Being Inclusive While Teaching English as a Second Language in Bangladesh
By Barbara Kolucki (bakoluck@aol.com)
All around the world there are classes and textbooks where English (or any other language) is taught as a second language. Having taken and observed many of these classes myself, I can attest to the fact that many textbooks can be quite boring. But the field of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) is growing and today there are many wonderful ways as well where children and adults are learning through interesting methods and with creative textbooks. I have never seen, however, anything that included disability in an interesting and sensitive way. Until now . . .
In Bangladesh, people who are disabled have come a long way in recent decades - but there is still tremendous discrimination. And it is extremely rare to see media of any kind that includes them in a positive manner. The Department for International Development (DFID) of the U.K. supported a three year Government of Bangladesh project entitled English Language Teaching Improvement (ELTIP). This project involves developing interesting, culturally appropriate materials to teach English. A team of eight writers was selected to attend the College of St. Mark and St. John in the UK for three months. Here they were trained in textbook writing. They were then divided into teams responsible for writing books for grades 9 through 12.
Two of the team members, Fazle Rabbani and Shamima Tasmin wanted very much to write a book that students could relate to - one that was relevant and carried "liberal education values." They also wanted to choose topics that addressed particular needs or groups of people who were in especially difficult circumstances. They identified and wrote textbook lessons on the issue of the girl child in Bangladesh, the life of a poor boy with no access to education, women who work in the garment industry - and people who are disabled.
One of the many stories in the textbook is about Fatema Khatun, a woman who is blind and worked as an information and telephone operator at the UNICEF office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The exercise in the story is designed to help students learn to summarize what they read. It includes an interview with Ms. Khatun and then three paragraphs where students must choose which paragraph best summarizes what she said. They are also asked to identify another person with a physical disability from their community and to conduct an interview with this person.
The authors of this textbook faced a number of difficulties for having chosen "sensitive" subjects. But they have also received positive feedback from many colleagues and presented their work at a recent TESOL conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board in Dhaka will publish the book. It is edited by Shamsul Huq and will be available at the end of 2001. It is sure to be a first in Bangladesh and I hope that it will be a model for the inclusion of stories about people with disabilities into all types of textbooks worldwide.
What follows is a reprint of the lesson that includes an interview with Ms. Khatun.
Lesson 2: Making own space Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
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discussed choices of profession
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read an interview and matched questions with answers
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found the appropriate summarised version of the interview
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supported a statement with own arguments
A. Look at the pictures. If you were offered to take any one of the professions, which one would you choose? Tell your partner why.
B. Read the interview of Fatema Khatun, an informationist and telephone operator with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and match the questions with the right answers.
1. __________________________________
I was a member of the Blind Women's Association and the Visually Impaired Women's forum in Bangladesh. Helen Keller International was the donor agency of those organisations. They gave me the information about this UNICEF job.
2. ________________________________
I became blind after my graduation and I had to learn Braille. That was a difficult task for me. It would have been easy to learn Braille at a younger age. Sometimes, I wished I were born blind. I also learnt English later when I worked for previous organisations.
3. ________
People were surprised to see me working in an office. Gradually they became used to the fact that blind people could work in offices as well. I enjoy my work because my colleagues are very cooperative and helpful. When I became blind, I thought I would be dependent on others for the rest of my life. But my job gave me an identity and I became independent and confident.
4. _______________________________
Me. I myself look after my family. I have enough time to spend for my daughter after office hours. She does her household chores regularly and that takes the burden off me. I teach my daughter at home and pay fees for her education. I want my daughter to be educated and confident. She should work for women and children who are deprived.
5. _________________________________
I do not have any reason to say no. Women have the same potential as men. Especially in jobs like the one I am doing, women can do better. They are better organisers and can do many different things at the same time.
6. _____________________________
I do my housework and spend my time with my daughter in my free time. Sometimes we go on outings as well. I used to sing and have pen friends when I was a student. I used to go out a lot also.
D. Read the summaries of Fatema Khatun's interview. Which one of them is the correct version?
E. Think of one or two situations where a physically disabled people can work. Write an interview about his/her work.
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