ABSTRACT
The presence of English is politically, historically, and socially and culturally omnipresent in Bangladesh. Hence, identifying it only as a global language and a business lingua franca is limiting and does not reflect the intensive and extensive ideological roles it plays in the society. Against the above background, the current chapter explores the status of English as the medium of instruction (MOI) and the relationship students develop with the language while receiving knowledge in an MA classroom at a private university. Based on students' assignments, mid-term examinations, term-final projects, and class discussions in the course titled ‘World Englishes', the current chapter identifies English as a significant hinder to students' involvement in and engagement with ‘meaningful’ learning experiences. They struggle in participating in classroom discussions and consequently, fail to construct locally relevant knowledge and develop political and critical awareness regarding the choice of MOI for the ‘right’ education system. At the end, the chapter suggests allowing students access to bilingual education both in English and in Bangla, so that they may own and contribute to the locally generated knowledge and eventually become endowed with a critical and intellectual bent of mind.
