Browsing by Author "Alahakoon, P.P."

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Attitudes of L22 learning undergraduates towards CALL3
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Alahakoon, P.P.
The rapid development in language learning is interlinked with significant advances in ICT4. These advances provide the tools and assistance of teaching L2. In this context, CALL courseware becomes vital. Thus many institutions around the world have introduced CALL courseware in L2 classrooms as a way of providing supplementary resources in enhancing L2 acquisition of the students. This methodology is integrated in Sri Lankan university curricula due to its effectiveness, compared to traditional methods and techniques in teaching. Yet it is relatively new to the undergraduates and only few universities use this method. Though it is said to be advantageous, it is essential to know the attitudes of the undergraduates towards CALL as it is still to be surveyed. This research explores the attitudes of 25 undergraduates (ELTU 11032) in the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Kelaniya towards CALL, as a recent exposure for them in learning L2. Thereby it seeks to construe how the undergraduates perceive the role of CALL compared to classroom teaching in a traditional classroom setting. It also identifies the degree of their enthusiasm while discovering the difficulties they face in using CALL materials and the limitations (if any) of such courseware. The data were gathered by a questionnaire and interviews conducted with randomly selected undergraduates, and the results will be interpreted qualitatively. Through the questionnaire and interview data, this study examines the possibility of enhancing the usage of CALL courseware to upgrade the undergraduates’ language proficiency. This research concludes by highlighting some key factors to consider when integrating CALL into L2 courses and some suggestions for further study.
Attitudes of the undergraduates towards the TESL degree program
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Alahakoon, P.P.
Realizing the great demand for trained English teachers, the approach of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) was introduced and it is vital to note that this is a relative innovation in the Sri Lankan University system to implement TESL as an undergraduate degree program.The English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) of the University of Kelaniya is the only ELTU that offers this invaluable undergraduate degree program. According to the Guidelines for conducting evaluations of academic programs, (July, 2002) published by the University of Pittsburgh, new programs should be reviewed within five years of its implementation. Thus this program has to be evaluated and therefore as the first step, this research is carried out in order to better understand and measure undergraduates’ attitudes towards TESL degree program offered by the ELTU of the University of Kelaniya. This research focuses on student perception of four key areas: curriculum, assessment, classroom management and teaching methods. This paper reports on the results of the students from all the three years who are reading for B.A. (General) in TESL and B.A. (Special) in TESL. The data is gathered by a questionnaire and the interviews conducted with the Special degree undergraduates. The findings are further analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The research findings suggest the effectiveness, deficiencies and strengths of the program while providing suggestions for further research.
Attitudes of the undergraduates towards the test degree program
(2015) Alahakoon, P.P.
Impact of integrating Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for Sri Lankan ESL students at tertiary level (With special reference to reading skills).
(Journal of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2017) Alahakoon, P.P.; Alahakoon, P.P.
This study examines the impact of implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning for Sri Lankan ESL students at tertiary level with special reference to reading skills. Two hypotheses were identified; CLIL group performs better than ordinary ESL group in terms of reading skills and application of CLIL methods in reading comprehension at tertiary level increases students’ ability to use reading skills strategies. The sample consists of two groups: experimental and controlled and they are given a pre-test. After weeks of teaching, the groups are exposed to a post test. Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory by Mokhtari and Reichard (2002) is employed to examine the use of comprehension strategies by students. The findings are analyzed through SPSS. The research findings show the degree of improvement in reading skills of the sample and their metacognitive awareness after being exposed to CLIL. The study further provides factors to be investigated in future research in order to enhance English language competency of ESL students in Sri Lankan Universities.
Impact of the proficiency in English language on the students‟ performance in their main subjects
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Alahakoon, P.P.; Udeshinee, W.A.; Peiris, A.E.
As ESL teachers at Sri Lanka Institute of Information technology (SLIIT), we observed that the students‘ performances are in different levels not only in English but also in their main subjects. Since the degrees offered by SLIIT are conducted only in English, we hypothesized that there is an impact of their proficiency in English language on their performance in the main subjects of the degree programme. In pertinent to the observations made by us, this pilot study aims to investigate how the proficiency of English language affects the students‘ performance in the main subjects of their relevant degree programme. The hypothesis of this research study is that there is a correlation between the proficiency in English language of the students and their performance in their main subjects. This study was carried out among a selected batch of 220 first year IT undergraduates of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. The students were grouped into three according to their levels in English language proficiency. The results that these students obtained for English Language Skills, Mathematics and Database Management System-1 at their first semester final examination were analyzed quantitatively. Further, question papers (of each subject) of 5 students were randomly selected from each ability group and they were examined qualitatively. The essay type answers of these papers were examined to see their grammar, sentence structures and vocabulary usage. The researchers‘ objective here was to see whether the students had used the correct language to discuss the answers. The findings of this research show the impact of the students‘ proficiency in English language on their performance in main subjects of the degree programme. Moreover, this research identifies key factors that can be investigated in further research.
The Impact of Using Games on Improving Speaking Skills of English as a Second Language Students
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Alahakoon, P.P.; Udeshinee, W.A.P.
This research study is an attempt to investigate the impact of using ELT games in the classroom to improve the speaking skills of ESL learners. The research bases itself on the argument that using ELT games in the English learning classroom improves the students‟ proficiency in English. According to the previous research studies, playing games in the classroom can be viewed as a rich linguistic input and as an effective stimulus which enhance the four competences of a language: writing, reading, listening and speaking. This paper aims to investigate the impact of ELT games in enhancing English speaking skills of the undergraduates. The study will be carried out through classroom-based observations using two samples of first year undergraduates of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. Two classes (25 students in each class) will be selected and ELT games will be employed with one sample while the other will be taught without using ELT game. The findings of this research study demonstrate the effects of ELT games on the first year undergraduates‟ skill of English speaking. This study further suggests that the effective ELT games can be used in the classroom to improve the speaking skills of the ESL learners.