Bangladeshi Elt Teachers’ Barriers in Making the Classroom Interactive and Integrated

The current approach of English Languagetechnique of learning “to interact …through
Teaching (ELT) all over the world isinteraction itself”(Brown 165) would be under
communicative (The Communicative Languagethe threat of failure.
Teaching or CLT). Very recently, theF. Sometimes students’ behaviors also object
academicians of Bangladeshi ELT context with thethe interactive and integrative management of an
backing of the Government has founded CLT inELT classroom. Teenaged students could be
the general education .CLT requires interactive“unruly”(Brown 179) being in the freedom
classroom activities with the integration of theof pair and group activities “where discipline is
four language skills of reading, writing, listening andthe major issue”(Brown 179).
speaking. Nevertheless, for the construction ofG. Students’ idiosyncratic styles of learning
sufficient interaction and quadruple- skilledwould be another obstacle of making a classroom
integration in classrooms there await someinteractive and integrative. The consequences of
barriers for the Bangladeshi teachers. My presentsuch varied styles in groupworks are as followed:
essay is the ponder of Bangladeshi English
teachers’ probable barriers in making the• A highly left-brain oriented student is put off
classrooms interactive and integrative with theby the otherwise more right-brain members of
tasks and activities engaging the four languagethe group.
skills along with their compatible pragmatic• Quicker(impulsive) thinkers tend to blurt out
solutions.their ideas ,overwhelming the
“Interaction is the collaborative exchange ofslower(reflective)thinkers, or,
thoughts, feeling or ideas between two or more• Impulsive learners get easily frustrated with
people, resulting in a reciprocal effect on eachthe group process, which they perceive as
other. Theories of communicative competencecircuitous.
emphasize the importance of interaction as human• Competitive members of a group are
beings use language in various contexts toreluctant to share information with the others.
‘negotiate’ meaning, or simply stated, to• ‘Talkative’students dominate the
get an idea out of one person’s head and intoprocess.”
the head of another person and vice versa.”(Brown 182)
(Brown 165)Moreover, in the cases of adult learners the
Such interaction can be actualized in a CLTteacher might encounter some students’
classroom basically through pair-works andpreference of isolated involvement in the TL
group-works focusing “at the suprasententialoriented tasks and activities rather to the
or discourse level”(Larsen-Freeman 134) withcollaborative involvement of so being in pairs or
“cohesion and coherence”groups.
(Larsen-Freeman 134) of the target language (TL)The following solutions can be taken against the
integrating or merging both the receptive languagejust highlighted barriers of the Bangladeshi
skills (listening and speaking) and the productiveteachers in increasing the comprising of interaction
language skills (speaking and writing) emphasizingand integration of the four skills in the ELT
on the semantic negotiation all the time.classrooms:
Hindrances of so, however, could be theA.Convincing the administrative authority of the
followings:respective institution of the ELT teacher to make
A. The entrusted administrator of an educationalthe classroom suitable for processing various
institution might prefer “a traditionalgroup and pair activities;
whole-class methodology”(Brown 179) of ELTB.Modification of traditional cultural concept of an
in the name of maintenance of discipline in whichideal classroom for language learning of the
language teaching is teacher-oriented andbearing administration, students and also guardians
lecture-based and the students are the quietthrough tangible demonstration and explanation;
receivers of the teacher’s deliverance. OnC.Dividing a large class into considerable sections
such a contextual administrative groundfor the convenience of successful monitoring and
partnership dialogue practicing, reading and listeningadequate treatment of errors;
context-based instantaneous question and answerD.The teacher’s zealous, inviting and
tasks, peer checking, semantically relevantencouraging presentation of personality in
substitution drills and other activities exclusive forfacilitating pair and group activities maintaining a
performing in pairs and also games, role-play,covert strong authority not to allow the students
simulations, drama, projects, interview,to trespass the threshold of language learning
brainstorming, information-gap, jigsaw,purpose while engaging in interactive and
problem-solving and decision making, opinionintegrative tasks in pairs and groups;
exchange and so on exclusive to be conducted inE.In dealing with the L1 interference in the
groups would be impossible to be held.classroom the teacher should be culturally and
B. The conventional cultural notion of ideal teachingemotionally tolerant and sensitive. Rather than
might hamper the Bangladeshi teachers to gearstrictly prohibiting the usage of L1 in the class for
an interactive and integrative class which expectsthe clarification of the generally incomprehensible
students’ silent passivity during the class whileinstructions of the teacher to the students and in
receiving the teacher’s lecture-basedthe cases of sheer indecipherability of the
instructions in “orderly fashion speaking onlystudents’ own peers’ spoken productions
when spoken to by the teacher”(Brown 179).or of their helpless collapse in phrasing the
Intra-group unbarred interaction might beintended expressions in the TL, L1 can be
considered a violation of the cultural convention ofprovisionally allowed for the students of lower
managing an ideal class against which the teacherproficiency level and then gradually the situation
would have to fight prudently to settle interactioncould be reduced to the nil interference of L1.
and integration of the four skills of the TL.F.The teacher should be affectingly and
C. Very few ELT classes of Bangladesh are notthoughtfully discreet and delicate in handling the
large.The usual class-sizes exceedstudents’ individual styles of learning the TL.
“seventy-five”(Brown 179) or evenSometimes the contrastive combination of the
hundred.Therefore,when a teacher attempts tointroverts and extroverts or spirited and apathetic
divide such a large class into groups it ultimatelypersonalities within pairs and groups would produce
gives rises to managerial difficulties.Eventually,themaximum success. Sometimes the association of
teacher would face complications in monitoring thehomologous personalities in pairs and groups would
pair or group activities ensuring theproduce best results. The teachers’ keen
“importance of meaningful ,purposefulobservation and profound practical reflection
language and communication ,which in turn mustbased on the existing ELT context would assist
allow the student to give vent to creativethe teacher to endorse the precise decision of
possibilities”(Brown 181).To “circulateappropriate strategic investment.
among the groups, listen to students ,and offerThe present sketchy essay is in fact a
suggestions and criticisms”(Brown 181) wouldcontemplation over some presumed barriers and
demand more time and effort than a teacher cantheir corresponding solutions that the Bangladeshi
usually afford.ELT teachers might face and ultimately need in
D. Along with the monitoring problem of largecommencing intensified interaction with the
classes inaccurate dealing of the student-errorsintegration of the four skills to make their classes
should be added. In a large class “students willsuccessful issues of CLT. Scenarios might vary
simply reinforce each others’ errors (Brownwith the diversions of contexts. Therefore, the
181) where the teacher gets bare chances ofCLT teachers should be dynamically equipped with
correcting them being the victims of the otherprofessional sensibility and in depth teaching
adverse administrative and managerialknowledge to take swift realistic and novel steps
circumstances.to win over the freshly sprung hurdles.
E. Mother- tongue (first language or L1)Bibliography:
interference could be limitlessly frequent in a1.Brown, Doglus H.Teaching by Principles:An
linguistically homogeneous ELT class unless theInteractive Approach to Language Pedagogy.3rd
teacher authoritatively monitors and controls theed. New York: Longman, 2001.
situation. Students “in small groups will covertly2. Larsen-Freeman, Diane.Techniques and Principles
use their native language”(Brown 180).in Language Teaching.New York: Oxford University
Consequently, the purpose of adopting the CLTPress, 1986.