Running head: English Language Education Research in Bangladesh 1 English Language ...

711 Pages·2014·2.71 MB·English

Running head: English Language Education Research in Bangladesh 1

English Language Education Research in Bangladesh, 1995-2013: The State of the Art

by
Adilur Rahaman
A dissertation submitted to the Department of English, East West University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
MA in ELT
English Language Education Research in Bangladesh 2

East West University

The Undersigned Faculty Approves the
Dissertation of
Adilur Rahaman (ID: 2011-3-92-002)
English Language Education Research in Bangladesh, 1995-2013: The State of the Art

Bijoy Lal Basu, Supervisor
Associate Professor, University of Dhaka & Adjunct Faculty, East West University
English Language Education Research in Bangladesh 3

Copyright 2014, Adilur Rahaman
English Language Education Research in Bangladesh 4

ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to offer a symptomatic reading of 326 journal articles
produced in the field of ELE from 1995 to 2013 in Bangladesh. In the first reading of
symptomatic reading, I tried to discover presences/absences or sightings/oversights of the
ELE research establishment of Bangladesh. In the second reading, I tried to detect the
problematic/unconscious of the journal articles. Precisely, the first reading reveals that ELE
research in Bangladesh revolves around technical-mechanical issues—which signifies the
presence of reification in the field. The second reading indicates that the
unconscious/problematic of the ELE research establishment of Bangladesh is positive,
eurocentric, and dehumanized. In addition, research activities of Bangladesh are not immune
to professional fallacies and mechanical reproduction. In short, ELE research establishment
of Bangladesh is suffering from—what I have termed—creative impotency. In this study, I
have proposed a South Asian Paradigm which can democratize and humanize ELE research.
In particular, the South Asian Paradigm contains the following components: dialectic
materialism, anti-colonial struggle, and peoples‘ humanism. Precisely, a paradigm shift can
cure the creative impotency of this discipline.
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Acknowledgements
I am grateful to my supervisor Bijoy Lal Basu who allowed me to work on a large
canvas. I would like to thank Ahmed Javed (Editor, Pathshala (A multidisciplinary journal
based in Bangladesh)) who not only inspired me to philosophically read ELE research
productions, but also kindly agreed to be interviewed for this study. I am extremely grateful
to Hillol Sarker who passionately accompanied me in my journey to data collection. Finally,
I would like to thank Md. Abdul Qayum, Md. Akramuzzaman, Shuvo Saha, Tuli, and Fuadul
Arman for their cooperation.
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Table of Contents
Abstract 4
Acknowledgements 5
Table of Contents 6
List of Tables 7
I. Introduction 8
II. Politics of (English Language Education) Research 13
III. English Language Education Research in Asia 37
IV. Method 72
V. Documentation 96
VI. Critique 605
VII. Toward a Paradigm Shift 661
VIII. Limitations of the Study 672
IX. Conclusion 673
References 678
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List of Tables
Table 3.1. Research Themes in Asian Countries 69
Table 4.1. List of Journals 93
Table 5.1 List of documented journal articles 564
Table 6.1 English-Intrinsic Arguments 607
Table 6.2 English-Functional Arguments 609
Table 6.3 Linguicism 611
Table 6.4 Orientalism 621
Table 6.5 Native Speakerism 628
Table 6.6 Early Start Fallacy 633
Table 6.7 Anti-Multilingual Ideology 634
Table 6.8 Discursive Violence 636
Table 6.9 Linguistic Consciousness 637
Table 6.10 CLT as a Totality 640
Table 6.11 Coercive Testing Ideology 647
Table 9.1 Research Themes in Asia (including Bangladesh) 675
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Chapter One
Introduction

―But as there is no such thing as an innocent reading, we must say what reading we are guilty
of‖ (Althusser, 1968, p. 14).

I
The objective of this study is not to offer a meta-analysis of ELE research articles of
Bangladesh. The study does not offer any critical appreciation of ELE research articles
either. In addition, the objective of this work is not to find out a solution to the ELT
problems of Bangladesh. Further, this article does not merely seek to identify the issues and
themes of ELE research in Bangladesh. This work does not even intend to offer a wholesale
criticism of ELE journal articles of Bangladesh. The objective, then, is to offer a
symptomatic reading (Althusser, 1968) of ELE research produced in the Bangladeshi
academia. In particular, symptomatic reading enables a reader to (a) detect the absences and
oversights in texts, and (b) to discover the problematic i.e. (philosophical framework) of the
texts by examining the system of presence/absence in a text. In other words, the
presence/absence in a text is not an abrupt quality of the text; presence/absence or
sight/oversight reveals the composition of the unconscious of the text. However,
symptomatic reading requires an Informed Gaze. In other words, symptomatic reading is a
philosophically informed reading. In this study, my understanding of philosophy and critical
theory constituted an informed gaze for me. I am interested in a philosophical (or
symptomatic) reading of ELT journal articles for the following reasons. First, an
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unsystematic reading deals with surface and facts of texts whereas a symptomatic reading
exposes the mechanism of knowledge production. Second, symptomatic reading reveals the
ontological dimension of research product. Thus, symptomatic reading unearths the
paradigm of an academic establishment. In this study, I tried to discover the mechanism and
ontological composition of ELE research articles. This discovery led me to a critical
examination of the existing ELE research paradigm.

II
There are two layers in the method of symptomatic reading: first reading and second reading
(Althusser, 1968). The first reading of symptomatic reading reveals absences/oversights in a
text. The second reading of symptomatic reading constitutes the problematic (philosophical
framework) of the text. In addition, symptomatic reading detects the mechanism of
knowledge production. Further, it identifies the system of the production of knowledge effect
in a paradigm. Precisely, ―knowledge effect‖ refers to the cognitive appropriation of the real
world. A conception of knowledge (i.e. what constitutes knowledge) and a historical
condition (e.g. politics, religion) produces knowledge effect. On the other hand, mechanism
of knowledge production means order of appearance of forms/concepts or arrangement of
concepts. In other words, a combination of ‗real order‘ and ‗logical order‘ produces
knowledge. The movement of these concepts confirms the validity of knowledge.
In this study, by employing the technique of first reading, I tried to discover sightings
and oversights in the ELE research establishment of Bangladesh. The first reading discloses
that ELE research of Bangladesh sights methods/techniques in ELT, skill development (lower
order mechanical skills), perceptions/attitude of teachers/students etc. On the other hand, the
ELE research oversights multilingualism, anti-colonial struggle of the people,
anthropological specificity, agency of the people, creativity of the people etc. The second
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reading indicates that the ELE research establishment of Bangladesh is Positive, Orientalist,
and mechanically reproductive. In this study, I have employed symptomatic reading for the
following reasons: (a) symptomatic reading is an apparatus to discover the mechanism of
knowledge production, (b) symptomatic reading reveals the politico-philosophical tendency
of a discipline, (c) symptomatic reading reveals the meaning of silence, (d) symptomatic
reading reveals the unconscious of a discipline, (e) symptomatic reading destabilizes the
Logos (i.e. authority of a discipline, and (f) symptomatic reading can lead to an
epistemological break in a discipline.

III
In chapter 2, I have tried to explain the politics of research. In particular, in my discussion of
the politics of research I have analyzed the process of knowledge production in the existing
world order. In this chapter, I have used an undocumented concept of Ahmed Javed (Editor,
Pathshala, A multidisciplinary journal based in Bangladesh). In a personal dialog, Ahmed
explained his concept of Proletarization of Knowledge to me. This concept adequately
explains the poverty of knowledge in the post-colonial world. In chapter 3, I have discussed
the themes of ELE research in Asia. The objective of this discussion was to situate ELE
research issues of Bangladesh in the global context. This discussion reveals the
epistemological structure of the post-colonial countries. In chapter 4, I have elaborately
described Althusser‘s method of symptomatic reading. In addition, I have recorded the
research questions of this study in this chapter. In chapter 5, I have documented the collected
journal articles. I have generated 24 categories to record these articles. The table of this
chapter contains category, source, title, and method of the articles. In chapter 6, I have
discussed sights (e.g. Methods and Techniques, Curriculum/Syllabus and Material Design)
oversights (e.g. higher order thinking skills, EIL issues, Cognitive Linguistics) of ELE