Students’ low proficiency in spoken English in private universities in Bangladesh: reasons and remedies

Students of private universities in Bangladesh are often found to be less competent in spoken English. Since the universities have adopted EMI (English medium instruction) policy, the prevailing linguistic condition on the campus is an “English only environment.” In this context, students are requir...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Language Testing in Asia 2021-10, Vol.11 (1), p.1-31, Article 22
Main Authors:	Islam, Md Shaiful, Stapa, Mahani Bt
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Assessment Causes College students Collocations Cooperative Learning Curriculum Development Education Educational activities Educational Policy Electronic Mail English English (Second Language) English as a second language learning English as a second language teaching methods English as a second language tests English for academic purposes English proficiency Foreign Countries Higher education Language Education Language of Instruction Language Proficiency Language Tests Learning Processes Limited English proficiency Linguistic interference Listening Skills Low proficiency in spoken English Metacognition Native Language Phrase Structure Private Colleges Private schools Private university in Bangladesh Psychological Patterns Scores Second Language Instruction Second Language Learning Second language teachers Sociocultural factors Sociocultural Patterns Solution Speech Communication Spoken language Student Attitudes Student Behavior Students Task Analysis Teacher education Teaching Teaching Methods Testing and Evaluation Undergraduate Students Universities
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Students of private universities in Bangladesh are often found to be less competent in spoken English. Since the universities have adopted EMI (English medium instruction) policy, the prevailing linguistic condition on the campus is an “English only environment.” In this context, students are required to communicate in English both inside and outside their classroom, but they desperately struggle to cope with this environment. This study attempted to understand and explain this problem; hence, it set three aims: to evaluate students’ current level of proficiency in spoken English, to investigate the reasons, and to offer remedies. Initially, selected students were given an IELTS-style speaking test in order to determine the overall proficiency in spoken English. Then, involving teachers and students, semistructured email interviews were conducted. The findings report that students’ current level of proficiency is around IELTS band score 5. Reasons for low development of spoken English among students include complex nature of speaking, inappropriate application of instructional methods, teachers’ low proficiency in spoken English and controlling behavior, students’ psychological factors, sociocultural factors, students’ inadequate linguistic resources, L1 interference, and large class size. Remedies suggested by the participants entail integrating TBL (task-based learning) and CL (cooperative learning) teaching-learning, making students aware of noticing, learning speaking through listening, teaching collocations, promoting self-regulated learning, and strengthening teacher education. The reasons investigated and the remedies explored have significant implications that might guide the members of the operating trusts of the private universities, members of the curriculum development and revision committees, and the practitioners to adopt practical approaches to ensure effective learning of spoken English by the students.
ISSN:	2229-0443 2229-0443