The British Council Bangladesh organised a discussion session today named ‘Why English Matters?’’ at it’s main office in Fuller Road, Dhaka University campus.
In today’s global economy, English is the language of business. It provides a common platform for international communication — and organisations that recognise the importance of an English-proficient workforce have a competitive edge in both the local and global marketplace. English is the official language in a large number of countries. It is estimated that the number of people in the world that use English to communicate on a regular basis is two billion. It is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak in English if they are to enter a global workforce, research from all over the world shows that cross-border business communication is most often conducted in English. It’s importance in the global market place therefore cannot be understated, learning English really can change your life. Many of the world’s top films, books and music are published and produced in English. Therefore by learning English one will have access to a great wealth of entertainment and will be able to have a greater understanding of the global culture. A majority of the content produced on the internet (50%) is in English. Therefore, knowing English allows people access to an incredible amount of information which may not be otherwise available.
Sector experts from various industries actively participated in the discussion session and came up with a roadmap to implement the action points learnt during the session. Among the discussion panel members Mr. Harun Rashid Khan (President, Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association), Moinuddin Chowdhury (General Secretary, Bangladesh Organisation for Learning and Development), Qazi Rakub Uddin Ahmed (Chief Human Resource Office, Anwar Group of Industries), Chowdhury Abd-Allah Quaseed (Director, Strategic Business Development and HR, Gweebarra Limited/Coopers Bakery), Deep Adhikari (Director, Examinations, British Council) were present and the session was moderated by Parveen S. Huda (Managing Director, Renaissance Consultants Limited).
Mr. Harun Rashid Khan said, “English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. One out of five people can speak or at least understand English. Perhaps this is enough to understand the importance of learning English in today’s world’. Deep Adhikari implied,” “To compete as a global citizen, be it at home or abroad, English is the key and only language to communicate and progress. The British Council has been working and taking up active role in teaching and popularising English for past 70 years in Bangladesh.”
The session was concluded with a presentation on Aptis English Test, an instant English assessment tool offered by the British Council and a networking session followed by Iftar and dinner.