Poor Proficiency of English Language among Tertiary Level Students in Bangladesh and its Effect on Employability: An Investigation to Find Fact and Solution

Abstract

English is unanimously recognized as the second language in the world and no one can deny this truth. People believed that having English proficiency is the key especially for developing countries, which can bring success by ensuring access to education, business and technology. Bangladesh is a developing country of about 160 million people. A notable number of students are perusing higher education, especially in tertiary level, in more than 150 public and private universities in Bangladesh. The medium of instruction of tertiary level is English and the majority of our students complete their primary and secondary education in Bangla medium. For this reason at the beginning of the university life, the atmosphere is new to them though students have to complete at least 14 courses to acquire proficiency in English. After getting tertiary education certificate, students wish to get a good job in the market but unfortunately most of them fail because of poor English proficiency. Our study finds the students of public and private universities (n=150) and education experts (n=30) in Bangladesh. We prepared two sets of questionnaire based on literature review to collect data to identify the reasons of and solutions to overcome these problems. After statistical analysis the study suggests certain remedial measures to develop the proficiency in English to ensure employment according to student’s desire. We have got some ideas and suggestions which need to implement to ensure employability for Bangladeshi students.