Challenges Affecting the Implementation of £50 Million In-Service Training Program for English Teachers in Bangladesh

Authors

Abdul Karim, Brac University, Dhaka; Universiti Sains Malaysia, PenangFollow
Zohur Ahmed, East West UniversityFollow
Faheem Hasan Shahed, Brac UniversityFollow
Mohammad Mosiur Rahman, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abdul Rashid Mohamed, Albukhary International UniversityFollow

Abstract

Numerous donor-sponsored in-service training programs have been operated in Bangladesh for English language teachers. EIA was the last donor-funded project that incorporated school-based training. It claimed to acquaint teachers with technology coupled with a lot of interactive activities to be incorporated in the classroom. The aim of the study was to identify the challenges faced by the secondary-school English language teachers in incorporating the elements learned in EIA training into their classroom practices and to identify the solutions to overcome the challenges. The present study undertook reflective theory developed by Wallace (1991). To conduct this study, semi-structured interview with the teachers and semi-structured classroom observation were carried out. Teachers reported some issues that potentially precluded them from employing different activities in their classrooms. In addition, teachers elicited suggestions to overcome the challenges. The interview data were organized thematically. This study was intended as an eye opener for the policy makers in the small states.

Keywords

EFL, Bangladesh, English in Action, Classroom Challenges, Qualitative Method

Author Bio(s)

Abdul Karim is a Lecturer at Brac Institute of Languages, Brac University. Recently, he has completed Masters of Art (Education) by research from Universiti Sains Malaysia. Before that, he completed MA in TESOL from North South University, Bangladesh. He has published widely in the field of English language teacher education in numerous international journals (Indexed in SCOPUS and Web of Science). His research interest concerns English Teacher Education, Reading and Writing, and E-learning. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: khasan13aiub@gmail.com.

Zohur Ahmed is an Assistant Professor at East West University, Bangladesh. At present he is pursuing his PhD from Universiti Sains Malaysia. He has been teaching English in India and Bangladesh for over fifteen years. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in English from Aligarh Muslim University, India, he completed M.A English (TESL) and M.Phil in English Language Education from Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad, India. His research interests include ICT in Language Teaching, Second Language Acquisition, Curricular Innovations, Language Testing and Evaluation. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: zohurs@gmail.com.

Dr. Faheem Hasan Shahed is Associate Professor and Head of ‘MA in TESOL Program’ at Brac University, Dhaka. After doing his M.Phil. (1998) and Ph.D. (2001) in ELT from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, he has been teaching English to diverse groups of professionals. His areas of interest include ESP, bilingualism, language & politics, and Business Communication. He has published articles and book chapters both nationally and internationally.

Mohammad Mosiur Rahman (MRes in Applied Linguistics) is a Ph.D. Fellow at School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia. His research interests are the interdisciplinary issues in language education and applied linguistics. His works have appeared in international journals with high impact factor/Cite Score such as English Today, Asian Englishes, English Teaching and Learning, Language Testing in Asia, The Qualitative Report, The Journal of Asia TEFL, Online Journal of Distance Education and so on.

Dr. Abdul Rashid MOHAMED is a senior professor of education. He was a long-time dean of the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia from 2005 to 2015 and the Chairman of the Malaysian Education Deans’ Council (from 2009 - 2015). Currently he is an advisor to the council. He is presently the deputy Chairman of the Malaysian Professorial Board (Education and Human Resource Cluster, since 2010). He also sits on a number of national and international levels committees on education. Among the roles he still plays are ad visors to IDEC (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation), Hiroshima University and Republic of Maldives Ministry of Education. He was the Chief Editor of two journals until 2015; APJEE (Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education) and MEDC Journal (Malaysian Education Deans Council Journal). He is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Albukhary International University, Malaysia.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Dato' Professor Dr. Abdul Rashid Mohamed, who played a supervisory role to conduct this study.

Publication Date

10-14-2019

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2019.4009

Recommended APA Citation

Karim, A., Ahmed, Z., Shahed, F. H., Rahman, M. M., & Mohamed, A. R. (2019). Challenges Affecting the Implementation of £50 Million In-Service Training Program for English Teachers in Bangladesh. The Qualitative Report, 24(10), 2457-2485. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.4009