Teaching English to Young Learners in Rural and Urban Areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

Since the education system in Bangladesh has been changing for last couple of years, there is some reflection of this change in primary education also. Government’s, ministry of education and concerned authorities are trying to bring change in curriculum, materials, activities, techniques of teaching, quality of teachers etc. This change is essential in English language teaching since it is taught as a compulsory subject. Therefore, in this research paper, the researcher has focused on English language teaching of young learners in primary schools of rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. In order to do this, this study addresses two central research objectives: to examine the condition of English language teaching of rural and urban areas of Bangladesh and the factors which are creating gap between rural and urban young learners. He uses Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory and Piaget’s theory on the child for this research work. He uses questionnaire and informal interview for data collection. Data has been analyzed through qualitative and quantitative research studies. The respondents from rural areas expressed that they face problem of shortage of teachers and work load. Teachers from urban areas expressed the same opinion about work load. Both teachers say that children like English subject. Young learners show curiosity when they see and get something interesting in their classroom. This research locates only few factors which are creating gap between rural and urban young learners regarding English language teaching. He has found that government and different stakeholders are taking some steps which are helping to minimize this gap in terms of English language teaching.