Examining the Impact of an English in Action Training Program on Secondary-School English Teachers’ Classroom Practice in Bangladesh

Abstract

English teachers in Bangladesh have undergone numerous training programs. Both government-initiated and donor-sponsored training programs have been in operation in Bangladesh. Government initiated institutions to train teachers are Primary Training Institutes (PTIs) and Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs). However, researchers seemed to label training provided by PTIs and TTCs as inadequate. Bridging the gaps intrigued government of Bangladesh to devise donor-aided training programs, including English Language Teaching Improvement Project (ELTIP), English for Teaching, Teaching for English (ETTE), Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project (SEQAEP), Teaching Quality Improvement in Secondary Education Project (TQI-SEP). Studies reported their potential failure to bring changes in English teachers’ classroom practices. English in Action (EIA) was the last donor-funded project that incorporated school-based training program. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of EIA training program on secondary-school English teachers’ classroom practice in Bangladesh, drawing the questions in relation to the elements learned in the training program and the elements practiced in the training program. The present study undertook the Integrated Approaches to Teacher Development suggested by Hargreaves and Fullan (1992) and Reflective Model developed by Wallace (1991). This study adopted phenomenological approach since it subsumed the experience of an activity or concept from the participants’ perspective. Eight Participants were selected who had been trained from EIA training program and who had experience of participating in other donor-aided program, in the spirit of yielding the uniqueness of EIA which informed the sustainability of this program. It had been divulged that teachers learned a lot of activities that were related to English language teaching. However, the present studies observed limited practice of such activities in the classroom.