A review of the status of English language instruction in Bangladesh begins with an overview of the role of English in the society in general, and outlines the status of English use and instruction in the educational system at all levels (elementary, secondary, higher, and vocational), the characteristics and training of English language instructors, the type and availability of instructional materials, educational administration and planning in relation to English teaching, English outside the educational system, British and other international support, commercial opportunities related to English instruction, creative writing, language research, and other sources of information. The main weaknesses of English language teaching in Bangladesh are poorly paid and qualified teachers, a weakly coordinated educational system, reliance on meaningless rote learning, and a gap between assumed and actual student proficiency levels. The main strengths are found in the availability of textbooks and the planned revision program for texts, the amount of inservice instruction directed to secondary teachers to improve college-bound students' proficiency, the gradual change of the strong literature/language imbalance, and increased awareness of the decline of English standards and the need for improvement. An appended chart describes the structure of the educational system. (MSE)