By: Shurma Akhter, Assistant Teacher, Dhamrai Government High School, Dhamrai, Dhaka

The traditional method of listening only to teacher’s lecture in the classroom is changing. Now the students are also heard by teachers. In my class, I listen to my students and make other students also listen themselves to participate actively in the communicative English language learning process.

Our school is established in 1959. I was a student of this school. From my student life, I had a dream to become a popular teacher in our locality. I wished to be in the heart of my students and desired the students would remember what they have learnt from me for their whole life. In 1998, I got the chance to join as an assistant teacher in my school.

Now-a-days, I am quite popular in my school. EIA plays an important role in this. I thought to bring some changes in my profession; I tried to be closer to students. I changed one thing, ‘listening more than talking to my students’. After EIA’s training this idea settled in my mind and I have noticed the positive changes in my students day by day. I also felt that I am enjoying what I am doing.

UmmeHabiba Begum, head teacher of our school couldn’t attend the EIA training for some unavoidable reasons, so she frequently wanted to hear about EIA practices. One day she asked me about the speaker, “I have seen you carrying speaker every day. Do you need to use it every day? Can’t you make students listen once or twice in a week?” I urged my head teacher that EIA has provided audio lessons in almost every lesson, along with that there are listening texts audio which I have downloaded from NCTB website by taking laptop and internet facility of the school. To play those audio, I am using the speaker every day. Not only that, I have already shared the listening text audios to other English teachers in our school for practice.

There are five hundred students in Dhamrai Girls High School. Because of its large number of students, I take English class only for science section. So, the students I don’t get classes endlessly seek my class. Sumaiya Akhter, a student of class-X in Arts section regrets by saying “Why don’t you take Arts section class, madam! Science section students and we are studying in the same school, but they’re getting more benefit because you are taking class for them! We are really deprived of learning from you!”