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Grammar - the cornerstone of communication

Mohammad Shafiqul Islam

Effectively communicating ideas, information and emotions is fundamental to our daily lives. Good communication skills are rooted in grammatical rules the relationships among the working parts of language, good mechanics to provide acceptable style, and in using generally accepted words and expressions.

It is in practicing grammar that we learn the crafting of clear, effective sentences. With a foundation in grammar, we can move on to speak effectively and understand others, organize thoughts logically and express ourselves through the written word. With a strong understanding of the basics, it is possible to rocket upward and master more advanced communication skills. '

Many hours of development, testing and refining by learners, teachers, and administrators can result in a
powerful, interesting and understandable approach to the mastery of English grammar. Good grammar proficiency provides the underpinnings for good reading, writing and communication skills. An understanding of the basic grammatical constructs of English fosters clear and quick communications. Good grammar dexterity ensures the development of the minds that can think objectively, listen attentively and communicate with clarity.

Good grammar skills improve learners' performance as they work towards their degree. Instructors need to be comfortable with grammar to teach effectively.

Grammar learning is an excellent way to catch up, brush up, or get ahead on tactics of communicating successfully. Basic concepts of grammar help us build a strong foundation of language and so we can cover more and more advanced topics with increasing confidence. Successful interactive presentation in excellent English can be ensured if grammatical handiness is proved well built.

A person, either a speaker or writer, can proceed at his or her own space in superbly lucid mood when English runs with immense transparency.

A school going learner can make sure of his or her confidence level of English happily by saying “Now that I understand sentence structure, my writing is improving.” If grammar is mastered, a learner can feel trouble-free in communicating in English properly.

The learner's presentation of sentence structure and other grammar tools turn noticeably improved. Serious and sincere perusal of grammar provides the reinforcement for good command over English. Grammar plays a great role in making people improve comprehension.

Mohammad Shafiqul Islam
Lecturer, Department of English
Metropolitan University, Sylhet

The poor condition of UGC website

Md. Khaled Hassan Chowdhury

The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh was established at 1973 to safeguard the autonomous character of the public universities. It is the apex body of all the government funded universities and plays important role for upgrading, expansion and development of the universities. But the website of this organization (http://www.ugc.org/) is in very poor form.

It was last updated on 6th October, 2004 (!). The layout is far from any professional touch and the information are backdated. According to the website the total number of public universities of Bangladesh is 21, but as far as I know the number more than 26. There is also anomaly on the information page of private universities. Some web links of different universities are also dead. As a prominent body of higher education in Bangladesh, the website should be up to date, more information should be added and its look and layout should be changed immediately. In this respect just to compare, I requested the readers to visit the UGC homepage of Sri Lanka (http://www.ugc.ac.lk/).

The writer is Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna-9203, E-mail: mdkhassan@yahoo.com