BENGALI USE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: AN IMPACT STUDY ON HIGHER SECONDARY LEVEL IN BANGLADESH

This study examined the impact of using Bengali in English language classroom. The study was conducted from July to October 2019. The study selected 12 higher secondary college teachers (6 males and 6 females) and 48 higher secondary college students (24 males and 24 females) from Pangsha Ideal Girls’ College, Kushtia Islamia College, Sheikhpara D. M College and Pangsha Govt. College. Adopting a mixed-method approach, this study used survey questionnaire (N=48) and interviews (N=12). This study identified a number of classroom speech acts that were performed by teachers and students in their English language classes. The findings of this study revealed that most of the students at higher secondary level in Bangladesh had a positive purpose for using Bengali as it was their first language (L1). But, the excessive use of Bengali in English language classroom has a negative impact on learning English in some cases. Some teachers claimed that the excessive use of Bengali in English language class was associated with the teachers’ lack of communicative competence and creativity in delivering English lessons properly, and it had a great negative effect on learning English as a foreign language (EFL). They thought that they should use Bengali in English language classroom at a marginal level.