He said: "The mere fact of a common
speech serves as a peculiar potent symbol of the social
solidarity of those who speak the language." In a
nutshell, language harnesses solidarity.
Since its conception, language has been philosophized upon by
many. For instance, the scholar Benjamin Whorf has noted
that language shapes thoughts and emotions, determining
one's perception of reality. John Stuart Mill said
that "Language is the light of the mind." Lionel
Groulx, a Quebec historian, stated that, "Chacun retient
toutefois que la suprême révélation
du génie national, la clef magique qui donne accès
aux plus hautes richesses de la culture, c'est la
langue." (The magic key which gives access to the
highest level of richness of a culture, and with which each
[person] retains supreme revelations of national genius,
is language).
Given the perpetual amalgamation of nations and cultures globally,
the importance of English goes without a need for explicit
articulation. The journey of BRAC University's English
Language Programme began with the intention of honoring
this importance. The purpose of the Programme was not only
to enhance the students' English language skills to
facilitate learning in their chosen fields, but also to
enhance understanding and execution of the language itself
so as to enable effective oral and written communication.
Having
tasted success with the undergraduate student body, we accumulated
the confidence to try and make a difference in other groups
as well. In this light, we ventured into training programmes,
focused on report writing and presentation skills with Aarong
sales personnel, bankers, etc. We have also successfully
established Dev-Pro, a training programme for BRAC's
mid-level managers. A testimonial to our success came in
the form of others approaching us to conduct similar training
programs for them.
Admittedly, we don't want to concentrate our involvement
in the academic and professional arenas solely; we want
to make a difference on a large scale. We want to be able
to plan and implement programs to help people of all walks
of life because we believe that language should not be a
monopoly of a few groups, rather a communication mechanism
for all. A sound knowledge of English holds promises of
prosperity within national and international borders; and
we want to catalyze the materialization of these possibilities
for members from various sectors of our society.
Someone
once pointed out that, "English is a funny language
that explains why we park our car on the driveway and drive
our car on the parkway." Despite their sporadic traces
of comedy, through their ambiguities and seeming contradictions,
every language functions as a cognitive lens for acquiring
a clearer perception of our reality. For this reason, we
had introduced Thai and Spanish at our Savar Campus, which
went very well-received by the students. Having gathered
assurance of demand for other languages, coupled with our
appreciation for language teaching, we decided to morph
into Centre for Languages (CfL) from EL-Pro. Fortunately
for us, this disposition of ours is complemented by BRAC's
expansion around the world.
True
that language is an obvious tool for communicating thoughts
and ideas, but it is also an apparent potion for establishing
friendships, cultural ties, and economic relationships with
people across our national border. Respecting the power
of language in terms of harboring relationships, and cradling
all dynamics and components of the world, vis-à-vis
CfL, we want to discover, nurture, and customize our reality.
