Teaching English Listening Skills at the Secondary Level in Bangladesh

Abstract

Teaching English listening skills, though very fundamental, is usually neglected at the secondary level EFL classroom in Bangladesh. This study primarily aims at discovering the current scenario of teaching and learning of listening skills at the secondary level and the reasons for this negligence. It also examines the English listening skills curriculum offered by the NCTB of Bangladesh. This study further proposes some strategies for the development of listening skills. Data was collected from 130 students and 22 English teachers of 11 schools based on the stratified random sampling. For collecting the data, a typology of mixed methods research (QUAN-QUAL) was performed where the data collection instruments were a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire. Secondary level EFL teachers and students participated in the study. The analysis reveals that in most cases the secondary level EFL teachers do not follow any particular method to teach listening skills and they lack knowledge of effective listening skills teaching strategies. The results also show that the NCTB curriculum does not provide proper directions in this regard. Finally, this paper discusses the implications of the findings and offers some recommendations for the considerations of all three groups of stakeholders: authorities, teachers, and students.