Private tuition in English in Bangladeshi secondary education: reasons, necessities and outcomes

Abstract

Private tutoring in English (PT‟E) is a staple in Bangladesh. However, how much it actually benefits the stagnating English education system – due to many factors such as the priority of grades over skills – in the country is not well researched. Therefore, this study explores indepth the Bangladeshi students‟ psycho-social factors, or how social factors affect an individual‟s decision-making processes and overall behavior, that perhaps lead them to choose PT‟E. The study is conducted using the phenomenological approach by taking interviews of the 22 Bangla medium students from class six to class ten. The data analysis involved coding of the data and subsequent convergence into themes from the transcription. The main findings include the fact that PT‟E is an established practice in Bangladesh, which is nowadays sustained by psycho-social aspects like mental duress, high social expectations, and the extreme perceived necessity of English for the future. In addition, the academic disarray of the country, including a lack of planning and overwhelming student to teacher ratio, serves as further incentives for PT‟E. Unfortunately, despite the overwhelming popularity PT‟E, it has to a large extent failed to garner communicative competence.