This book is a collection of thought-provoking papers that investigate empowerment within the context of language, education, and technology. In the seventeen papers published in the book, local and international ELT practitioners and researchers have analysed their experiences within a range of socio-linguistic situations. Adding significant insights and depth to a previously under-researched area, the publication will be of interest not only to ELT teachers and students, but also to social science researchers in developing and marginalised countries. The book based on selected papers presented at the 2007 Aga Khan University, Centre of English Language seminar in Karachi exemplifies the issues of language and empowerment. The papers deal with complex educational and socio-cultural issues and force readers to undertake a cultural journey to see them from a different perspective. The collection of papers, whatever one’s teaching-learning context, will become an essential resource book for all English language teachers, scholars, and researchers interested in learning more about the success stories and problems facing language education in the developing countries, especially Asia today.

This book reflects the paradigm shift now manifesting in Bangladesh’s education system by highlighting recent empirical research. It shares essential insights by presenting research conducted on diverse aspects of current day education in Bangladesh, including policy and governance, equity, access and participation, curriculum and pedagogy, assessment, and education programs and projects run by NGOs. Further, it offers a platform for these unique studies to be showcased and disseminated to scholars and researchers from developing and developed countries alike, and represents a unique reference resource for the education research community in Bangladesh, Asia and all over the world. With Foreword from Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury.

This book presents empirical research on teaching, learning and assessment, and teacher development practices in Pakistan. Despite extensive academic research conducted in Pakistan over the last decade, there is a dearth of internationally published literature on English language teaching in the country. This book covers current research priorities and initiatives concerning English language teaching, learning and assessment, empirical developments, and major professional development initiatives, both in Pakistan and involving the work of Pakistani scholars based in abroad. It highlights the impacts that development efforts are having in the ELT world in Pakistan. The respective chapters cover a diverse range of topics, including: continuous professional development (CPD), identity construction, English language policy, curriculum development, and innovative ELT approaches and methodologies used in Pakistan. This volume provides valuable insights for TESOL and applied linguistics scholars and practitioners working in the field of ELT, both in Pakistan and elsewhere in the globalized world.

This Handbook is a comprehensive overview of English language education in Bangladesh. Presenting descriptive, theoretical, and empirical chapters as well as case studies, this Handbook, on the one hand, provides a comprehensive view of the English language teaching and learning scenario in Bangladesh, and on the other hand comes up with suggestions for possible decolonisation and de-eliticisation of English in Bangladesh. The Handbook explores a wide range of diverse endogenous and exogenous topics, all related to English language teaching and learning in Bangladesh, and acquaints readers with different perspectives, operating from the macro to the micro levels. The theoretical frameworks used are drawn from applied linguistics, education, sociology, political science, critical geography, cultural studies, psychology, and economics. The chapters examine how much generalisability the theories have for the context of Bangladesh and how the empirical data can be interpreted through different theoretical lenses. There are six sections in the Handbook covering different dynamics of English language education practices in Bangladesh, from history, policy and practice to assessment, pedagogy and identity. It is an invaluable reference source for students, researchers, and policy makers interested in English language, ELT, TESOL, and applied linguistics.

An independent judiciary is considered an indication of a developing nation’s level of democracy

Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.

Every year, the World Bank’s World Development Report (WDR) features a topic of central importance to global development. The 2018 WDR—LEARNING to Realize Education’s Promise—is the first ever devoted entirely to education. And the time is right: education has long been critical to human welfare, but it is even more so in a time of rapid economic and social change. The best way to equip children and youth for the future is to make their learning the center of all efforts to promote education. The 2018 WDR explores four main themes: First, education’s promise: education is a powerful instrument for eradicating poverty and promoting shared prosperity, but fulfilling its potential requires better policies—both within and outside the education system. Second, the need to shine a light on learning: despite gains in access to education, recent learning assessments reveal that many young people around the world, especially those who are poor or marginalized, are leaving school unequipped with even the foundational skills they need for life. At the same time, internationally comparable learning assessments show that skills in many middle-income countries lag far behind what those countries aspire to. And too often these shortcomings are hidden—so as a first step to tackling this learning crisis, it is essential to shine a light on it by assessing student learning better. Third, how to make schools work for all learners: research on areas such as brain science, pedagogical innovations, and school management has identified interventions that promote learning by ensuring that learners are prepared, teachers are both skilled and motivated, and other inputs support the teacher-learner relationship. Fourth, how to make systems work for learning: achieving learning throughout an education system requires more than just scaling up effective interventions. Countries must also overcome technical and political barriers by deploying salient metrics for mobilizing actors and tracking progress, building coalitions for learning, and taking an adaptive approach to reform.