Unveiling Barriers to Decolonizing ELT at The Pre-University Level: Stakeholder Resistance and Systematic Barriers in Bangladesh

Shorna Akter

Abstract


Abstract

Based on the pedagogical feasibility of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in English Language Teaching (ELT) in non-native contexts, a growing body of research recognizes the importance of incorporating local epistemologies to reduce social and psychological distance within the pedagogical environment, facilitating the development of English skills. Moreover, over-reliance on imported ELT materials has proven ineffective, and therefore, the need for the decolonization of this conventional approach has become obvious (Akter, 2025). Considering the pedagogical scope of incorporating Bengali literature into the ELT classroom to support learners' English language development, the present endeavor aims to investigate the sequential phenomena that may arise from implementing a decolonizing approach to designing learning tools and activities using Bangla literature, and to identify any subsequent tensions that may emerge among stakeholders. Grounded in the post-method approach (Kumaravadivelu, 2001) and the perspective of translanguaging (García, 2009), the present qualitative study collected data through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the authoritative bodies of the three colleges, the teachers, and the guardians. The significant findings include deep-seated socio-cultural anxieties among stakeholders, institutions' tendency to avoid risk for good results, and, above all, teachers' reluctance to adopt any change for the pedagogical context due to their unpreparedness and lack of context-dependent assessment models.


Keywords


Bengali literature, Challenges, ELT Pedagogy, Implementation, Resistance, Stakeholders

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abdullah, A. (2026). Language Ideology AND Power in Educational Policy Discourse: A Critical Sociolinguistic Analysis. LIER: Language Inquiry & Exploration Review, 3(1), 46–56. https://doi.org/10.71435/688515

Akter, A., & Abedin, M. M. (2023). An Analysis of the Needs of English Language of the Students of National University. 1(1), 23–32.

Akter, S. (2020). The Consequence of the Conflict between the Text and the Evaluation Process of English at the Higher Secondary Level in Bangladesh. 14, 100–117.

Akter, S. (2025, June 26). Accommodating Bangla literature in ELT class: An effective process of decolonizing ELT pedagogy in Bangladesh at the higher-secondary classroom [Paper presentation]. Language, Literature, Culture, and Crises, Department of English and Modern Languages. 5th International Conference.

Akther, K., & Siddiqua, S. (2016). (71) Decolonizing English Studies in Bangladesh and Integrating Bengali Literature into English Language and Literature Education at Tertiary Level: A Case Study. https://www.academia.edu/31723172/Decolonizing_English_Studies_in_Bangladesh_and_Integrating_Bengali_Literature_into_English_Language_and_Literature_Education_at_Tertiary_Level_A_Case_Study

Ali, Md. M., Hamid, M. O., & Hardy, I. (2023). Construction of English language skills as human capital and ELT as development aid in Bangladesh. Globalizations, 20(7), 1163–1179. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2023.2171619

Al-Mahmud, A. (2020). Postcolonial Critical Pedagogy of English Language: Formulating Good Practices. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 18(1), 85–86. https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40472

Amin, N. A. (2025). Translanguaging Practices in Secondary Level English Classrooms in Indigenous Communities of Bangladesh. English Language Teaching Perspectives, 10(1–2), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.3126/eltp.v10i1-2.82890

Ara, R., & Sultana, S. (2026). 10 Translanguaging Pedagogy and Democratizing Higher Education in Bangladesh: Possibilities and Challenges. In S. Sultana & P. K. Sah (Eds.), Translingual Practices in English Language Education in South Asia (pp. 187–214). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800418462-012

Ary, D., Jacobs, L., Sorensen, C., & Razavieh, A. (2010). Introduction to research in education (8th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Canagarajah, S. (2011). Translanguaging in the classroom: Emerging issues for research and pedagogy. Applied Linguistics Review, 2(2011), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110239331.1

Christopher, L. C. (2025). DECOLONIZING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CURRICULUM: BEYOND EUROCENTRIC PARADIGMS: ACRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. International Journal of Language, Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 04(06), 74–89. https://doi.org/10.59009/ijlllc.2025.0162

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Datta, S. (2025). Code-mixing in Class and Communication: A Dimension of Translanguaging at the Tertiary-level in Bangladesh. International Journal of Language Instruction, 4(4), 83–107. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijli.25446

Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford University Press.

Efron, K. & Mori, L. (2023). Deconstructing Imperialism in English Language Teaching with Alter-Globalization Community in Education. International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 06(04). https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v6-i4-31

Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). Teachers College Press.

Fullan, M. (2015). The principal: Three keys to maximizing impact. Jossey-Bass.

García, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Wiley-Blackwell.

Haq, M. D. (2007). ভাষা অর্জন ও শিখন: প্রাথমিক তত্ত্ব [Bhasa Orjon O Shikhon: Prathomik Totto]. (Original work published Bangla Academy)

Islam Khan, M. E., Nitu, N. A., Haroon, A., Islam Khan, M. E., & Nessa, M. (2024). Moving Beyond CLT: Revisiting the Scopes, Ideologies and Setbacks of Post-Method in Secondary EFL Teaching. International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Scope, 05(04), 402–413. https://doi.org/10.47857/irjms.2024.05i04.01548

Islam, N., Md. (2025). English in Bangladesh’s Education System: A Critical Analysis of Policies, Practices and Current Status. 25(5), 97–109.

Islam, N. N. (2020). Implementation of Postmethod Pedagogy as an Alternative to Communicative Language Teaching at the Tertiary Level Education. IJOLTL-TL (Indonesian Journal of Language Teaching and Linguistics), 5(3), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.30957/ijoltl.v5i3.633

Kachru, B. (1985). Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle. In English in the World: Teaching and Learning the Language and Literatures (In R. Quirk&H. G. Widdowson (Eds.), pp. 11–30). Cambridge University Press.

Kimura, D., & Tsai, A. (2023). Decolonizing classroom discourse: Insights from interactional research. ELT Journal, 77(3), 327–337. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccad008

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2001). Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 35(4), 537. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588427

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macrostrategies for language teaching. Yale University Press.

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching: From method to postmethod. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Lamb, M. (1995). The consequences of INSET. ELT Journal, 49(1), 72–80. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/49.1.72

Mantara, I. B. N., & Kumara, D. G. A. G. (2018). FOLKTALES AS MEANINGFUL CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC RESOURCES TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS. Lingua Scientia, 25(2), 83. https://doi.org/10.23887/ls.v25i2.18827

Mantra, I. B. N., & Widiastuti, I. A. M. S. (2018). Structural Analysis and Religiosity of Balinese Song Lyrics. 4(4), 69–75.

Pakir, A. (2014). Glocal English in Singapore? A Re-exploration of the Localization of English. In N. Murray & A. Scarino (Eds.), Dynamic Ecologies (Vol. 9, pp. 49–57). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7972-3_4

Poudel, P. P. (2024). Decolonization of English language assessment for equitable learning: Teachers’ agency perspective. Journal of Nepalese Studies, 16(1), 140–152. https://doi.org/10.3126/jns.v16i1.71787

Rafi, A. S. M. (2025). Bogged down ELT, bailed-out CLT?: Translanguaging steps in a context-sensitive response to Bangladesh’s ELT crisis. English Today, 41(4), 270–277. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078425000148

Rafi, A. S. M., & Morgan, A.-M. (2024). Translanguaging in instruction and pedagogic design: Promoting learner-centredness in a teacher-centred reading classroom of a Bangladeshi university. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 21(4), 447–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2024.2425355

Rahman, H. (2025). Challenges behind Decolonising the English Language Teaching Curriculum of Bangladeshi Universities. Journal of the Department of English Praxsis, 14, 189–199.

Rahman, M. (2015). English language teaching in Bangladesh: Didactic pedagogy versus communicative pedagogy. 9(1), 9–17.

Rahman, M. M., Johan, M., Selim, S. M. M., Singh, M. K. M., & Shahed, F. H. (2019). Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices of Implementing Secondary English Curriculum Reform in Bangladesh: A Phenomenological Study. The Journal of AsiaTEFL, 16(2), 591–607. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2019.16.2.10.591

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Saha, S., & Rahman, M. M. (2022). Translanguaging Pedagogy in the EAP Classroom of Private Universities in Bangladesh. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 22(17). https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v22i17.5656

Sayeef, A. (2021). Teaching English with Bangladeshi Folktales | PDF | Folklore | Language Education. International Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Language Teaching. Scribd. https://www.scribd.com/document/541242533/Folktales

Schissel, J. L. (2024). Decolonizing English language testing. TESOL Journal, 15(4), e832. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.832

Sharmin, S. (2021). Teachers’ perspective on implementing post method concept at the primary level in Bangladesh [Brac University]. http://hdl.handle.net/10361/23597

Sultana, N. (2019). Teacher preparedness for CLT in Bangladesh: A study of English language teachers at the secondary level. 16(3), 879–895.

Sultana, S., Hamid, M. O., & Roshid, M. M. (2026). Epistemic Divides in Scholarly Publishing in Applied Linguistics: Multilingual Possibilities Versus Monolingual Realities in Postcolonial Bangladesh. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 36(1), 98–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12746

Ulum, Ö. G., & Ordem, E. (2022). Deconstructing ELT ideology and normalized discourses through critical discourse analysis: Collaborative autoethnography. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (31), 1515–1522. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1222348

Vogel, S., & García, O. (2017). Translanguaging. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.181

Wyk, C. V., & Chauke, T. A. (2026). Educational Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Factors Contributing to Resistance to Pedagogical and Policy Changes in a Rural School. Education Sciences, 16(3), 424. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16030424

Zahra, H. T., Shahzad, W., Farooq, M. A., Ali, T., & Ain, N. U. (2024). Impact of Using Folklore in ESL Classroom for Teaching English Reading Skills in RYK. Qlantic Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 5(2), 203–211. https://doi.org/10.55737/qjssh.501691429




DOI: https://doi.org/10.35308/ijelr.v8i1.15052

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Shorna Akter

p-ISSN : 2721-429X
e-ISSN : 2721-4273

Published by Language Center of Universitas Teuku Umar
Website : http://jurnal.utu.ac.id/IJELR
Email    : ijelr@utu.ac.id

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.