Private tutoring in English (PT-E), a special and important subclass of private tutoring (PT), is a common phenomenon in ESL/EFL education in many parts of the world. Nevertheless, it has received little attention in TESOL, applied linguistics, or language education research. This article investigates the nature and practice of PT-E in a disadvantaged rural area of Bangladesh, a context where the circumstances of ESL/EFL education give it a particularly acute role. The study relates PT-E to scholastic achievement in English, investigates student attitudes and motivations in PT-E, and establishes a core profi le of PT-E in relation to the school system, parent and student expectations, attitudes and motivations, and outcomes. The study follows a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data analysis demonstrates some positive links between PT-E and English achievement, which is elaborated through a broader qualitative analysis, showing that the students had clear and structured views about PT-E, which they saw as imperative for successful learning achievement. A set of social, psychological, and institutional factors are identifi ed which contribute to the popularity of PT-E in a less affl uent society like rural Bangladesh. There are also implications for educational policy and planning, if English language education in the mainstream school system is to hold its own in the face of competition from PT-E in terms of quality and image.

Rural failure in English learning and the socioeconomics of ELT. Over 24 million children learn English as a second/foreign language in primary and secondary schools in Bangladesh. These children start learning the language as a required subject in Grade 1 and continue learning it (if they don't drop out) until Grade 12, and later at the tertiary level. Officially, they are taught English communicatively using Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methodology, as it was envisaged that CLT would develop learners' ‘communicative competence’, and thereby strengthen the human resource development efforts of the Government of Bangladesh (NCTB, 2003). Nearly a decade has passed since CLT was first introduced in the national curriculum. It now seems appropriate to ask to what extent has it developed learners' competence and improved the declining standards of English in the country (Rahman, 1991).

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