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A second language is any language other than the first, or native, language learned; it is typically used because of geographical

or social reasons. Mother tongue or first language is perhaps the most favorite thing for any person. In Bangladesh it is more important as people fought for the language. Bangladesh was ruled by the British for two hundred years. Hence, English has been used for quite some times in our country. Though English does not have the status it used to have during the colonial period it still plays a very important role in our country. Along with Bangla, English is taught to students in schools and colleges in our country but in the constitution of Bangladesh, there is no mention of English language. English literature has been part of the syllabus of English-medium schools from the early days of the British colonial encroachment in the South Asian region. In todays Bangladesh from the late seventies, the O/A level or equivalent international systems started spreading, instead of the national curriculum in English-medium of the Pakistani era.

The standard of English may have fallen since independence in 1971. Policy and practice have been fragmented and inconsistent. Lack of competent teachers has been a crucial limitation. In 1974 the first commission report explicitly stated that Bengali would be the medium of instruction and positioned English as the second language (Ministry of Education, 1974). English was to be taught only from Grades VI to XII. In 1988 the Ministry maintained a common starting point for English at Grade 6, but also stated that English could be introduced in primary education at Grade 3(Ministry of Education, 1988). In 1991, the government recommended that English be taught from Grade 1, but this was not implementable in 1997. Most graduates from basic primary education were expected to enter jobs where English was not required. It recommended that the starting point for English be not Grade 1 but Grade 3 (Ministry of Education, 1997). Even so, this goal has not been achieved. However, in recent times the Bangladesh government has become more concerned in promoting English language education.

The President of Bangladesh stated, with a view to promoting employment abroad and encouraging transfer of technology, emphasis will be laid on teaching English language along with the mother tongue (The Daily Observer, 2002).

Communicative English, one of the major objectives of which is to emphasize on speaking skill, was introduced in the national curriculum more than a decade ago in order to enhance our students' overall skills, specially speaking skill, that were neglected in our curriculum since independence. But have we achieved any level of success and are we on the right track to achieve our objectives? The answer is a big "no."

Our students in general are not able to achieve even a rudimentary level of speaking skill even after they have studied English as a compulsory subject from the primary level to the higher secondary level. Firstly communicative method of language learning is a global phenomenon, and proper implementation can produce positive result. Regrettably, in Bangladesh we have not been able to use this method properly till now and probably success will not come until we take necessary steps.

Although the introduction of communicative English in Bangladesh has not enhanced the quality of our students' English language skill, it has contributed a lot t o w a r d s t h e increase in pass rate in SSC and HSC examinations. In fact, one of the major reasons for the very poor output from communicative English is the exam system. In Bangladesh, researchers have found that students are highly exam oriented and have no interest in things that are not included / important in the exam (this is not the fault of the students because we traditionally judge a student's merit by the marks s/he gets in the exam).

The text books (English for today) up to higher secondary level provide materials to engage students in oral communication by group work, pair work, dialogues, roleplay e t c . B u t s i n c e t h e s e t h i n g s a r e n o t i n c l u d e d i n t h e p u b l i c e x a m s , students do not feel interested in such oral practice and language teachers face a lot o f t r o u b l e i n t h e communicative language classes.

This poor system of learning English in Bangladeshi schools and colleges is creating a poor outcome as in the higher study means; graduation and post graduation level most of the study materials are in English. And unfortunately Bengali medium students are not able to cope up with the English and they found it difficult to study. Present globalization time English is a strong weapon to develop a country as people can easily communicate and do the business through that. Poor English create barriers to enter in to the international competition. For that perspective in Bangladesh English medium studies are increasing. And the students of English medium are being able to cope up with the competitive present situation. English medium education is very much affordable, even for the middle class. The number of English medium schools in Bangladesh is inc r e a s i n g rapidly. This increase is not only because it is profitable but also due to the increased number of students and parents eager to go for English medium schools. English medium schools have not only within Dhaka but in recent times other districts of Bangladesh have also experienced increase in English medium schools

English is allowed in our parliament and many government events. For e x a m p l e , w h e n t h e r e i s a g o v e r n m e n t e v e n t i n w h i c h s o m e foreigners attend then in many cases the speakers use English language. Many important government documents are written both in Bangla and English. T h e p a r l i a m e n t proceedings are kept into these two languages. When a government body organizes a fair then often the souvenir is published in English.

Bengali medium lacking in English creating problems in many sectors. On the other hand, English medium students getting the benefit of knowing the English better. Such as:
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If a lawyer wants to practice in Supreme court then he must have a good command over English language.Many of the judges still give their verdicts in English language. It seems that this trend of using English will remain for the foreseeable future.

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All the international communication of Bangladesh government is carried out in English. The economy of Bangladesh is dependent on foreign aids and export of some common items like ready-made garments, jute, tea, fish etc. We also import a lot o f things. Bangladesh is not economically selfsufficient. Trading is more popular than production. Trading requires constant communication with foreign companies. Many of the companies that are involved in trading have to use English in dealing with foreigners.

If we look at the advertisements of the private sector jobs then we w o u l d n o t i c e t h a t m o s t o f t h e j o b advertisements are posted in English. Even most of the private sector job advertisements that are posted in Bengali newspapers are posted in English. Almost all the private jobs state that the applicants must have good proficiency in English language. Almost all the p u b l i c l i m i t e d c o m p a n i e s p u b l i s h t h e i r a n n u a l r e p o r t s i n E n g l i s h . S o m e o f t h e s e companies produce a Bangla version of their annual report but the emphasis is always on English. So it is clear that English is the dominant language in our economic activities

There is no doubt that English is the second language of Bangladesh but this reality is not reflected opportunities, in one our of constitution. Bangladesh the key areas they is desperately look for is the trying to attract foreign investors. Before any company comes to Bangladesh for exploring would investment availability

of English graduates and they also expect that the normal workers will have basic understanding

of English language. English medium students efficiency helps to be successful in countries economy sector. They are one step ahead when Bengali medium students are focusing on English in higher study.

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