Post on 08-Jan-2023
TITLE
English Language Studies in SUST: Background, Current Status and Future
Prospects
Course No. Eng 525
Course Title: Report Writing and Viva Voce
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degreeof Masters of Arts in English, Shahjalal University of Science and
Technology Sylhet-3114
Instructor:
Dr. Hossain Al MamunAssociate Professor
Department of English, SUST
Prepared by:
Numan AhmadRegistration No. 2009226014
Masters 2nd SemesterDepartment of English, SUST
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology,Sylhet-3114
04 July, 2012
Table of Contents
1.Introduction………………………………………………….... 3
2.Objective of the Study………………………………………… 3
3.Review of Literature…………………………………………... 4
4.Background…………………………………………………… 6
5.The Survey……………………………………………………. 8
6.The Survey Analysis………………………………………….. 9
7.Analysis of the Results……………………………………….. 12
8.The Findings of the Survey…………………………………… 14
9.Future Prospects………………………………………………. 16
10. Conclusion……………………………………………………. 16
11. Bibliography………………………………………………….. 18
12. Appendix…………………………………………………….... 19
2
1. Introduction:
Golbalisation has become a buzzword in the era of
international relations. The process of globalization
obviously requires a common language for International
communication. For many different reasons, English has
achieved the prestige of being that lingua franca. As a
result, it has crossed national borders to reach people who
speak other languages. Statistics show that about 350 million
people speak English as a first language and another 300
million use it as a second language. It is the official or
3
semi-official language in more than 60 countries and of many
international organizations. In Bangladesh, the importance and
usage of English as a second language is rapidly growing. As a
result, each and every university in Bangladesh, whether
public or private, has included English language studies in
the curriculum. SUST is not an exception to this. English
language studies have been included in the syllabi of SUST
from the very inception of the university. Though the
department of English has been launched in 2000-2001 session,
English language is being taught here since 1991, one decade
prior to the establishment of a full-fledged department. In
this report, I have gone through the background of English
language studies in SUST, under which circumstances it has
been started; run a survey to get the present scenario of
language learning, its benefits and drawbacks; and at the end
suggested some policies for the future prospect of language
studies in SUST based on my personal observation and on the
data collected from the students and suggested what
initiatives should be taken immediately to eradicate the
drawbacks.
.2. Objective of the Study:
4
This report is divided into three parts, namely: background,
current status, and future prospects. The objective of the
study is to find out three things. These are:
i. To know the background of English language studies in
SUST; how it has been started, what is the motto of this
language courses and what are the reasons behind starting
language teaching in a Science and Technology university.
ii. To explore the current status of English language
studies and how much of the target is being achieved,
which module of language is more focused and which one is
less focused, what are the problems faced by the students
during their course of study etc. to have a clear vision
of the overall scenario of English language teaching.
iii. To find out the future prospect of English language
studies in SUST.
3. Review of Literature:
Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the
last century. Central to this phenomenon was the emergence of
the concept of “methods” of language teaching. Methodology in
language teaching has been characterized in a variety of ways.
5
A more or less classical formulation suggests that methodology
is that which links theory and practice. Now I will give a
bird’s eye view on some prominent methodologies being used in
language teaching.
Grammar-Translation Method:
The Grammar Translation (GT) Method dominated foreign language
teaching (FLT) in the 19th century and in some respects
continues to be influential in FLT up to date. Proponents of
this method believe that learning a foreign language is
achieved through the constant and fast translation of
sentences from the target language into the learner’s first
language and vice versa. Correct translations of written texts
require (a) knowledge of a vast amount of vocabulary, and (b)
knowledge of rules of grammar, which allow learners to analyse
and understand the construction of target language sentences,
thus preventing their misinterpretation.
Direct Method:
The GT method was replaced by the direct method, posited by
Charles Berlitz in late 19th century. The basic tenet of Direct
or Berlitz’s Method was that second language learning is
similar to first language learning. In this light, there
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should be lots of oral interaction, spontaneous use of the
language, no translation, and little analysis of grammatical
rules and syntactic structures. The Direct Method enjoyed
great popularity at the end of the 19th century followed by a
little decline, but it was revived as Audio-lingual Method in
the middle of 20th century.
Audio-lingual Method:
The outbreak of World War II heightened the need for Americans
to become orally proficient in the languages of their allies
and enemies alike. The Direct Method was modified to suit the
purpose. During the 1950s it came to be known as Army Method,
and later Audio-lingual Method. The Audio-lingual Method was
based on linguistic and psychological theory and one of its
main premises was the scientific descriptive analysis of a
wide assortment of language. On the other hand, conditioning
and habit-formation models of learning put forward by
behaviouristic psychologists were marred with the pattern
practices of the Audio-lingual Method.
Situational Language Teaching:
The Situational Language Teaching (SLT) is and approach, often
termed as Oral Approach, developed by British applied
7
linguists in the 1930s to the 1960s, and which had an impact
on language courses which survive in some still being used
today. The structural view of language is the view behind the
Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching. Speech was
viewed as the basis of language and structure as being at the
heat of speaking ability. It stresses that language must be
taught in situation in which they normally occur.
Communicative Language Teaching:
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) began in Britain in the
1960s as a replacement to the earlier SLT Method. This was
partly in response to Chomsky’s criticism of structural
theories of language and partly based on the theories of
British functional linguists, such as Firth and Halliday, as
well as American sociolinguists, such as Hymes, Gumperz, and
Labov and the writings of Austin and Searle on speech acts.
The functional view of language is the primary concern behind
CLT. The method aims at promoting real communication skill of
the learners. Students learn to use language as a means of
expression. They are able to use language as a means of
expressing values and judgements and the functions that best
meet their own communicative needs. In our country, CLT is
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used as the method of teaching English as a second language
both in the secondary and the higher secondary level.
Other Methods:
The twentieth century has witnessed the emergence of a number
of innovative language teaching methods. Some of these are:
Natural Approach, Total Physical Response, Silent Way,
Suggestopedia, and Community Language Learning. The methods
are often called fringe methodologies, as these are not widely
accepted and only practised by selected number of teachers and
at selected institutions.
4. Background:
It was1st Falgoon of 1397 Bangla Year (February 14, 1991 A.D.).
This day marked the historical and august inauguration of the
academic activities of Shahjalal University of Science and
Technology. Prior to this, two different English language
courses were designed and incorporated in the Syllabi. The
1st course was compulsory for students of all departments while
the 2nd one was optional. These two courses were integrated
into the syllabi primordially from the understandings of the
reality that the English language is a technology by itself;
9
and this was the fruit of far-reaching cerebration of the
founding Vice Chancellor of the University Professor Dr.
Sadruddin Ahmed Chowdhury. So today’s English Department of
SUST had its glorious start as the English Language Department
17 years hence back in 1991.
To teach English; and not to teach about English – this motto lies all
through at the back of offering language courses at SUST. The
result is that students constantly show up uttermost vehemence
to attain English language skills and this zeal of the
learners has already proved an ever proliferating one.
Following the initiation of the prevalent semester-scheme and
the ongoing grading technique during the session 1995-1996
each English language course was bisected as ‘Theory’ and
‘Lab’. This added such an ardour to the already existing
earnestness of students that the Department had to go for
compiling a textbook called English at SUST—Book 1 for the
undergraduates so that they could use it as a fresh and
additional learning aid. Any student who did exceptionally
well in any language course was inspirited by Crest and
Certificate. It is really a matter of great complacence that
bright students have routinely been carrying ‘A+’ or ‘A’ grade
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at repose. A huge number of youthful graduates have been
taking English Language Proficiency Testimonial from the Department and
many of them are availing opportunities of higher education
and coveted jobs home and abroad with the supplementary
assistance of these Testimonials.
This is how one can envisage the four divergent English
language courses the English Department offers to the existent
24 other departments of the University in two consecutive
semesters of First Year Honours classes. The four courses
shoulder altogether 6 credits ranging over 8 independent class
hours.
5. The Survey:A questionnaire of 10 questions has been prepared to collect data from the students about the current status of English language studies in SUST. I have taken students from several departments of the university who are now studying from 2nd Year 1st Semester to 5th Year 2nd Semester and have successfully completed all the four language courses offered by the department of English. As the time is limited and the whole research is conducted by me alone, I have taken only two hundred (200) students as my sample of the research. But, to do so, I have chosen carefully and at random so that we can get the perspectives from as much angles as we can. The particulars of the students, their departments, and semesters are shown below in two different tables. In the first table I have shown how many participants from which department have participated in my survey and the second table shows how many of them belong to which semester.
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Number of participants in the survey from the departments of SUST
Name of the Department Number ofParticipants
Anthropology 5Bangla 5Business Administration 15Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science
6
Chemistry 8Civil and Environmental Engineering
4
Computer Science and Engineering
10
Economics 10Electrical and Electronic Engineering
5
English 45Food Engineering and Tea Technology
4
Forestry and Environmental Science
4
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
4
Industrial and Production Engineering
6
Mathematics 8Petroleum and Mining Engineering
9
Physics 10Political Studies 10Public Administration 10Social Work 7Sociology 9Statistics 6Total Participant 200
Fig: 1Semester wise number of the participants
12
Semester Name Participant’s Number
2nd Year 1st Semester
20
3rd Year 1st Semester
15
4th Year 1st Semester
15
5th Year 1st Semester
10
5th Year 2nd Semester
35
Fig: 2
6. The Survey Analysis:
In this survey I have set up 10 questions for the students.
Out of these 10 questions 8 are close ended questions with
five options each. The rest of the questions are open ended
questions designed to know the participants’ opinions and
their suggestions. In the table drawn below I have shown what
the responses are from the students regarding various
questions put forward to them.
My first question to the participants was “Are you satisfied
with the language courses offered by the dept. of English?”
There were five options for them to answer, i.e. A. Yes, B.
13
No, C. Not much, D. Very much and E. Interesting. The response
of the students and their percentages are given below in the
chart.
Question Options
Number of Participants
Percentage
Q.1. Are you satisfiedwith the language courses offered by the Dept. of English?
A. Yes 46 23%B. No 47 23.5%C. Not
much90 45%
D. Very much
05 2.5%
E. Interesting
12 6%
Total Participants
200
The second question to the students was in the form of a
statement viz. “The courses you have attended on English are
sufficient to develop your skill in English Language.” Here
they were supposed to respond in either A. Strongly agree, or
B. Agree, or C. Neither agree not disagree, or D. Disagree, or
E. Strongly disagree. The details of their responses are
following:
Question Options
Number of Participants
Percentage
Q.2.The courses you have attended
A. Strongly agree
13 6.5%
B. Agree 37 18.5%C. Neither agree nor
47 23.5%
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on English are sufficient to develop your skill in English Language.
disagreeD. Disagree 70 35%E. Strongly disagree
33 16.5%
Total Participants
200
The participants were asked, “Which of the following language
skills is mostly focused on your language courses?” and their
options were A. Listening, B. Speaking, C. Reading, D.
Writing, and E. All of the above. Their responses are
mentioned below in details.
Question Options
Number of Participants
Percentage
Q.3.Whichof the followinglanguage skills ismostly focused on your language courses?
A. Listening 13 6.5%B. Speaking 36 18%C. Reading 18 9%D. Writing 84 42%E. All of the above
47 23.5%
Total 200
“Which of the following language skills is less focused on your language courses?” was the fourth question to the participants and their options were the same as the previous question. What they have said are described in the following table:
Question Number of Percentage
15
Options Participants
Q.4.Whichof the followinglanguage skills isless focused on your language courses?
A. Listening 38 19%B. Speaking 93 46.5%C. Reading 28 14%D. Writing 26 13%E. All of the above
15 7.5%
Total 200
The students were asked to state “What is/are the problem(s) you
face while attending the language courses?” They were supposed to
choose from the causes A. Materials are limited, B. The number of
classes offered is not sufficient, C. Lab facility is unavailable,
D. Quality teacher is not assigned and E. All of the above.
Question Options
Number of Participants
Percentage
Q. 5. Whatis/are theproblem (s) you face whileattending the language courses?
A. Materials are limited
22 11%
B. The number of classes offered is notsufficient
57 28.5%
C. Lab facility is unavailable
46 23%
D. Quality teacher is notassigned
14 7%
E. All of theabove
61 30.5%
Total 200
The sixth question in the query was “Language Courses also
help a student in his/her Major courses.” The five statements
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related to this were, A. Strongly agree, B. Agree, C. Neither
agree nor disagree, D. Disagree, E. Strongly disagree. The
number of students against each statement and its percentage
are discussed in the chart below:
Question Options
Number of Participants
Percentage
Q. 6. Language Courses also helpa studentin his/her Major courses.
A. Strongly agree
45 22.5%
B. Agree 92 46%C. Neither
agree nor disagree
26 13%
D. Disagree 25 12.5%E. Strongly disagree
12 6%
Total Participants
200
The seventh question “Are you satisfied with the classroom
environment? Yes ( ), or No ( ). If No, then why?” was aimed
at learning the satisfactory level and the probable cause of
the dissatisfaction of the participants. Yes or No were the
options and if some one is not satisfied then he/she was
further asked to state the reason which were listed as A. No
audio-visual facility is available, B. Class size is not
perfect for learning, C. Sitting arrangement is not proper, D.
There is noise within and outside of the classroom, and E. All
of the above. The responses are listed below:
Question Number of Percentage
17
Options Participants
Q.7. Are you satisfiedwith the classroomenvironment? Yes (), or No ( ). If No, then why?
.
Yes 50 25%No 150 75%
A. No Audio-Visual facility is available
50 25%
B. Class size is not perfectfor learning
12 3%
C. Sitting arrangement isnot proper
14 3.5%
D. There is noise within and outside the classroom
8 2%
E. All of the above
66 33%
Total Participants
200
The last open ended question was “What is your assessment
about the achievement of the goal of the course/s (in
percentage)?” and their options were, A. 25%, B. 60%, C. Less
than 6o%, D. More than 60%, and E. Not at all. The evaluation
based on the students’ opinions are described below:
Question Options
Number of Participants
Percentage
Q.8.What is your assessment about the achievement of thegoal of the
A. 25% 45 22.5%B. 60% 44 60%C. Less
than 60%
68 34%
D. More than 60%
20 13%
E. Not at 23 7.5%
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course/s (in percentage)?
all Total Participants
200
7. Analysis of the Result:The first question that the participants were asked was “Are
you satisfied with the language courses offered by the dept.
of English?” In response to this, 23% say they are satisfied,
where as 23.5% are not satisfied, 45% are not much satisfied,
2.5% are very much satisfied, and 6 feel the courses are
interesting to them.
While responding to the second question, “The courses you have
attended on English are sufficient to develop your skill in
English Language,” 6.5% reply that they are strongly agree,
18.5% do agree, 23.5% neither agree nor disagree, 35%
disagree, 16.5% strongly disagree with the comment.
When I put forward the question, “Which of the following
language skills is mostly focused on your language courses?”
6.5% answered listening, 18 mentioned speaking, 9% said
reading, 42% indicated writing, and 23.5% thought all of the
four skills are focused.
Previous question was followed by the question, “Which of the
following skills is less focused on your language courses?”
19
19% think listening, 46.5% speaking, 14% reading, 13% writing,
and rest of the 7.5% opined that none of the four skills is
focused properly.
Regarding the question, “What is/are the problem(s) you face
while attending the language courses?” 11% find course
materials are limited for fulfilling the demand of the
courses, 28.5% think number of the classes offered by the
respective teacher does not maintain the minimum requirement
of the system (1 credit=1 hour/week), 23% claim language lab
facility is unavailable, 7% tell that quality teacher is not
assigned as their course instructor, and 30.5% indicate all of
the aforesaid problems during their classes.
When the participants are told “Language courses also help a
student in his/her Major courses,” 22.5% strongly agree, 46%
agree, 13% neither agree nor disagree, 12.5% disagree, and 6%
strongly disagree with this opinion.
Against the query “Are you satisfied with the classroom
environment? Yes ( ), No ( ). If No, then why?” 50 out of 200
students, who comprise 25% of the total, respond that they are
satisfied with the classroom environment. Those who are not
20
satisfied with the classroom environment, mention various
causes. 25% are discontented with unavailability of audio-
visual facility, 3% think class size is not perfect because 20
to 30 students are fit to take language class together.
Another 3.5% are dissatisfied with sitting arrangement of the
classroom, 2% are irked at the noise outside the classroom and
33% mention all aforesaid reasons those affect the classroom
milieu.
The last close-ended question that follows is “What is your
assessment about the achievement of the goal of the course/s
in percentage?” 22.5% feel 25%, 22% assume 60%, 34% consider
less than 60%, 10% suppose more than 60% of the goals have
been achieved by them. The rest of the 11.5% believe the goal
has not been achieved at all.
Two questions at the end of the questionnaire were open-ended
and participants were asked to put their observation regarding
the current situations of English language studies in SUST and
give their valuable recommendations to eliminate the drawbacks
and make the scenario better.
8. The Findings of the Survey:
21
The students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
are not satisfied with the language courses offered to them.
Only one fourth of the students are happy with the course and
a fraction of them feel the course interesting.
The language courses offered by the department of English are
not sufficient to develop the language proficiency of the
students. Almost 75% students either disagree or strongly
disagree with the statement that the courses offered by the
dept. of English are sufficient.
All four skills of language i.e. Listening, Speaking, Reading,
and Writing are not equally focused in the courses. According
to the maximum number of the participants, it is writing which
is more focused where as speaking and listening are less
focused in the language courses. So, it is high time we
revised the syllabus and made it time-befitting.
Students feel quite a good number of problems while attending
language courses. The numbers of classes offered by the
teachers are not sufficient. Again, there is no language lab
in the department which deters the students from receiving
knowledge on all four modules of language. Inadequate course
22
materials and unskilled instructors are also two major
problems mentioned by significant number of students.
Almost all students agree that language courses help them do
better in their major field of study and that is the reason
they are more eager to join a much revised and sophisticated
language course.
Only 25% of the participants are happy with their classroom
environment where as the rest are not satisfied for several
reasons. Absence of Audio-visual facilities is the mostly
indicated cause. Some also mention the unusually large class
size where others indicate the noise both inside and outside
of the classroom.
Though the courses are aimed at giving adequate language
proficiency to the students of graduate level, they fail to do
so. Not more than 60% of the target is achieved through the
language courses offered by the dept. of English though quite
a few numbers claim that the success rate is not more than
25%. So, the target is not nearly achieved let alone be fully
achieved.
Almost all students opine that the current status of English
language courses need to be developed and upgraded and they
23
have also suggested some necessary steps to be taken
immediately to develop the scenario. Future prospect part of
this paper will be based on both their comment and
recommendation.
9. Future Prospects:
As the process of globalization is on the rise so is the
importance of learning English as a second language. That is
the reason why the future of English language studies at SUST
is so bright and prosperous. Students need to learn the
language in order to advance themselves. Besides, it also
helps them to do better in their major field of study. To make
the courses a success some initial steps are essential and
these need to be done quickly. A full fledged language lab is
a must to develop the scenario. Introducing more recent
materials including audio-visual facilities along with well
trained language instructors will definitely help the
students. Equal focus should be given on all four modules of
language. More courses and extra credits should be added in
the syllabus for language courses so that students can spend
much time and more concentration on developing language
proficiency. Not a single method of ELT is being followed to
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acquire the motto “To teach English; and not to teach about
English” which is also one of the drawbacks. A unique method
of language teaching together with highly qualified
instructors in a fully equipped lab can provide the teaching
which will meet the demands of the students as well as time.
10. Conclusion:
From the very inception of it, the dept. of English at SUST is
doing a yeomen’s service by providing language courses to all
the students irrespective of schools and faculties. These
language courses help students not only to cope up with the
present world but also to perform better in their particular
fields of studies. However, these courses have some drawbacks.
The English courses offered by the department of English are
not sufficient to meet the students’ demand and the target
level achieved is not more than 60%. To mitigate the problems,
the first and foremost duty is to set up a full-fledged
language lab where students will receive adequate course
materials, excellent classroom environment, and exposure to
audio-visual appliances. Providing all these aforementioned
facilities along with increased attention and importance to
learning English language, the current status of English
25
language studies at SUST is ought to be developed. To achieve
the goal “To teach English; and not to teach about English”
with which English language teaching has been started, these
bold steps are necessary which not only purge the drawbacks of
the current status but also pave the way to immense success in
near future.
26
Bibliography
Barman, Dr Binoy, Zakia Sultana and Bijoy Lal Basu. ELT Theory
and Practice. Dhaka: Friends’ Book Corner. 2007. Print
Brown, H. Douglas. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 3rd ed.
New Jersey: Printice Hall Regents. 1994. Print
Ellis, Rod. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. 2001. Print
… Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. 1999. Print
English Raven. English Language Teaching Methodology. Web.
27.06.2012.
<http://www.englishraven.com/methodology.html>
Esljobproject.com. English Language Teaching. Web. 04.07.2012.
<http://www.esljobproject.com/esl_info/methods-
approaches.html>
27
Ted Power English Language Learning and Teaching. Approaches &
Methods in Second Language Teaching. Web. 03.07.2012.
<http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/teflindex.htm>
www.sust.edu. School of Social Science: Background of the Dept. of English.
Web. 20.06.2012 <http://www.sust.edu/departments/eng>
AppendixDepartment of English
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet3114
Dear participant,
I am presently engaged in preparing a report on “English Language Studies in SUST: Background, Current Status, and Future Prospects”. This questionnaire is meant to assess the current status and future prospects of the language courses offered by the dept. of English. As your answers are importantto complete the research, you are requested to answer sincerely, honestly, and impartially. All the information willbe treated as strictly confidential and be used in research purpose only.
Thanks for your time, attention and cooperation.
28
Yours truly,Numan AhmadMasters 2nd SemesterDept. Of English, SUST
Personal InformationName of the Participant: ……………………………. Department: …………………..
Session and Semester: ………………………… Registration No. ………………
Questionnaire
1. Are you satisfied with the language courses offered by the Dept. Of English?
A. Yes B. Not C. Not much D. Very much E. Not interesting
2. The courses you have attended on English are sufficient to develop your skill in English Language.
A. Strongly agree B. Agree C. Neither agree nor disagree D. Disagree
E. Strongly disagree
3. Which of the following language skills is mostly focused on your language courses?
A. Listening B. Speaking C. Reading D. Writing E. All of the above
4. Which of the following language skills is less focused onyour language courses?
A. Listening B. Speaking C. Reading D. Writing E. All of the above
29
5. What is/are the problem (s) you face while attending the language courses?
A. Materials are limited B. The number of classes offered is not sufficient C. Lab facility is unavailable D. Quality teacher is not assigned E. All of the above
6. Language Courses also help a student in his/her Major courses.
B. Strongly agree B. Agree C. Neither agree nor disagree D. Disagree
E. Strongly disagree
7. Are you satisfied with the classroom environment? Yes ( ), No ( ). If No, then why?
A. No Audio-Visual facility is availableB. Class size is not perfect for learningC. Sitting arrangement is not properD. There is noise within and outside the classroomE. All of the above
8. What is your assessment about the achievement of the goal of the course/s (in percentage)?
A. 25% B. 40% C. less than 60% D. morethan 60%
E. not at all
9. What is your opinion regarding the language courses you have attended under the
Dept. of English?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
30