Challenges of Teaching English Listening Skills at the Primary Level in Bangladesh

Abstract

This research attempts to explore the challenges of teaching English listening skills at primary-level schools in Bangladesh. A mixed method was applied to conduct the research. The quantitative data was collected by a survey questionnaire from 30 primary-level English teachers. The qualitative data was collected by interviewing 5 primary level teachers. From the collected data, it is explored that the teachers confront several challenges in teaching listening skills, i.e., independent of teaching listening skills, teachers are bound to follow merely the vast syllabus of the institution, and they do not have any liberty to bring something beyond the stipulated instructions given by the authority. Few teachers have access to required teaching instruments like a computer, the internet, speakers, recorders, and a projector, and due to not having such instruments, the teachers cannot expose their students to cartoons, rhymes, stories, poems, and fables. A common view among the interviewees was that listening to--- and watching-- such types of audio-visual representations is effective in terms of honing students’ listening and literacy. Also, teachers’ classroom environment is not suitable for the teaching of listening skills. Many teachers are not yet trained to enact the proper pedagogy of listening. However, the time period of the primary level is so pivotal that if learners are not exposed to listening skills at that time, they then remain passive and weak in listening, communication, and literacy. Additionally, this study also provides recommendations for the establishment of and enhancing the teaching of listening skills at the primary level in Bangladesh.