Bengali As Second Language

Bengali, a member of the Indic family of Indo-Aryan group had attracted the attention of European explorers during the Portuguese arrival in Eastern part of the subcontinent. Bengal was considered virtually El Dorado by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English traders and missionaries. They had tried to learn the language as a Foreign Language. As a consequence, a number of bilingual dictionaries, language learning materials and aids were prepared, subsequently printed and published. During the British period, a huge number of books and dictionaries were made to facilitate the learning of local languages by foreign students-lawyers, administrators, sailors, soldiers, missionaries and translators. These materials were intended to facilitate Bengali as a foreign Language (BFL). After the independence of Bangladesh, the Language need was felt to project the Bengali Language as a second Language, not only for foreigners but also for the neighbours, such as SAARC members, second generation expatriate Bengali and other Asian people, all the more, for the ethnic minorities of Bangladesh. This is for the first time Bengali as second Language has been projected by a competent language teacher, a long time teacher and facilitator of Bengali Language at home and abroad.