An Evaluation of Fundamental English Courses, A Scrutiny of their Effectiveness at an Engineering University, Bangladesh

An evaluation process scrutinizes the effectiveness, suitability, and the lacking of any program that has become a catchword in the ELT world, especially in the context of teaching and learning the English language.This paper aims to look deep into the effectiveness of fundamental English language courses offered for the diploma engineering learners at a public engineering university in Bangladesh keeping in mind the needs of the students.The subjects of this research were 135 randomly selected undergraduate engineering students and four ELT teachers working in the same institution.A mixed method approach, both qualitative and quantitative, was adopted in this study.For this purpose, the study used a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a focus group discussion.The evaluation process is conducted based on five areas: the effectiveness of the English courses, the contents and teaching criteria, the study and learning context, the resources and administration and finally the feedback and assessment criteria.The findings of the study revealed that the students felt an ardent need for the English courses.Besides, the present ESP syllabus does not adequately cater to their perceived needs as the number and duration of the English classes are limited in scope and it only focuses on the structural aspect of language neglecting the functional one.Moreover, prescribes textbooks, various instructional methods including multimedia, formative assessments, and written feedback are hardly practiced and ensured to make the learners proficient in communicative skills.Therefore, the study suggests that the existing English courses need to be updated and modified to suit the purpose of the engineering students.