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 profile 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 identified which contribute to the popularity of PT‐E in a less affluent 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.
Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 157 citations exist upstream.
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.