Teaching English: In quest of the right approach

The key motivation for me to write this article is to give the readers a special message. I'll start with a snapshot of my typical experience as a language teacher at a private marine academy that shapes merchant mariners for commercial ships and cruisers. "Sir, this sentence looks odd!" a student of mine was drawing my attention to this sentence - she's wearing a hat. "What about it?" I asked. "You just said that this means she has a hat on her head at this moment", he said. "Yes I did", I replied.
The student looked very confused as I taught the class earlier that present continuous tense involves 'verb + ing'. So, he felt that the sentence 'she's wearing a hat' should mean that the speaker is saying this when she is engaged in the 'hat wearing' action (i.e. picking up the hat and putting it on her head). I had to spend some time with that student to clarify the fact that most of the 'grammar rules' represent generally accepted phenomena, which means there are exceptions and some expressions in English literally defy many rules of what we know commonly as grammar. This is just one example of the series of confusions students have to deal with even at this level. This student has studied grammar for 7-8 years in a row. This would-be mariner of today will one day represent our country around the world even if he starts his career with shoddy knowledge of English - which happens to be the sole international language bridging him with the wide world out there. And he is not alone… this is the common scenario of our country, as a matter of fact.   We are trying to draw many students like him out of the sea of confusions like this.
Needless to say, the root of the problem is at the elementary level. We have to agree that due emphasis is given on learning grammar. But is grammar the key to learn a language for students who have poor, if not zero, exposure to the natural English learning? I am not the first one on this planet asking this question. In fact, the NTCB of our country has long been concerned about this issue and they are experimenting with different kinds of approaches to make sure that the children do learn the language - not just the grammatical rules that leave them under dire confusion despite studying for years.
The irony is that, in this part of the Asian subcontinent where English is learnt as a second language, we hardly learn English in the applied context. From the very elementary level English as a subject is more about passing the exam. S@ifur's is arguably one of the leading centres in the country that constantly researches and develops state-of-the-art methods for learning and teaching English. Of late, they have hired me on a project that deals with formulating most effective proven English teaching methods and materials for students in the very elementary level. Visiting kindergarten schools has been one of my duties. We checked whether the students could recall the lessons they have learned in the previous semester(s). To our surprise, we found that they could not recall those.
As a matter of fact, recalling (or applying the lessons learned in practical life, for that matter) was not even a consideration for teachers and students we met. The teachers particularly took our query with sheer surprise as retaining the learning and being able to apply it in practical life has hardly been among the objectives of English learning at elementary schools, if ever. When we attempted to test the level learning retention from the previous semesters' lessons, some teachers even cared to 'remind' us that those lessons were from the previous semester and the children are 'not supposed to recall' those. Most parents and teachers in Bangladesh obliviously suppose that English classes in schools are primarily for the exam, whereas separate courses need to be done for gaining the capacity to actually use the language in practical life (i.e. writing, speaking, listening/understanding).
Schools and teachers are driven by the tendency to convince the guardians that the children are getting good grades. After all, with this yardstick typical parents judge the 'quality' of education. "Why did my child get such a low grade" - is the question fired at the teachers at elementary level schools. There is no one out there to tell the parents that it is actually 'the learning', not the grades that should be used as the yardstick to gauge the quality of education offered by the schools. We all know that supply follows demand. Since there is a terrible demand for grades, that's what the educational institutions around the country are focusing on. It is a sad reality. Had the parents been aware of what to ask for, there would have been a lot more research work on figuring out more effective ways of teaching that ensures retention of learning and especially - its usage in practical life. It's like you get only what you ask for! This way, schools, teachers and guardians are caught in an apparently unbreakable cycle.
Even the most scholar people vested with the responsibility of deciding what and how will our next generation learn are probably unaware of the fact that there are in Europe or other parts of the world, some teaching methods have found sheer success when it comes to helping students retain the learning through systematic, cumulative and inclusive revisions. These methods also enable them to use the language in real life scenario.
Be it the NTCB or the guardians or teachers at elementary education, everybody is missing another big point. There seems to be a dire competition for introducing so called western methods for teaching English. In plain words, we are literally trying to introduce the teaching methods meant for the children who have English as their first language or mother tongue. Putting it straight and simple, in the English speaking countries children hear everybody around them speaking in English from their birth. They even think in English. So the language learning method  intended for them can never be appropriate for a Bangladeshi student with Bangla as his/her mother tongue.
At least, there should be rigorous translation of words, coupled with systematic explanation of sentence meaning so that the children can learn to relate English with their mother tongue right from their childhood. This way they can understand the language with satisfaction instead of simply grazing on grammatical rules year after year. We all have to work together to make our parents aware of what the real value of education is about. Smaller efforts from organisations and individuals are insufficient if we really want to see a change. Rather, these issues call for a holistic approach by everybody concerned.  
The writer is a researcher and faculty at S@ifur's,
email: [email protected]