Browsing by Author "Jayasinghe, M."

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Challenges faced by University Students in Foreign Language Acquisition
(English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Randhuli, I.; Jayasinghe, M.; Samaraweera, S.; Kaushalya, K.
University students encounter various challenges in learning a second or a foreign language. The research intends to figure out those challenges in making headway with the new target language from conversational to mastery. In fact, we separately plan to pinpoint the undergoing challenges with respect to skills of speaking and writing in accordance with the levels of language fluency at the moment. For this purpose, the methodology of this cohort and retrospective study is comprised of a structured questionnaire to be answered by “Beginner” and “Intermediate” students of foreign languages. The respondents are chosen effectively focusing on both Sri Lankan and Foreign students of university in order to acquire high accuracy in conclusions. The initial portion of the questionnaire focuses on identifying the student relative to the foreign language they learn, determining the level of fluency. The rest of the questionnaire is substantially directed upon the challenges they have confronted in writing and speaking the target language and their subjective solutions. The methodology, strategies of overcoming these challenges they face in beginner and intermediate levels in order to advance the language are the vital concerns of the research. How the resemblances of a known language can help to proceed for the comprehension of the new, whether it be the learner’s first language or another, is to be examined. Therefore the collection of obtained data is to be analyzed to determine the challenges at certain points of learning and to provide solutions to ease the process.
Determining the Violation of section 31(1) of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act: Regarding Alcohol Products
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Pallewaththa, P.W.P.W.K.; Niwarthana, H.P.G.; Jayasinghe, M.; Jayasinghe, C.; Abesinghe, C.; Nanayakkara, S.
Introduction: Sri Lanka was the fifth country in the South East Asian Region to sign the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC). National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act No. 27 of 2006 is one of cost effective measures that Sri Lanka apply to prevent issues regarding alcohol and tobacco use since 2006 under the FCTC. Objectives of the Act, is identifying the policies on protecting Public Health, eliminating of tobacco and alcohol related harm through the assessment and monitoring and make provision discouraging persons especially children from smoking or consuming alcohol. This study is considered only section 31 (1) of the NATA Act, which included ―A person not sell, offer for sale, or permit or promote the sale of any tobacco product or alcohol product to any person under twenty one years of age‖. Objective: To determine the violation of section 31(1) of the NATA Act, regards to Alcohol products. Methodology: Cross sectional study design was used for the study. Observation method was the data collection method. Data were collected in nine districts (n=45 registered alcohol selling points) in Sri Lanka. Multistage sampling method was used to select sample from registered alcohol selling points. An observation check list was applied as data collection tool and volunteers between the ages of 18 to 21 were assisted (as decoy) to purchase alcohol from selling points. Results: Results indicated that 93.3% registered alcohol selling points were violated the section 31(1) of the NATA Act. Conclusion: Based on the study results, it is clear that implementation of section 31(1) of the NATA Act, was less successful. Implementation of this legal provision of the NATA Act, would be an enormous intervention to address alcohol initiation of adolescence in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is essential to take actions for implementing section 31(1) by responsible bodies and authorized officers immediately.
Softening of Ethnic Boundaries in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost
(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Jayasinghe, M.
Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost published in 2000, depicts the ‘dark’ almost anarchic period in Sri Lanka, during which the armed forces had to combat the Sinhalese insurgents in the South, the Tamil separatist guerillas in the North and certain other disruptive elements in the country. Anil Tissera, Sri Lankan, an expatriate and a forensic specialist is forced on the government by the UNO to investigate the mysterious happenings of this period. Unable to accomplish her assignment because the proof of the case she builds up is spirited away, Anil is compelled to leave the country. Critics (Ismail, Kanaganayagam, Mukherjee and Sugunasiri) of Anil’s Ghost, accuse Ondaatje of being partial, apolitical and ahistorical. Even if so, this can be justified, because Ondaatje is neither a historian nor a sociologist, but a fiction writer. Hence, having no obligation to be committed to history. The author’s mixed origins, his multiple experiences obtained by residing abroad, interwoven with his status of a migrant writer, enables him to look at his country’s problems with a different point of view. Therefore, perhaps a mellow approach towards ethnic separations. Ondaatje seems to use doctors – those who have taken the vow of Hippoclytes – by design to present his opinion. At present, when an uneasy peace prevails in Sri Lanka, a paper of this nature seems opportune as its objective is to interpret Ondaatje’s attempt to attenuate the communal differences between the Sinhalese and the Tamils by giving priority to humanity than to ethnic identities. Reading critical works on the author and the novel, obtaining information through the Internet, and participating in discussions (study groups, literary circles) contributed to the writing of this paper. To conclude, though visibly Anil’s Ghost is a rendering of the troubled times in Sri Lanka, it holds a theme of universal importance where humanity could transcend racial barriers.