Ali Azgor Talukder, Moses Samuel & A N M Tofail Hossain

Abstract:

This paper attempts a dialogic analysis of dominant and oppositional discourses
associated with the motivations for an Early English education policy in Bangladesh by attempting to juxtapose them and analyse points of connection or dissonance. A critical dialogic analysis was adopted drawing on the work of Freire and Bakhtin. The analysis of dominant and oppositional discourses opens up transformative possibilities in the policy processes. The study presents the critical interanimation of policy discourses involving the act of dialogic interlocuters questioning or engaging with each other by “animating” different points of view. Two sets of contested discourses under the rubrics “introducing English at an earlier age is better” and “English is instrumental to development” were explored and exemplified. The paper provides an analysis of the discourses associated with motivations for an Early English education policy in a developing country with limited resources like Bangladesh.

Keywords: Bangladesh, critical, dialogic, English language policy, primary education