English version in Bangladesh: the awkward middle child that needs desperate attention

Abstract

This study, qualitative in nature, explores learning and teaching in an English version school in Bangladesh. English Version has never been able to live up to its full potential due to countless unattended issues. While the English medium schools offer schooling following British or American curricula, the English version of various schools offer the national curriculum in English. It is often stated that this approach fails for various reasons. One of the reasons is that equivalent Bangla textbooks are available to students and many students find it easy to read those texts than books in English. Data for this study collected through online interviews, recorded and then analyzed thematically. Findings suggested that poorly translated textbooks, little to no practice of English among students and teachers, and lack of interactive classroom environment are some of the many major issues of English Version that need desperate attention.