Browsing by Author "Gunarathne, N.M.A.D.W.C."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

First Language Interference in Second Language Speaking With a Special Reference to the Age Factor
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Gunarathne, N.M.A.D.W.C.
English language has been playing the role of the second language in Sri Lanka since the British imperialists came to Sri Lanka in 1815. Since then English language has taken significant place in Sri Lankan society because of its role as the second language. Moreover, it has become a medium of communication in both private sector and government sector in providing a wide range of employments and it has become the language of not only the upper class but also upper middle class. Therefore learning and teaching English Language in Sri Lanka have been given priority. However, a problem encountered in the field of English is that although the second language learners are fluent in writing, why the learners cannot achieve native like speech in speaking the English as a second Language. Hence the research focuses on exploring the reason for the above issue. A survey was done taking 120 students whose first language is Sinhala with the intention of identifying the errors made by the second language learners in speaking English as a second language. In order to accumulate the necessary data, both quantitative and qualititative methods are used. Questionnaires, interviews have been done under these methods and in addition to that each student is supposed to make a speech of 3 minutes which is recorded for analyzing the changes of phonology of each language. The results reveal that the learner’s first language interferes when they speak the second language which can also be defined as mother tongue interference or phonetic interference. Moreover the data manifest that the interference occurs where the learner find difficulty to pronounce the sounds of English Language. Thereby these sounds are often replaced by similar sounds in Sinhala sound system. What is more to remark is that this mispronunciation also causes semantic errors and it will be a barrier to the communication. Extending the research further, it is also found that “Age” is a cause for the interference and plays a crucial role in learning a second language. The research draws the attention of the responsible authorities and academics that facilitate teaching and learning English as a second language in Sri Lanka.
The impact of gender in learning English as a Second Language; A case study in the faculty of Management at University of Ruhuna
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Gunarathne, N.M.A.D.W.C.
The number of female students is rapidly increasing than male students in universities in Sri Lanka showing the contribution of women in future workforce. Entering to new life of university, equally both male and female students face many difficulties due to the adoption of English Language as the medium of subjects they are studying in their faculties. Nevertheless, analyzing their academic performances, it is significant the fact that the female students demonstrate better academic performances than male students. Being aware of the fact, hypnotising their gender has an impact learning the English Language, a survey was done taking 104 students (52 females and 52 males) from the faculty of management at the University of Ruhuna. In order to accumulate the necessary data both quantitative and qualititative methods were used. A test paper was given to the students and the test paper included vocabulary, grammar, sentence structures and reading comprehension. To ensure the effectiveness of the test, the paper was checked by several experienced English Instructors. Several students were randomly selected and interviewed to check their speaking abilities. As far as speaking skill is concerned, both female and male students seemed to be excited and they were ensured to have a casual chat about their everyday life by the interviewer (the researcher). Marking the papers gave the evidence that the girls achieved significantly better than boys, supporting the fact that the girls are more open to new forms of a new language. When speaking as well the girls showed better fluency than boys. Gathering more information on the subject, some other articles, journals and research papers which had been done on the same topic were read. More importantly, it is found that there is not a direct connection between gender and learning English language but it depends on the motivation, commitment, enthusiasm and social background they are living in which is different from the hypothesis. Moreover it is noticed that the girls‘ interaction is higher than boys in the class and in the society. Thus the reason behind why girls are more motivated than boys is that the girls‘ attitudes learning English, is very positive. Nevertheless, the previous researchers present that the results of doing such investigations are still controversial and what makes better learners is not the gender but the effective education. Therefore, the study concludes outlining some implications for the educational policy makers.
Using Poetry in Teaching English as a Second Language as a Means of Improving Language Production
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gunarathne, N.M.A.D.W.C.
With the intention of meeting the needs of English Language learners, Language teachers and instructors are trying to use different methods to improve the language skills of the students. It has been observed that the majority of the students are weak in speaking and writing in English Language. Therefore this paper aims to explore how poetry can be used as a teaching tool in improving speaking and writing among English Language learners. A survey was done using 35 students at the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technology, Tangalle. Several instruments were used in this research. They were some speaking activities, writing activities, questionnaires, interviews. As for the materials, six English poems were selected by different poets. More than 90% students were engaged in all the activities given to them. A significant progress could be seen in both speaking and writing activities with compared to their previous performance in these activities. With respect to the vocabulary they tried to use new words which were learnt through the poems in writing and speaking. Further from the data that were collected through questionnaire, it was learnt 100% of the students agreed with the view that these activities were really helpful and encouraged them to speak and considerably the students were highly motivated, active and enthusiastic since they were free to express their views on the poems unlike on other days. Consequently, the students were less hesitant and became creative in the process. This process was carried out for four weeks and the last two weeks were very important because the students showed considerable improvements. Therefore the results of the research show that the use of poetry in classrooms is very effective and productive indicating fact that poetry can be used as a strategy for improving the language production of the students.