Abstract

This study investigates the challenges and prospects of learning four skills of language in English–listening, speaking, reading, and writing, related to communication, at the Higher Secondary Level in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. It attempts to explore the significance of communication skills to achieve communicative competence to have a good command of English. The research also aims to identify the challenges that the students face while learning English language skills both inside and outside the classroom and explore the potential of their skills development. It highlights the current practices of these skills as well as the teachers’ effectiveness in applying them and motivating the students to acquire them successfully. It is a quantitative study where a questionnaire survey method is utilized to collect data from a sample of 200 second-year students from 8 different institutions of the Higher Secondary Level in Mymensingh. The findings reveal that students encounter various challenges in terms of learning English, including inadequate language proficiency, lack of motivation, and insufficient exposure to authentic English communication. However, the study also identifies some prospects for improving English language skills, such as providing more opportunities for communication practice, using modern technology, and creating a supportive learning environment. In the concluding section, the paper includes some comments and suggestions that can be taken into account as potential remedies for the challenges in line with the findings. The study recommends that policymakers and educators should take steps to address the challenges and capitalize on the prospects of improving the English communication skills among the students of the Higher Secondary Level in Mymensingh.

Keywords

Communication, language skills, classroom practices, learning, English