Language, economic development and ELT aid: Examining discourses of engagement and participation in relation to English in Action in Bangladesh

This presentation will explore relationships between language and economics in the context of English Language teaching (ELT) aid in Bangladesh. It will illustrate how the new regime of ELT project management produces... [ view full abstract ]

This presentation will explore relationships between language and economics in the context of English Language teaching (ELT) aid in Bangladesh. It will illustrate how the new regime of ELT project management produces discourses of grassroots participation and who are to benefit from these discursive practices.

Bangladesh has been a major recipient of ELT development aid. The latest example of ELT aid is a £50 million project called “English in Action” (EiA) funded by UK Department for International Development. The project went in operation in 2008 and will continue until 2018. Implemented by a conglomerate of five global and local institutions, the project aims to lift 25 million Bangladeshis out of poverty by accelerating economic development through improvement of communicative competence in English in and outside schools.

In this presentation I will provide a critical discourse analysis of the EiA website which implements the project discursively parallel to its actual implementation in physical sites. Specifically, I will analyse “featured stories” on the website which represent voices of grassroots English teachers. I will illustrate how EiA is constructed by local voices as a development intervention and how the constructed project is represented as salvaging the failed ELT in the country. The analysis will point to the changing discourses of “development”, “aid” and aid-based project management in Bangladesh and other developing societies. I will problematize the “empowerment discourses” by suggesting how local voices are manipulated to manufacture legitimacy. I will put forward the concept of “parasite” discourses which need the EIA infrastructure for their existence. At the same time, it will be argued that the parasite discourses give “sustenance” to EiA by manufacturing evidence for the “success” of its operation.