Browsing by Author "Embogama, S."

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Course Contents of the English Language Textbook for Advance Level Students in Sri Lankan Government Schools and Their Relevance to Learners’ Culture
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Embogama, S.
The importance with regard to the acquisition of the English language was highlighted to a greater extent especially since the 1990s as it was crucial in maintaining open channels of communication between the Sinhala and Tamil speaking communities. The ethnic conflict that ravaged Sri Lanka for almost a decade mainly due to linguistic differences is testimony to the importance of using English when communicating with different ethnicities so that there is little room for conflicts as a result of the communication gap. Therefore, apart from the notion that the English language is a highly prestigious language which provides access to all kinds of privileges in the multi-ethnic context of Sri Lanka, it is also regarded as the language that connects our people. In such a context, the new GCE A/L English syllabus was revised in 2000. The main objective of the course was to provide students with a reasonable command of the target language in the areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing and further to help students acquire language and communicative competency so that they may be able to function effectively in contexts in which the English language is actively used. The study analyses the Advanced Level English text book used by government schools in Sri Lanka by focusing on its portrayal of local nationalities. An evaluation of the book reveals that it radically deconstructs the glorification of the WASP culture (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) by using culturally appropriate authentic materials for teaching the English language. It makes references to the learners’ cultural environment, their history and traditions whereby the gap between the students’ world and that of the European world perspective is minimized. The overall analysis, therefore, stresses on the extent to which the writers are aware of the pedagogical implications of bringing the “Other” to the Centre.
A study of instrumental, integrative and personal motivation levels of Telecommunication Engineering students learning English as a Second Language
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Embogama, S.
Motivation is a crucial variable that constitutes to the development of a second language (L2). Hence, it is a prerequisite for the successful acquisition of a target language under almost all circumstances. The need to acquire an L2 in the context of an academic environment by virtue of the fact that it is the medium of instruction leaves students with no option but to develop proficiency in the target language. This study evaluated a group of telecommunication Engineering students’ motivation and attitudes towards learning the English language using the three motivational constructs proposed by Gardner: instrumental, integrative and personal in order to identify which category of motivation is the most crucial one for this particular set of undergraduates. The sample population consisted of a group of seventy-five first-year undergraduates at the Sri Lanka Technological Campus (SLTC). The primary source of data collection was done through the adaptation of Gardner’s motivation questionnaire named the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and the findings revealed that the main reason why these learners wanted to acquire the English language was instrumental since they had to use the target language for academic purposes. The highest scoring was obtained for the assertion that learning the English language is a means of ensuring that they are in a position to use it to become successful in the study programme being followed. Therefore, the findings of the study stressed the importance of engaging in teaching activities that would target this particular need of the particular sample student population whose requirements for learning it are mostly for academic purposes rather than for cultural acculturation with that of the community of target language speakers. The research concludes by divulging certain pedagogical factors that could be used in similar academic environments as means of identifying, developing and sustaining high levels of motivation among adult L2 learners.