DHAKA, May 7, 2018 (BSS) – Mary Juliet Penheiro, founder and managing director of LearnBangla, a Bangla language learning center, has become an idol to the country’s educated women, as the entrepreneur achieved her goal within a short time with her effort.
Mary Juliet Penheiro said LearnBangla started its journey on April 14, 2010 with some US students at capital’s Banani. More than five hundred foreign nationals learnt Bangla language in last eight years. This is the sole institution in the country, which teaches Bangla to foreign nationals, she added.
LearnBangla is a national resource team teaching Bangla language to the foreigners with a view to developing their cross-cultural communications. The LearnBangla center ensures Bangla language training for learners from around the world to help them in such a way that they can easily read, write, understand, and speak Bangla to a certain level of proficiency in their daily conversations.
Mary Juliet has been teaching Bangla for 17 years. “We are trying our best to increase Bangla speakers around the world. For 17 years, I have been teaching Bangla to the foreign learners. I have launched the LearnBangla around eight years ago. We introduced them to our country, culture and people. And to do this job, we have faced many troubles as there is no specific language guidelines,” she told this reporter at LearnBangla office.
Learn Bangla has developed their own teaching modules and materials, keeping foreign learners in mind, she added.
Mary Juliet Penheiro said, “Till today, we have taught Bangla to people from more than 50 countries. We are trying to form new and time-bound activities to spread Bangla language across the globe. For the implementation of this mission, we need more support from all walks of life.”
The language center is committed to achieving this mission by continuously enhancing the quality of its services through professional development, cross-cultural understanding and by innovating curriculum design, teaching methods and materials. LearnBangla is dedicated to helping the learners to fulfill their personal, academic and professional goals that empower them in real-life situations.
“It is a matter of great pride for us that many of our students have come from different parts of the world only to learn Bangla language and culture,” said Mary Juliet Penheiro.
Francesco Rizzo, a student of LearnBangla and father of Sylhet Diocese said, “I will live in Bangladesh. That is why I am interested in learning Bangla language here. I know the history of Bangla language. It has inspired me very much to learn the language.”
Jesline Penheiro, office in-charge and facilitator of LearnBangla said, “LearnBangla helps foreign learners to achieve standard level of the Bangla language knowledge they can use at their respective workplaces. Many of our students are learning Bangla not for any immediate need, it is only for their interest in and love for the Bangla language. I think this is our great achievement.”