In Bangladesh, Bachelor and Masters in English are running into harsher prospects in the job market leaving the graduates unemployed, frustrated and vulnerable. As a result, students are losing interest in English language and literature. In public universities, the status of English as a major is going down, while in private universities English departments are receiving insignificant number of students compared to fit-for-all disciplines like business administration. Earlier, English majors were considered as smart, updated and efficient but with the introduction of the specializations like business administration, media, journalism, communication, development studies, etc., the demand of English as a major is sinking. English language is a compulsory subject in almost all levels of education in the country, so a good number of teachers are required but there also English literature is hard-hit for its negligible application. Still, employers in almost all sectors look for English proficiency in prospective candidates but they do not prefer English language and literature as a major as it has no application in business. Even for university teaching jobs, literature majors need to compete with linguistics, applied linguistics and ELT/TESOL majors who enjoy more job opportunities.
A degree in English language and literature is designed to get you reading books, analyzing theories, critiquing prose and verse, and taking a more critical look at the signs and words surrounding us every day. The aim is to get students thinking creatively and analytically about the English language; this differs from other modern language degrees as it is intended for students already proficient in written and spoken English. An English degree can focus equally on the literature and language sides, while others specialize in one or the other; this will usually be clear from the course title.
A course with a focus on English literature typically allows students to study literary texts from throughout history. Often you’ll start with modules covering a diverse range of literature from different periods; for instance, you could be reading Shakespeare one week and Virginia Woolf the next. Your reading will require you to study and analyze passages, relating texts to their cultural, social, historical and political contexts.
An English language-focused degree will train students to analyze the workings of the English language outside of literature, including language-based communication in all kinds of forms and contexts. This could include analysis of casual spoken conversation, text speak, advertising methods or the uses of language in specialized legal and medical discourse.
At present, people prefer those degrees that sell well in the competitive job market at home and abroad. In higher education, knowledge or personal interest for a particular discipline has been suppressed by the need for secured jobs and opportunities for earning a good amount of money. For example, business administration graduates are competent for many kinds of jobs because of their knowledge in some common disciplines eg management, finance, marketing, English language and IT. They can go for teaching as well.
Bachelor of Business Administration is a professional degree which trains its graduates for job from the first day, while English majors start preparing for jobs after graduation. While the business majors study professional subjects throughout their bachelor classes and give a good number of presentations to gain confidence, the English majors go through literature and linguistics courses that have nothing to do in the business world. Thus, the employability of the English graduates is much slimmer than business majors.
With the change of preference in study as well as the trends of business and communication, we need to revise the curriculum, methods, techniques and materials for the degrees like bachelor and masters in English to make them more functional at home and abroad. Ministry of Education, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh, National University and private university authorizes should sit together to devise a common curriculum for bachelor and masters in English degrees. I believe that the four year bachelor of English programme curriculum should be divided into two segments—Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 comprises first year and second year of study. In this tier, students will study the four skills of English language i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing. They will also learn grammar in communication approach. Every English department must have an English language centre with necessary equipment to practice the four skills of English language.
In Tier 1, students will be proficient in English language skills by practicing the four skills of English as well as grammar. Teachers will use a good number of real-life samples, video and audio clips and other materials for teaching the skills of English language. Moreover, students will study one or several extensive courses on computer and IT which will familiarize them with the use of technology and the enormous amount of information on the Internet.
At the end of Tier 1, students may leave the study with a Diploma in English Language certificate or continue to Tier 2.As they will study English language and IT in tier 1, the diploma in English language will provide them with jobs at home and abroad. They can also work as freelancers on the Internet and earn a good amount of money while sitting at home.
Tier 2 comprises third year and fourth year. In this tier, students will concentrate on their major. In fact, in Tier 2, they will study three kinds of courses: the courses related to their respective major, a few professional courses related to job and the dissertation or internship.
Students will choose their major from an array of options e.g. English literature, America literature, World literature, Literatures in English, Comparative literature, cultural studies, critical theories, Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, English language Teaching/ TESOL/TESL/TEFL, Creative Writing, Media, Film Studies, Journalism, Communication, English for Specific Purposes, Business English, English for Communication, Technology, Education, Teaching, etc. Every Bachelor of English course must have a dissertation or Internship module at the end. It will depend on the nature of the major. If the major is theoretical, they will write a research paper but the major is more practical e.g. teaching, journalism, the students may write a research paper or they can do an internship in a relevant workplace. The university will decide it and will structure the internships. For example, the majors like media, journalism, teaching, TESOL may have an internship at a school or college or a newspaper, etc.
An MA in English must be a two-year research degree. Every student must produce a long research paper at the end of MA study. Only those students who are interested in academia and research should be encouraged to go for MAs; otherwise, BAs in English would be sufficient for all other kinds of jobs.
Only the public universities and a few selected colleges under National University that have sufficient number of qualified supervisors should be authorized to offer MA degrees in English.
On the whole, the goal of offering bachelor and masters in English should be to make the graduates proficient in three areas—English language, IT and a particular major of their choice to make sure that they study the discipline they truly like and get jobs of their preference.
The writer is a contributor to The Independent and taught at several universities in Dhaka