehension skills, particularly among indigenous children.
Similarly, the use of audio excerpts in listening tasks is beneficial and convenient, resulting in improved attention and concentration among students.
Furthermore, multimedia-based musical media has been discovered to boost listening abilities and comprehension of meaning in English-speaking learners.
Some Recommended resources suitable for Bangladeshi kids:
- https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/country/bangladesh
- https://10minuteschool.com/english-center/
- https://kidstimebd.com/spoken-english-for-kids/
Youtube Channels:
- Speak English With Mr. Duncan
- Easy English
- BBC Learning Englis
Section 3 : Language Acquisition Techniques
1. Emphasis on Speaking
Getting beginners to speak is usually not too difficult. Simple activities and repeating phrases and dialogues are essential. However, what if you want your students to develop English rather than simply filling in the spaces or reading words from their textbook?
Concentrate on getting your point of view across. Your young people’s vocabulary and grammar agreement are still limited at that point in their education, but it does not mean they cannot communicate.
Give students actual situations (introducing themselves, going shopping) and encourage them to role-play using verbal and nonverbal communication, with an emphasis on communicating and delivering a message rather than correctness.
Enable them to make extensive use of visual aids. They may be intrigued by how much they can convey with just a couple of phrases.
2. Building Vocabulary
- Stimulate reading in order to broaden your child’s English vocabulary. And, then, read some more. Reading in English requires one to learn new words. Your mind will constantly be at work as you try to identify the meaning of the words you are reading in the text.
- By writing the word in a complete sentence, you are not simply memorizing a new word, but you are also learning how to use the word in context
- Flashcards are a great way to memorize new vocabulary words. While it is not the most exciting way to master new terms, it is effective. There are many ways to make flashcards, but the basic idea is to include both the word and the definition
- Take vocabulary quizzes
- Ask your students to write down new words and when they have a chance, look up the definitions of these words and write them down.
Importance Of Context And Practical Usage
The importance of creating a solid context while teaching a new language to kids cannot be emphasized. Neurolinguistic research shows that activating learners’ existing knowledge through relevant contexts, scenarios, subjects, and visuals prepares the brain for new language acquisition.
This activation, known as schema, serves as a framework for incoming language, making it easier to retain and integrate into both short and long-term memory.
Context helps students remember and apply the target language more effectively by offering a familiar foundation for learning.
Section 4: Structured Curriculum And Assessment
1. Promoting Learning Objectives
Divide kids into categories while offering them goals for graduating to the next level. If they are now in category A, let them aim for category B, where they will be a fluent speaker, and then progress on to enriched vocabulary.
Structuring lessons for forward-thinking progression:
Daily :
Each day, a similar structure may have followed:
- 10 Minutes: Read the information in a mixture of teacher read, pair examine (to each other), and choral read (all together).
- 5 Minutes: Explain the activity as a demonstration of the day’s reading skill.
- 12 minutes: Children complete the activity in mixed-ability pairs or individually.
- 3 minutes: Feedback from activity/extend learning with an extension.
There is a focus solely on teaching different Reading skills each day while developing their pace, fluency, expression, and general book talk. It’s a crucial lesson to teach every day.
Weekly :
- Week 1: Imitate the text: Children make actions, draw text maps, and engage in drama to memorize the entire text.
- Week 2: Innovation: Now that the students have an idea of the text type, the teacher will be helping them to edit the text/plan their version of this text type.
- Week 3: In week 3, kids are getting ready to edit their initial text from week 1.
Section 5: Engaging Parents and the Community
1. Parental contribution
Importance of parental support in language learning: Castro et al. suggest multiple types of parental engagement. (2015) were the supervision of activities, setting high expectations, maintaining clear lines of communication, and encouraging children to read daily.
Tan et al. (2020) highlighted six factors that they found had a positive effect on student achievement. These were:
- parental academic expectations,
- parental support for child learning,
- parent-child discussion of school matters,
- parental participation in school governance and events,
- parent and child reading together, and
- parental emphasis on education
Tips for parents to reinforce English skills at home
The tools that parents use to assist children can also vary. Ghahdarijani and Rahimi (2021) shared that parents in Iran when assisting their high school students in learning the English language, used tools such as listening to CDs and flash cards and ensuring that their children did their homework at a specific time as methods to aid them in their learning, as well as supplementary books to add their children’s English learning.
Reading English books with children as well as allowing them to watch educational TV programmes were seen as another method of developing English language skills (Madima & Makananise, 2021). Therefore, this is one area where parental literacy habits could play a role.
2. Community Engagement
Considering community initiatives and efforts that improve language exposure:
Community events and programs are a fantastic way to increase English language exposure and capacity. Participating in sports, leisure activities, and public speaking events will improve the kid’s English communication skills.
Additionally, utilizing online resources, language learning apps, and immersion in English media enhances language learning efforts.
Learners who actively participate in these activities can immerse themselves in an English-speaking environment, improve their language abilities, and build confidence in using English in a variety of circumstances.
Section 6: Overcoming Challenges
1. Addressing Common Obstacles
Identifying and overcoming barriers to English learning :
- To address learning barriers and lessen learning challenges, it is important to identify them as early as possible, even before the kid reaches school age. The use of various methods of identification is an important issue to consider when recognizing a barrier to a student in the classroom. Here are several approaches to detecting a barrier to learning:
- Students’ schoolwork: Monitor the learner’s classwork, assignments, projects, oral, written, and practical levels.
- Assessments of pupils: The school’s assessment results are done in a variety of ways, including written, oral, and practical formats.
- Observations: Observing the learner’s behavior (e.g., attention and focus), learning styles, emotional and social engagement, and how the student reacts to situations.
Interviews involve communication with parents, teachers, and other practitioners. Learners are the most likely to discuss their challenges, so it is critical to speak with the student.
Strategies for handling diverse learning needs:
- Motivation: Motivation has a significant role in learning. Lack of motivation will cause learning difficulties. As a result, teachers must push students to learn by providing rewards, playing learning games, and creating an engaging learning atmosphere and experience.
- Basic knowledge: Many learning difficulties in reading and numeracy arise from knowledge gaps, as these two areas rely on systematic skill development. To overcome this impediment, teachers must establish the learning sequences and prerequisite background knowledge for the learning goal.
- Learning challenges: Learners may have difficulty accessing learning materials. This could be because it’s text-heavy and the syntax is hard to understand. Teachers should make sure that all students can understand the learning objectives and methodologies.
2. Adapting To Online Learning
Tips for transitioning to online platforms:
Learning English online is quite different from studying in a traditional classroom. There isn’t always an instructor staring over the shoulder, so one has to motivate oneself. However, the good news is that you can improve your English from the comfort of your own home.
- Create a study timetable. Creating a study timetable can help you stay organized and ensure that you devote enough time to the language abilities you want to improve.
- Create a comfortable learning environment. Where you study can influence your cognitive functioning. Sunlight can improve learning outcomes, but temperature and noise can also influence how you learn. This implies you should set up your learning station in a comfortable, well-lit area.
- Practice reading and writing. While practicing speaking and listening skills, be sure to also work on your reading and writing skills. If you come across a word you’re unsure of, look it up and take note of the word, its meaning, and the translation.
Utilizing digital tools effectively
Numerous digital tools can help you to improve your English skills in various ways. Such as –
- English learning videos
- Using the internet to learn English
- Online translation tools
- Learning English with digital storytelling
Conclusion
These strategies are highly encouraged for improving your child’s English proficiency and preparing them for a rapidly developing world. Here, the strategy divides tough lessons into subunits, making the process more user-friendly, fun, and engaging.
English is a catalyst for future success and Bangladeshi children need to learn it proficiently to face the intricacies of the global landscape. It’s more than just language proficiency; it’s a tool for professional advancement, personal development, and global participation. So, in a world of cutting-edge competition, English is a must.
