How I learnt a little bit of English

Ekram Kabir. Illustration: TBS

Did you know our Bureau of Statistics, after a survey, has found out that only 5% of Bangladeshis know English? Only one newspaper reported on this. Our bureau had surveyed several subjects, and trying to know about our English language skills certainly has an objective and meaning.
English is quite useful in the Bangladeshi context, and I am one of those lucky ones who knows a little bit of the language. If our bureau's stats are any indication, only 85 lakh Bangladeshis, out of 17 crore, know this language.
Like millions of others, learning English wasn't easy for me. I had to be eager to learn it.
In Grade One, I remember our teacher, Islam Madam, dictating to us to write something in English. She said, 'You are a boy'.
I wrote, 'U r a boy'. Thank God I knew how to spell the word 'boy'.
My next memory of learning English was in the sixth grade. As I was preparing to compete in the cadet college admission test, my father wrote about 15 essays, 20 paragraphs, many comprehensions, 50-odd proverbs and phrases, numerous fill-in-the-gaps, and many other things I do not remember now.
At that point, I still had not developed a liking for the language, but I had qualified for the cadet-college exam.
Cadet-college life was an interesting experience regarding the English language. You had to speak in English, whether you knew it or not. So, we spoke, not really knowing what we were saying. Whatever our seniors and teachers were saying, we followed them. Surprisingly, that was an excellent practice that withered away our fear of learning a foreign language.
Our teachers made us memorise grammar, such as articles, tense, active and passive verbs, prepositions, etc., as we approached the SSC and HSC exams.
Our cadet college taught us some English, convincing us that we had learned the language.
Not quite. As I became a student in the Department of English at the University of Dhaka, I had surprises waiting for me. Interacting with our teachers, I realised that I had not learned it. I could understand what they were lecturing about, but could not communicate with them, and I could not speak fluently in English. It was a dismally challenging time, but I had to catch up.
I resorted to reading (not our textbooks) English and American fiction. At the same time, I started watching English movies and studying the characters' pronunciations and the use of words. Often, I used to close my eyes and listen to the films. I did not care whether they were English, American, or Australian cinemas; I tried to gobble them all up.
I visited the American Cultural Centre and witnessed students taking audio listening tests. Listening helped. I also invented a unique method to prepare for my exams. As I prepared long notes for the narratives, I recorded the scripts in my own voice on a cassette recorder and listened to them repeatedly. It was a fantastic experience. By doing so, I completely understood the subject and could deliver it effectively during the exams.
I was happy about my English language skills.
When I started working on my English daily after my MA exams, I discovered that my knowledge was incomplete and faced a new challenge.
As we had many writing and editing tasks, I found I was still thinking in Bangla and translating it as I wrote in English. However, years of practice turned it around—I could think, speak, and write in English.
Many years later, I came to know another style of English, as I made my debut in a corporate environment. My knowledge of newsy English needed to be revised in the workplace. It required a much crispier way of writing and speaking. But I am satisfied that I could catch up and am learning new aspects of the language every day.
As I look back and evaluate my English-learning journey, I still find gaps in it. I am confident in writing essays, poems, opinion pieces, and speeches, but I am still not confident about writing a full-length novel in English.
But I am working on that skill, too. I hope that will also materialise soon.

Ekram Kabir is a storyteller and a communications professional. He is just an email away – ekabir@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.