ROLE OF ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNINGAT SECONDARYLEVEL OF EDUCATIONIN BANGLADESH: LEARNER PERCEPTION

1. Lecturer, Dept of Mass Communication and Journalism, FSSS, Bangladesh University of Professionals. 2. Assistant Professor, Dept of English, FASS, Bangladesh University of Professionals. 3. Teaching Assistant,Dept of English, FASS,Bangladesh University of Professionals. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 05 July 2020 Final Accepted: 10 August 2020 Published: September 2020

states that print media is a great source in schools in the teaching and learning of English language as so many students are well-known with the different types of print media like newspapers. Both teachers and students affirm that they read print media for some definite purposes, like to improve their skill in English language. They said this is a supportive medium to learn English. Though in the study material these media are not included but teachers' uses those as a study material and they recommend some of them as a study material. Cabansag (2011) states that mass media has helped to develop four skills of English namely listening, speaking, reading and writing in Philippines.He also mentioned that it helps to improve vocabulary as well as it develops their communicative skill.Cabrera. L.S. (2018) in another study on Philippines disclosed that in English language learning at largesocial media takes several strengths or prospects. Even internet base Medias like e-newspapers could be a helpful platformto learn English that provide considerable amount of language input. Radhika&Rajeswari (2012) affirms that English print media sends ideas and thoughts to a great number of readers. They said to learn a language print media plays a great role. We cannot avoid the impacts of newspaper to learn English. In general it facilitates both teaching and learning. This cheapest reading material teaches alphabets, how to build sentence structure, grammar, and creative writing etc.English newspapers help to learn new vocabularies that help to learn English Language. They also suggested providing English Newspapers in the leisure period to the students. That will help to learn English Language as well.
Ali & Devi (2013) mentioned that besides teaching from textbooks and magazines it is difficult to manage newspapers. They also said that for effective English language speaking and writing English newspapers can play a vital role as it helps to develop vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms,homonyms, homophones and homographs.
Bala (n.d) states that teaching methods are old and outdated. Teachers usually use textbooks for teaching which are not always interesting. She has mentioned that English Newspaper may help students in Learning English Language. But teachers are not using this media in the classrooms.
Mittat (2014) states that to learn a language newspaper plays an important role. It helps to develop different skills of English. For nonnative speakers it is very difficult to learn English as it is challenging and takes more time to learn. She said that it is important to develop a habit of reading English newspaper. Till now students are not habituated with it.
From the above literature review it is clear that English newspapers help to learn English but it is difficult to keep or use newspapers in the classes.Even students are not habituated with it.

Research Methodology:-
A number of factors were considered in choosing the research design of this study.Survey questionnaire is used as a major instrument and an observation guide as research techniques. Main features that formed the entire questionnaire were supported by literature review.The researchers applied for the permission from the selected school authorities to administer the questionnaires among the students. Data have been collected from nine non-governmentHigh Schools of Dhaka city in Bangladesh.The population in this research included students of higher secondary level of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. The sample of this study included eighty nine students. They have participated in this questionnaire survey.The data in this study were collected through a written format. The researchers contacted the participants through email and written from and they submitted the answers in a week or two to the researcher in a written form.As the initial step in analyzing the data for this study, the researchers read through all the information gathered from the completed questionnaires. As the researchers belong to the same professional group and have a similar background as those of the participants, we hold an insider understands of the participants' beliefs and perceptions. Researchers teaching experience in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting was valuable in perceiving and interpreting the significance of the data obtained in the questionnaire.
A test of English language competence was used to determine level of understanding English language of student participants. The test consisted of two sections, test of vocabulary and test of sentence structure. Each section consisted of one question with 5 parts. Questions were constructed from newspaper articles. The researchers selectively included day to day communicative English written in newspaper in the questions.  10.11% students responded that they read English Newspaper regularly,26% students responded that they read English Newspaper Sometimes. Whereas, 64% of students responded Never. 56.25% students replied they read The Daily Star, 28.13% students replied they read The Bangladesh Today, 15.63% students replied they read Daily Sun and no one mentioned any other newspaper's name.

Student Item 3-Word Meaning
Read the passage given below and find out the meaning of the underlined words. Write down the answer in the given table.Government officials say it has been the country's policy since months after August 25, 2017, while some call it policy shift due to recent incidents. Against the backdrop of many incidents, especially the much-talked about August 25 rally, the government has hardened its stand on Rohingyas and decided to fully enforce an earlier decision not to allow any more of them into the country, senior government and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officials told Dhaka Tribune. As there is "no crisis" in Rakhine now, Rohingyas do not need to come to Bangladesh, they said. The persecuted people were allowed in for first several months after August 25, 2017 on humanitarian grounds, said the officials, adding that situation in Rakhine is nowhere close to the happenigs of that time. Two 133 government officials, however, told this correspondent that this seems to be a shift in the government's policy on the heels of the August 25 rally and some violent incidents involving Rohingyas. "Now we find that having sheltered them for two years and looked after them, they (Rohingyas) create manifold problems for us.  68.75% students said they read English newspaper to increase their English Language Skills, 3.13% students said they read English newspaper to get information,9.38% students said they read English newspaper because they are influenced by others, 68.75% said they read English newspaper for All and no one responded Other. 134

Recommendations:-
One the basis of the analysis of the data and findings, some recommendations are put forward: 1. Students can be assigned tasks related to newspaper reading both as classroom activities and as exercises tobe completed at home. Then gradually, when students will start growing interest, a less prescriptive and more autonomous approach in learning English from newspaper can be developed. 2. As subconscious learning is more effective in case of language learning, newspaper can be used to learn English subconsciously while enjoying the contents. 3. As there are individual variations in the interests of students, they can be presented with articles of their choice.
It is not possible to tailor textbook materials according to individual interests of students. But, by using newspaper as a learning material, students' interests can be addressed. 4. As most students are not habituated to reading English newspapers, articles with more images and interesting contents can be presented to the students to grab their attention and make them engaged. 5. A limitation of the study is not conducting an experimental control group study on the participants with a pre and a post test. The researchers recommend further study with this methodological approach.

Conclusion:-
The process of language learning is the gradual development of a skill. The more real life exposure and practice can be involved in language learning, the more improved language skills will be. English is a foreign language in Bangladesh but unfortunately it is often treated as just another subject and not as a skill to be improved. That is why, students tend to prefer textbooks, notes and cling to traditional ways of learning English. These results in the failure of improving English language skills in almost all sections such as reading and writing.Most of the students do not nurture the habit of reading English newspapers. However, if newspapers can be frequently presented in the English classes as study material, then positive changes can gradually be attained. Newspapers are easily affordable and available, so, students can easily purchase them. As newspaper contains various kinds of information, students can have a vast content to choose from as per their areas of interests. As most of the classes in Bangladesh are teacher centered, learners' autonomy remains absent. But, by using English newspapers, learners' autonomy and studentcentered approach can be promoted. A subconscious and successful development of English grammatical structures and lexicons can be gained by students through using newspaper as a learning material. To cope up with the demands of 21 st century, it is important to shift from traditional ways of language learning to more practical and communicative approaches. Reading English newspapers can be an asset for fulfilling this purpose.