iExecutive Summary Background and Methods

English is taught as a compulsory subject in Bangladeshi schools, both at primary and secondary levels. While the national 'English for Today ' curriculum stresses communicative use of the language, this does not appear to be effectively implemented as widespread concerns have been expressed about the ability of students to communicate in English. Baseline Study 2a sought to assess the sociolinguistic factors relating to learning and using English for communicative purposes among school students, teachers and community adults. The study involved a survey of 2,877 individuals- 2,174 school students, over 450 teachers and 250 adults in the community. The study was undertaken in 2 phases: the first in NGO schools and the second in Government schools. Key Findings Over one-half of the students, more than one-third of the teachers and around two-third of the community people do not listen to songs in English at all. The results were similar in both phase 1 and phase 2 of the survey. More than three-quarters of the students, around one-half of the teachers and about three-quarters of the community people do not listen to stories in English at all. On this point as well, the results obtained from phase 1 and phase 2 of the survey were similar