EIABD.COM

English in Action (EIA) is a nine-year (2008-2017) language education Programme aiming to develop communicative English language skills for 25 million people in Bangladesh. EIA is funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development (DFID) and working closely with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) and the Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of Bangladesh. The Programme’s goal is to contribute to the economic growth of the country by providing communicative English language as a tool for better access to the world economy. A consortium of partners - BMB Mott MacDonald, BBC World Service Trust (WST), The Open University (OU), UK and two national NGOs – Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme (UCEP) and Friend in Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB) are working  together to implement the Programme. All partners bring in unique expertise in specialized areas which complements each other’s input and ensures collective effort in achieving its goal. 

The purpose of EIA is to significantly increase the number of people able to communicate in English, to levels that enable them to participate fully in economic and social activities and opportunities. The Programme is initiating innovative ways of learning communicative English to different sectors of the society, including primary and secondary students, teachers and adult learners. To enhance the quality of learning in schools, EIA is using a combination of existing and new methods, including interactive audio technology, mobile-technology, print and ICT based materials. All EIA school materials and a teacher training and support model based on peer learning is currently being piloted in 24 upazillas, covering 346 schools (out of which 231 are primary) and 753 teachers including 61 teacher facilitators. Each school has two teachers who are receiving materials, training and on-going support to take part in the programme. In addition, BBC WST has introduced adult and community interventions using mobile phone, a local newspaper, television and the internet. Models of media and adult learning are being trialed through these interventions. The aim of these activities is to increase motivation and access to learning materials for adults and decrease barriers to learning English.

Based on extensive research evidence and rigorous quality assurance frameworks, it is anticipated that the reach and practice of EIA will gradually be extended to increased number of schools and targeted wider community in Bangladesh over the next seven years. EIA also intends to embed its practices into the existing institutional infrastructures both at an administrative as well as field level.