1. Introduction With increasing globalization, English is no longer viewed as a foreign language___ it is the global means of communication.

According to Muneen (1992 p, 7-9) English is the language of the world in all fields of the arts, hard sciences, humanities and social sciences. International trade, commerce and diplomacy are conducted in English. Bangladesh is no exception. Here, English is taught and learnt as an important language second only to the national language, i.e. Bangla. Bangladesh and other nonEnglish speaking countries throughout the world is realizing that if English is neglected, there will be considerable decline in the field of science, technology and commerce.

Keeping in view, this worldwide importance of communication through English, the achievement of Bengali-medium students is not up to the mark. The majority of them find themselves incapable of expressing their thoughts in English although they do have a clear idea of grammar and an average stock of vocabulary.

Traditional teaching styles are still commonly practised by teachers in Bengali-medium schools, because they are most accustomed to the old ways; it is easy also to control the classroom where the students sit at their desks fixed permanently and just listen to the knowledge content of the teacher. Teacher evaluates the learning outcomes by paper-based tests.

There maybe other, more complex reasons for this, yet the most apparent reason is the fact that English is merely taught in terms of grammatical rules and vocabulary using a teacher-centred method.

The students are not learning enough realistic, whole language. They do have a clear idea of grammar, an average stock of vocabulary and if not better, at least a comprehensible pronunciation, yet they dont not how to communicate. They do not know how to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures, or expressions: in brief, they are at a loss to communicate in the culture of the language they are studying. To talk or write about a favourite player, actor or television series proves to be a Herculean labour. Language is interaction: it is interpersonal activity and has a relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak) (Berns, 1987, p.5)

This situation calls for a change in our teaching methods and the use of different techniques of teaching. Educationists have to revise the syllabi, i.e. from e.g. structural to the functional form and textbooks have to be re-chosen (from e.g. Radiant Readers to the New Express Way) to shift teaching paradigm from teaching of literature and formal grammar to the teaching of communicative language (Muneen 1992)

Since a majority of the schools of Bangladesh are Bengali-medium, a better understanding of the

possible errors in the teaching processes and ways to evade these errors is worth researching on.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem under study is to find the factors of the teaching techniques used by Bengali medium teachers which are hindering the students from learning the English language wholly, i.e. not only in terms of its structures (grammar and vocabulary) but also in terms of the communicative functions that it performs.

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What are the factors that hinder the development of Bengali-medium students language competence?

What approach should be taken to teach English at Bengali-medium schools in the future?

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is significant on account of the following reasons:-

According to Green (1993), teacher, curriculum planners and others who want to be sensitive to the needs of the students they serve cannot always rely on their own unaided intuition. They rely on the findings of the relevant researchers. So the findings of the study may be used by curriculum planners and curriculum developers in suggesting the given method for effective teaching in English language.

The significance of the study is enhanced many folds owing to the lack of any such study in Bangladesh. The coming researchers can conduct further research in this field by extending it to other levels, other subjects and to different areas of the country.

In Bengali-medium schools, the traditional methods of teaching English are being practiced at the elementary level. More time and importance is given to the teaching of the textbook. The English teachers working in the field can utilize the suggestions made through this paper to increase the performance of the students. It may bring positive results because this paper is based on the thoughts, criticisms and suggestions of a wide array of Bengali-medium teachers and students.

1. Introduction With increasing globalization, English is no longer viewed as a foreign language___ it is the global means of communication.

According to Muneen (1992 p, 7-9) English is the language of the world in all fields of the arts, hard sciences, humanities and social sciences. International trade, commerce and diplomacy are conducted in English. Bangladesh is no exception. Here, English is taught and learnt as an important language second only to the national language, i.e. Bangla. Bangladesh and other nonEnglish speaking countries throughout the world is realizing that if English is neglected, there will be considerable decline in the field of science, technology and commerce.

Keeping in view, this worldwide importance of communication through English, the achievement of Bengali-medium students is not up to the mark. The majority of them find themselves incapable of expressing their thoughts in English although they do have a clear idea of grammar and an average stock of vocabulary.

Traditional teaching styles are still commonly practised by teachers in Bengali-medium schools, because they are most accustomed to the old ways; it is easy also to control the classroom where the students sit at their desks fixed permanently and just listen to the knowledge content of the teacher. Teacher evaluates the learning outcomes by paper-based tests.

There maybe other, more complex reasons for this, yet the most apparent reason is the fact that English is merely taught in terms of grammatical rules and vocabulary using a teacher-centred method.

The students are not learning enough realistic, whole language. They do have a clear idea of grammar, an average stock of vocabulary and if not better, at least a comprehensible pronunciation, yet they dont not how to communicate. They do not know how to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures, or expressions: in brief, they are at a loss to communicate in the culture of the language they are studying. To talk or write about a favourite player, actor or television series proves to be a Herculean labour. Language is interaction: it is interpersonal activity and has a relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of

discourse) and its social, or situational context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak) (Berns, 1987, p.5)

This situation calls for a change in our teaching methods and the use of different techniques of teaching. Educationists have to revise the syllabi, i.e. from e.g. structural to the functional form and textbooks have to be re-chosen (from e.g. Radiant Readers to the New Express Way) to shift teaching paradigm from teaching of literature and formal grammar to the teaching of communicative language (Muneen 1992)

Since a majority of the schools of Bangladesh are Bengali-medium, a better understanding of the possible errors in the teaching processes and ways to evade these errors is worth researching on.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem under study is to find the factors of the teaching techniques used by Bengali medium teachers which are hindering the students from learning the English language wholly, i.e. not only in terms of its structures (grammar and vocabulary) but also in terms of the communicative functions that it performs.

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What are the factors that hinder the development of Bengali-medium students language competence?

What approach should be taken to teach English at Bengali-medium schools in the future?

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is significant on account of the following reasons:-

According to Green (1993), teacher, curriculum planners and others who want to be sensitive

to the needs of the students they serve cannot always rely on their own unaided intuition. They rely on the findings of the relevant researchers. So the findings of the study may be used by curriculum planners and curriculum developers in suggesting the given method for effective teaching in English language.

The significance of the study is enhanced many folds owing to the lack of any such study in Bangladesh. The coming researchers can conduct further research in this field by extending it to other levels, other subjects and to different areas of the country.

In Bengali-medium schools, the traditional methods of teaching English are being practiced at the elementary level. More time and importance is given to the teaching of the textbook. The English teachers working in the field can utilize the suggestions made through this paper to increase the performance of the students. It may bring positive results because this paper is based on the thoughts, criticisms and suggestions of a wide array of Bengali-medium teachers and students.