Four-Skill Alignment in Bangladeshi Higher-Secondary English Education: A Critical Narrative Review of Curriculum, Assessment Washback, and Classroom Implementation

Abstract

This critical narrative review examines why communicative curriculum intentions have not produced balanced instruction in listening, speaking, reading, and writing at the higher-secondary level in Bangladesh. The review synthesises Bangladesh-focused scholarship, official curriculum and textbook materials, policy reports, and education-system documents available up to June 2026. Sources were analysed through a structured thematic procedure organised around six interacting layers: curriculum intention, textbook affordance, assessment practice, teacher capacity, classroom ecology, and resource availability. The evidence consistently indicates that listening and speaking are marginalised because they carry limited assessment value and are difficult to enact in large, resource-constrained classes. Reading and writing receive substantially more instructional attention, but examination pressure frequently narrows them to predictable item practice, memorised responses, reliance on guidebooks, and limited formative feedback. The article refines the proposed four-skill alignment framework by treating assessment as a powerful institutional signal whose effects are mediated by teacher assessment literacy, training transfer, class size, time, materials, and institutional expectations. It avoids attributing implementation failure to teachers alone. The review recommends piloting low-stakes oral and aural assessments, demonstration-based professional development, the integrated use of English for Today, focused process-writing routines, and low-cost classroom materials. The contribution is a system-level explanation of why the four skills are affected differently and which implementation conditions must accompany reform.