Teaching English Through Open Non-Formal Education (Onfe) In Bangladesh With An Effective Integration Of Ict To Support Learning

Abstract

The program entitled “English in Action (EIA)”, 9 year period DFID funded project in Bangladesh, was launched in 2008, for the desire to bring a change in the learning of English language. EIA works to reach a total of 25 million primary and secondary students and adult learners through communicative language learning techniques and the use of ICT, textbooks and supplementary materials in an innovative way. The project has been running, with the help of BBC World Service Trust and BBC Learning English, the program entitled “BBC Janala”, an initiative that is providing English language lessons to citizens via their mobile phones as part of the wider English in Action program in Bangladesh. Survey research found that women are particularly interested in learning by mobile (especially given its "any time, any place" nature). That means, it is absolutely being implemented as a non-formal education (NFE) under the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode what is known as Open Non-formal Education (ONFE). BBC Janala allows Bangladeshis to access short (2-3 minute) audio lessons through a simple voice call by calling a four digit short code. The program has been a real challenge as it has the ability to address the need of students with an effective integration of ICT to support learning. This paper discusses how one increasingly ubiquitous ICT device -the mobile phone- has become increasingly relevant to learners in Bangladesh, in various ways and contexts.