Unfortunately, as a nation we lack the areas of becoming great and successful. From the very beginning of academic life, the average students have a fear for mathematics and most of the time it persists for lifetime. After mother tongue Bangla, we learn English only as a foreign language and the process of learning English is full of flaws since, we consider English as a similar subject like Physics or Chemistry. The focus goes much on raising high grades rather than developing effective communicating ability. Any spontaneous language learning process first includes listening, then speaking and then reading and writing. This is the procedure what we follow for learning mother tongue but we don't follow for English. That is why our English listening and speaking are worse compared to other nations. Hence, the academia must develop such a curriculum where English will be taught for developing communication, not for raising higher grades like mathematics or accounting.
In the Middle East and Arab countries the prime and widely spoken language is Arabic. This is a big market for exporting human resources which has very crucial economic implications. Hence, a good command in Arabic might increase the acceptance of the real and potential expatriate workers in that region.
In case of Europe the most powerful three languages are German and then Spanish and French. English is the prime language in Great Britain and Ireland but knowing one of the above three will give an edge to the people heading for Europe either for staying or for businesses. Normally educated people aim Europe for migration and it is a big market for our apparel industry. So, knowing German or French may help one enter into the European market. In the east, the China and Japan are also very powerful in world economy. Surprisingly, the Chinese official language 'Mandarin', the most widely spoken language on the planet is based in the most populated country, China. Beating second-place English by a 2 to 1 ratio, the speakers of mandarin is above 1 billion. Learning mandarin is tough but as China has become a dominant force in the world of business, a good reason to learn mandarin is to gain a favour when dealing with the Chinese delegates and market.
Regardless of business perspective, there are many other reasons to learn two or three foreign languages. The great book of our religion, 'The Holy Al-Quran' is written in Arabic. To understand and absorb the knowledge of this great book, learning Arabic is a must. Many more powerful and great philosophers, poets and writers wrote their books in their mother tongue and the taste of which can never be felt in the translation. So to read those, learning languages is the only way without any short-cuts. Karl Marx, Max Weber, Immanuel Kant, Hegel, Gustav Fechner, Christian Wolff are some great names in the list of German philosophers. To taste and absorb their works and contribution to the world, one might learn the respective language by which they have written their masterpieces. Many magnificent foreign language movies are released every year and we are deprived of those owing to privation in that language.
Nevertheless, the importance of learning proper English is the highest. To be successful in studies, businesses and in career the contribution of English is needless to explain. But the conventional system put much emphasis on reading and writing where it should put the same weight on listening and speaking. What the students from any background should do include a) development of the habit to read more English novels and stories, blogs, magazines and newspapers, b) watching BBC, CNN, National Geographic, Discovery channel, English movies and serials, listening English songs on regular basis to develop the listening and capturing the expressions in various situations, c) trying to write blogs and share those on internet, d) using Google talk or Skype for making foreign friends and chatting with them in English. The internet shall be utilised in the best possible way to develop English. Moreover, the most important thing is to develop an environment and surroundings which is full of English. That is the apparent reason for why Bangla medium students drop behind by their counterparts in English medium.
Against this backdrop, it is the responsibility of the government to the society to train students up in various languages. It should establish language training institutes in schools, colleges and universities to make the country's students adept in several languages. It should enrich its human resources by teaching foreign language with effective technical trainings and allocating more funds in annual budget for this purpose. If we notice India or Pakistan, they learn their mother tongue (Tamil, Pashtu etc.), state language (Hindi, Urdu), religious language (Arabic, Sanskrit) and foreign language (English). The context is same also in Europe. They know at least three languages on an average. Only we, the Bangladeshis, are lagging behind even compared to our neighbours. Eventually, for becoming global citizens and to compete with the people of various nations, learning languages could be our pivotal weapon to survive with power, dignity and acceptance in the era of globalization and competition.
Published in The Financial Express, Sunday, April 7, 2013 [FE Education]
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