STRUGGLES OF BENGELI MEDIUM STUDENTS AT NSU
Farhana kabir shova
English 105, Section 12
Abdus Selim
April 20,2010
Acknowledgement
This research has been conducted on Struggles of Bengali Medium students at NSU for ENG 105 Course of North South University. Now that this research has been successfully done, now I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the individuals who helped me at various stages in writing this research paper.
First of all, a sincere word of appreciation and thanks is in order for our respected course teacher, Professor Abdus Selim who was always there, giving me valuable guidance and advice. I would like to thank all the respondents who were kind enough to spare their valuable time to fill in the questionnaire for the research. I owe a great debt of gratitude to all my friends who helped me in writing this research paper.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 04
Background of the Research…………………………………………………………… 05
Struggles of Bengali Medium students……………………………………………… 05
Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………………….. 07
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Research Methodology…..……………………………………………………………. 07
Data Presentation and Analysis………………………………………………………… 08
Summary of Research Findings………………………………………………………… 15
Recommendations…………………………………………………………………… 16
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….. 17
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………… 18
Introduction
On the first day at NSU I met with one of my friend and I saw that she was very nervous. When I asked her what happened she told me that she was very worried for being a Bengali medium student. After hearing it I felt that she was so silly and we talked with some senior students and they also told me that we had to face many problems as Bengali medium students. When I heard it from them I thought that they were just making fun of us. But now after eight semesters I thought they were right. The Bengali medium students are struggling more than the English medium students as in NSU instruction are given in English.
North South University (NSU) is a private university at Bangladesh and it is an English medium based university. Most of the activities are done in English in NSU. Students have to speak in English here. Speaking in bangle is not allowed here. They also have to use English in examination. On the other hand, in Bangladesh English is not given so much priority in Bengali medium schools. Bengali medium students spent their 13/14 years studying in Bengali and what they learn in school and college about English is not sufficient. So when they started as they are not habituated with English they faced many problems.
This research paper is prepared for the purpose of finding out the reasons behind the struggles of Bengali medium students. This research will help the students to know how to minimize the problems, and it will also help the course coordinators of BBA programs to get aware of the facts and redesign the syllabus in course content in favor of the majority students.
Background
I was asked to conduct a research which is one of my ENG 105 course requirements. First of all, I had to conduct background research in order to find a topic upon which I will be focusing on and conduct my research. In addition to that, I concentrated on developing a topic sentence that will define the focus of my research and based on this research I constructed a hypothesis for better clarification of the core concepts. Furthermore, I decided that the method through which the survey will be conducted will be questionnaires. The limitation and the time frame of the research were also taken into account. The research questionnaire contained twelve questions. Once I prepared my questionnaire then I managed to survey around 65 NSU students. The respondents were chosen at random and each of them was asked to fill out a questionnaire. Once the primary survey was completed, I stares my data analysis and interpretation. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software was used to organize, analyze and interpret the raw data. After that, the development of the report was formulated which included the structure of the report, additional material and write up. Lastly, the report was evaluated and the finishing touches were given.
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Struggles of Bengali medium students
To survive in today’s global world, a good command over the English language has become very essential. For that reason, a student needs a very good grasp of English both in language and literature. Without a proper knowledge and a communication skill in English, the person is almost handcuffed in the modern era. As the world demands, most of the universities in Bangladesh are now adjusting their medium of education from Bengali to English. In NSU, important courses like business administration, engineering and medical science are taught in English.
But when the students get admitted in NSU for higher education, they find themselves as floating in the deep blue ocean. The main reason behind this is their inefficiency in English. As all the courses are taught in English, students not only struggle to understand the lectures delivered in class and the gist of the course materials but also to communicate with the faculty member. The students themselves are not liable for this poor condition. It is because of the poor English that is taught at the SSC and HSC levels of our country. It is nowhere near the international standard which prepares a student to learn English as a second language. The students from the English medium background can easily cope up with their studies of university level as the medium of education is familiar to them. Most importantly, they have a very good command of the English language and literature. But the Bengali medium students lack far behind in vocabulary, understanding the underlying concept and most importantly in their ability to communicate with the fellow classmates and faculty members. There could be several other reasons for it which is very important for us to know to suggest a better solution to this problem.
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Hypothesis
I think that most of the Bengali medium students face a great deal of difficulty when they come to NSU. The medium of instruction is the hardest part for them to adjust to. At NSU level most of the courses are taught in English and students who are from the Bengali medium background face enormous difficulty to cope up with the studies. Students might also find some problem in communicating with faculty members but their biggest problem is in English vocabulary.
The reasons behind these lacking of Bengali medium students are the poor English that is taught at SSC and HSC levels in our country. The education system, the English that is taught and ultimately the deficiency of teachers at the school and college levels might be responsible for this. Because of all these, a Bengali medium student might really suffer and his or her final result may be affected.
Therefore, the whole education system of our country at SSC and HSC level should be redesigned to match the international standard which will eventually help a student to learn English as a second language.
Research Methodology
For the primary research of my report, I am going to prepare a set of survey questionnaire to gather information and opinions of students on this topic. The target respondents of the survey will basically be the university students of both Bengali and English medium background. I am planning to interview few of the university faculty members to find out how they deal with the Bengali medium student’s problems and try to find out an acceptable solution to this problem. I would be also using various newspaper and magazines articles to collect information about the topic. For my primary research, I conducted the following things.
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* Sample size was 20 students.
* Target group was NSU students.
* Number of questions 9.
Data analysis and interpretations
I designed a questionnaire consisting of nine, of which seven were close-ended and the remaining two were open-ended. For my target group, which was the NSU students and around 20 individuals were selected randomly to share their views on the topic “Struggles of Bengali medium students”. Sample questionnaire has been provided in the Appendix section for convenience. My survey results and its interpretations are given below.
* 1st question and its survey results: Does the English that is taught at SSC and HSC levels prepare a student to face the challenges at NSU?
From the above data 56% of the respondents strongly disagreed that SSC & HSC level English prepare them to face challenges at NSU and 20% of the respondents disagreed about that question. On the other hand only 16% of the respondents strongly agreed about the question. Here it is very clear that only a minimal percentage of samples agreed about that question. So, the original hypothesis is very accurate and can be relied upon.
* 2nd question and its survey results: Do the English medium students enjoy some extra advantage at the university level due to their educational Background?
From the above data it’s clear that 52% of the students thought that English Medium students enjoy extra advantages for their educational background. Students around 20% agreed on this question and only 4% disagreed on it and 24% of the respondents strongly disagreed on this question. It’s clear that English medium student enjoy extra facilities. So, the original hypothesis is very accurate and can be relied upon.
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* 3rd question and its survey results: Do you think Bengali medium students sometimes try to avoid Presentation due to their insufficiency in speaking English?
From the above data 64% of the respondents strongly agreed that sometimes they try to avoid presentation due to their speaking ability in English and 20% of the respondents agreed about that question. On the other hand only 12% of the respondents disagreed about that question. Only 4% respondents strongly disagreed about that question. So, the original hypothesis is very accurate and can be relied upon.
* 4th question and its survey results: Do you think English Medium students participate more in the competitions arranged by NSU?
From the above data 46% of the respondents strongly agreed that more English medium students participate in global competition and 34% of the respondents agreed about that question. On the other hand only 8% of the respondents disagreed about that question. Only 12% respondents strongly disagreed about that question. So, the original hypothesis is very accurate and can be relied upon.
* 5th question and its survey results: Do you think English medium student get favor from teacher because they can communicate more than Bengali medium students?
From the above data it’s clear that 54% of the students strongly agreed that English medium students get more favor from teacher because they can communicate more with teachers. Although Students around 28% disagree on this question and only 6% strongly disagreed on it. So, the original hypothesis is very accurate and can be relied upon.
* 6th question and its survey results: If you are a Bengali medium student; do you think u can do well in NSU if you were an English medium student?
From the above data 60% of the respondents strongly agreed that they will do well if they were English medium student and 12% of the respondents agreed about that question. 24% of the respondents disagreed about the question. Here it is very clear that only a minimal percentage of sample disagreed about that question. So, the original hypothesis is very accurate and can be relied upon.
* 7th question and its survey results: Do you think you get bad grade in English courses only because of being Bengali medium students?
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From the above data 54% of the respondents agreed that they get bad grade in English courses only because of being Bengali medium students. 20% respondents strongly agreed with that and only 8% respondent strongly disagreed with the question. So, the original hypothesis is very accurate and can be relied upon.
One of the NSU students is said that her main weak problem in NSU is communicating with the teachers and participating in presentation (I.Shawly, personal communication, March 26,2013).
Summary of Findings
By analyzing all the data its clear to me that Bengali Medium students are facing more struggles at NSU. Some other problems which I figured out through my survey are given below.
* Memorizing becomes time consuming for Bengali medium students. It takes more time for Bengali medium students to memorize and understand where as English medium students can easily memorize.
* Bengali medium face problems in choosing major courses. They choose those courses where they have to participate in fewer presentations.
* NSU arrange many global competitions. Most of the Bengali medium students do not take part in those competitions.
* English courses are compulsory for all departments at NSU. Bengali medium students do not have good knowledge about English compare to English medium students. So English medium students can easily do well in English courses.
So, without any doubt I can say that what thesis statement I recommended earlier proved right.
Recommendations
There are many things that can be done to improve the English skills of the students at NSU. There will be some key suggestions or recommendations.
* By encouraging the school going students to take English as an interesting and challenging subject, a seed can be sowed in the students’ mind from their childhood and in future they won’t fear English.
* Government should improve the standard of SSC & HS level English so that students can able to improve themselves.
* Making speaking English compulsory for the students of all disciplines up to HSC will be a very effective method for improving the English skills of the students. It will enable the students to keep in touch with English and will help them to find the courses in the higher studies than they are finding it now.
* Launching a program of free tutorial classes for the weaker students can be an effective way to improve the English skills of the weaker students.
Limitation
It was great confront as well as a matter of pleasure to do the research on the stated topic. However, my heartiest effort was stumbled by a number of times in doing the research. First of all the there no secondary data available about this topic which make the resources limited. Finally, the time frame was a crucial factor on the research paper. Due to the lack of time, it may only able to conduct a survey with a limited number of target people. I am only able to conduct the survey with a limited number of 20 target people. A survey on a larger target group, possibly 200 to 300 people would have been a better and reliable source. And if I could get more time than hopefully the research could be done more broadly and I might have try to gather more primary data.
Conclusion
English is an essential part in most of the academic programs and it is also required not only in NSU but also in many aspects of life. So Bengali Medium should be prepared in such a way that they can easily handle everything at NSU like English Medium students. They should change their viewpoint about English and take it as a challenging subject and we should practice English as much as possible. No fear about English should be there.
References
* Importance of English(2009, December) Retrieved March 26, 2010 from
http://www.englishforums.com
* Khan. A. M. (2009 Apr 22).obstacles of students. The Daily Star Magazine, 5, 884.
* Using English (n.d.).
Retrieved March 26, 2010 from
www.usingenglish.com.
