A centre for language education and research
Sunday, 21 November 2010
FE Special
SINCE its inception in 1995, the Dhaka Language Club has established itself amongst the students in the city as a popular institution for language courses. The 'club' offers 22 different languages, in addition to courses for IELTS, TOEFL, SAT and GMAT. The courses are taught by experienced teachers from both home and abroad, making the institution very effective in its effort to assist students.
The idea of the academy of languages comes from its founder principal and multi-lingual researcher, Masud A. Khan, who started the institution with an aim to help students from all backgrounds to learn different languages. "We intend to diminish the barriers of languages and the communication gap faced by the professionals and students of our country," said Masud. He also believes that Bangladesh is losing valuable foreign currency in spite of exporting huge amounts of labour.
Masud A. Khan thinks that the export of unskilled labour is the cause behind lower wages for Bangladeshi wage-earners abroad, and he points out the language barrier as one of the major factors affecting the balance of payment deficits in our country.
Although the Dhaka Language Club, with teachers from different foreign missions and universities in Dhaka, struggled against the odds in the beginning, it soon obtained a good reputation amidst students. Its innovative teaching methods and extra classes for weak students makes it easier for pupils to learn new languages. Languages such as English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chi-nese, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Persian,German, Italian, Malay, Swedish and even Bangla for foreigners are taught using different systems.
The courses start with basic communication skills and moves onto higher standards, such as reading and writing for most foreign languages. The curriculum was originally hard to set, mainly because of the fact that foreign languages are hard to catch for new learners, but over the years the club has adopted an effective teaching method. The institution has held national and international seminars and this has improved the awareness in the city about the need for learning new things.
Language cannot be learned completely without proper conversations once in a while, and this feature of the club really makes it quite different from the rest.
The foreign language courses, however, are mostly taken by professional and students who wish to visit countries abroad, rather than individuals, who just show the eagerness to learn a new language. Most of the students are professionals and students from private universities in Dhaka. DLC has kept the option of class timing after working hours for professionals who work.
Surprisingly enough, the Korean courses are the most popular, and are taken by quite a few students who are supposed to go to Korea for work. With the option of learning up to four different languages at a time, the institution can be quite helpful for individuals who wish to work or study in countries, which speak more than one language.
Bangla is taught for foreigners at the club and also as per convenience of the learners. A course on presentation and news reading is also available for the 'would be' news anchors of tomorrow. DLC also provides consultancy and total support who wish to go abroad for higher study or overseas work. Dhaka Language Club has awarded Scholarship from Embassy of Japan and Japan Foundation for its quality language education.
Dhaka Language Club emphasizes on proficiency the most for different languages. The name CLUB adds to the language Centre, because it attracts people from different fields to come together in discussions about different languages. These meetings or discussions are held once or twice in a month and are attended by members. There are two membership schemes, life membership and general membership, both of which are quite reasonable.
Learning new languages definitely broadens one's horizon and not to mention adds to the CV of the job candidate. At the end of the day, job opportunities for the learners is increased, both at home and abroad.
The Dhaka Language Club's main campus is very close to diplomatic missions. The address is house 29E, road 17, Banani, Dhaka-1213, phone : 8824266, 01911340586, 01716500230.e-mail info@dhakalanguageclunb.com; masudkhan1969@yahoo.com, web www.dhakalanguageclub.com.
SINCE its inception in 1995, the Dhaka Language Club has established itself amongst the students in the city as a popular institution for language courses. The 'club' offers 22 different languages, in addition to courses for IELTS, TOEFL, SAT and GMAT. The courses are taught by experienced teachers from both home and abroad, making the institution very effective in its effort to assist students.
The idea of the academy of languages comes from its founder principal and multi-lingual researcher, Masud A. Khan, who started the institution with an aim to help students from all backgrounds to learn different languages. "We intend to diminish the barriers of languages and the communication gap faced by the professionals and students of our country," said Masud. He also believes that Bangladesh is losing valuable foreign currency in spite of exporting huge amounts of labour.
Masud A. Khan thinks that the export of unskilled labour is the cause behind lower wages for Bangladeshi wage-earners abroad, and he points out the language barrier as one of the major factors affecting the balance of payment deficits in our country.
Although the Dhaka Language Club, with teachers from different foreign missions and universities in Dhaka, struggled against the odds in the beginning, it soon obtained a good reputation amidst students. Its innovative teaching methods and extra classes for weak students makes it easier for pupils to learn new languages. Languages such as English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chi-nese, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Persian,German, Italian, Malay, Swedish and even Bangla for foreigners are taught using different systems.
The courses start with basic communication skills and moves onto higher standards, such as reading and writing for most foreign languages. The curriculum was originally hard to set, mainly because of the fact that foreign languages are hard to catch for new learners, but over the years the club has adopted an effective teaching method. The institution has held national and international seminars and this has improved the awareness in the city about the need for learning new things.
Language cannot be learned completely without proper conversations once in a while, and this feature of the club really makes it quite different from the rest.
The foreign language courses, however, are mostly taken by professional and students who wish to visit countries abroad, rather than individuals, who just show the eagerness to learn a new language. Most of the students are professionals and students from private universities in Dhaka. DLC has kept the option of class timing after working hours for professionals who work.
Surprisingly enough, the Korean courses are the most popular, and are taken by quite a few students who are supposed to go to Korea for work. With the option of learning up to four different languages at a time, the institution can be quite helpful for individuals who wish to work or study in countries, which speak more than one language.
Bangla is taught for foreigners at the club and also as per convenience of the learners. A course on presentation and news reading is also available for the 'would be' news anchors of tomorrow. DLC also provides consultancy and total support who wish to go abroad for higher study or overseas work. Dhaka Language Club has awarded Scholarship from Embassy of Japan and Japan Foundation for its quality language education.
Dhaka Language Club emphasizes on proficiency the most for different languages. The name CLUB adds to the language Centre, because it attracts people from different fields to come together in discussions about different languages. These meetings or discussions are held once or twice in a month and are attended by members. There are two membership schemes, life membership and general membership, both of which are quite reasonable.
Learning new languages definitely broadens one's horizon and not to mention adds to the CV of the job candidate. At the end of the day, job opportunities for the learners is increased, both at home and abroad.
The Dhaka Language Club's main campus is very close to diplomatic missions. The address is house 29E, road 17, Banani, Dhaka-1213, phone : 8824266, 01911340586, 01716500230.e-mail info@dhakalanguageclunb.com; masudkhan1969@yahoo.com, web www.dhakalanguageclub.com.