ULAB, bdnews24.com team up over key conference on English for Specific Purposes

The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh has teamed up with bdnews24.com to organise an international conference on English for Specific Purposes on Nov 9.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 29 Sept 2018, 03:25 PM
Updated : 29 Sept 2018, 08:29 PM

Mark Krzanowski, a renowned ESP specialist now based in China, will participate in the event as the keynote speaker, organisers said on Saturday.

To make the event successful, Vice Chancellor of the ULAB HM Jahirul Haque and bdnews24.com’s Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi signed a “collaboration agreement” in Dhaka.

The conference, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, will bring together academics and representatives from nongovernmental organisations, the government and corporate bodies to discuss ESP as a key tool in building skills.

With Bangladesh soon to become a developing country, there will be ample job opportunities in diverse sectors for proficient users of the English language in the near future, the organisers said.

“It is a common concern voiced by both academics and employers alike that there is a huge gap between the English language courses that are taught in Bangladeshi universities and the actual needs of employers, who again have their own diverse requirements,” said ATM Sajedul Huq, director of ULAB’s Center for Language Studies.

Many employers have begun organising internal language programmes for their employees that focus on the needs of the organisation itself, discarding other elements, he said.

“We aim to explore new trends, best practices, current research and innovative methodology in ESP and to look realistically at our English language courses and focus on whether discipline specific language programmes would benefit our learners and their employers more,” Huq said.

“We believe that we will come up with some excellent ideas on how to improve English language courses in our country. It will have a huge impact on language teaching in Bangladesh.”