Browsing by Author "Sandya, B. M."

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A Case Study on the Effectiveness of Oral Approach in Internalizing the English Tenses.
(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Sandya, B. M.; Atchuthan, Y.
Writing sentences without making mistakes in the application of tenses is important to express the intended meaning. In Sri Lankan context, even though the students are learning English as a second language from the elementary level, and even at tertiary education, they make mistakes in English tenses. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of oral approach to internalize the structure of tenses. Fifty first year students from the Faculty of Business Studies at Vavuniya Campus were selected as the random sample of the study and the study was conducted for three months using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Pre-tests and post-test were conducted to evaluate the students‟ progress. According to the pre-test, 43 students (86%) made mistakes in tenses while only 7 students (14%) formed accurate sentences using the tenses. Therefore, all the tenses in English were taught one by one and at the end of the teaching of each tense, 15 minutes were allocated for oral practice. Each student in the classroom was given a chance to produce at least 10 sentences orally and when they made mistakes, they were corrected by the researcher. After three months, a written test was conducted. This post-test revealed that 48 students, 96%, wrote sentences using the tenses correctly, while only 2 students, 4%, made mistakes again. Compared to pre-test, the number of students who wrote sentences using correct structure of tenses in the post-test increased by 41 which is 82% of the total sample. The number of students who made mistakes have been reduced to 4% which was 86% in the pretest. The results show the dramatic improvement of internalization of the tenses through oral approach. Students could form grammatically correct sentences promptly on various topics using correct structure of tenses. Further the students became very active, interactive and entertainers through the practicing in the classroom. Thus the study recommends that oral approach is more effective to internalize the English tenses.
Short-term Training and Continuous Feedback:A New Approach to Train English Language Teachers.
(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Sandya, B. M.; Atchuthan, Y.
Even though the universities, teacher-training colleges, and other higher education institutions in Sri Lanka produce trained English language teachers annually, they are unable to fulfill the country‟s entire education need. Shortage or absence of trained English language teachers in the primary classes in certain parts of the country affects the language learning processes of students, which could ultimately lead to the collapse of the entire system of education. This paper elaborates an action research which was carried out in Mulaitivu district with the purpose of examining the new ways of producing English language teachers in the rural areas of Vanni Region. Ten villages in Mullaitivu district which have very limited facilities for education were considered, from which fifteen school leavers and four graduates who were awaiting employment were selected. It was confirmed that the selected individuals had an enthusiastic background in education, especially for learning English language, with at least an “S” pass in English language obtained for G.C.E Ordinary Level Examination. The school leavers and the graduates were given one-week residential teacher training which enabled the instructors to teach English language from the alphabet to the level which enables students to produce small sentences in their day today life. The four major language skills were given importance throughout this training programme: listening, speaking, reading and writing. After the training, they were appointed as Centre Coordinators in their respective villages in order to gather and coordinate the school children in those specific areas. Centre Coordinators‟ main responsibilities were to coordinate the school children from their villages and duplicating the language items for the students taught by a master teacher during his or her visit. This research was conducted for two years with two, one and a half hour classes each week. Centre coordinators were payed to be motivated. Each month they were given one-day teacher training which covered classroom management, English language teaching pedagogy etc. and their teaching practice was monitored by the researcher continuously with feedbacks where necessary. To evaluate the validity of the study, qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. A written examination was conducted for the teachers once a month to evaluate their progress. Through participatory observation, questionnaire, and interviews with the trained teachers and their students and parents, the study proved its effectiveness. In this way, all the villages of that region gained trained English language teachers and the students in those areas became enthusiastic in learning English as they had dedicated English teachers in their own villages. Thus, this study recommends this new approach to train English language teachers in the areas where shortage or absence of trained English language teachers is experienced.
Ways to be Adapted to Increase the Pass Rate in English Language in the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination in Vanni Schools.
(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Sandya, B. M.; Atchuthan, Y.
In Sri Lanka, students learn English as either their second or a foreign language. Even though the schoolchildren in Sri Lanka learn English as their second language from grade three, the pass rate, even after eight years of education is not at a satisfactory level in certain parts of the country. This research paper analyses the reasons for the low pass rate in English language in G.C.E Ordinary Level Examination in Vanni schools and it offers specific recommendations that can be practiced by the policy makers, school administrators, supervisors and language teachers in order to produce many English language speakers with higher pass rates in English in those regions. Students from five schools in Mullaitivu and Vavuniya districts are considered randomly for this study and the study was carried out in private classrooms located in Nedunkerny, Mathiyamadu, Katsilaimadu, Marailluppai, Kulavisuddan and Thanduvan for three years using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Accordingly, pre-test and final evaluation were conducted along with interviews, observation, and discussion throughout the study. The pass rate of the students was also analysed. Before the study, in the schools from where the samples were selected, only less than 20% of students passed the above mentioned examination in previous years. The reasons for this lower pass rate in English language exam were found out and the recommendations were implemented in the said private classes in order to examine their validity. The recommendations of the study are as follows: teaching with remedial syllabus to fill the knowledge gaps of the students caused in previous years, highlighting the teacher‟s specific roles as a coordinator, motivator, and source of knowledge and patience in those areas. In addition, conducting monthly parents‟ meetings to discuss the issues related to English language teaching and learning faced by the students, and giving awareness to the parents on the ideology of actual English language teaching and learning. Moreover, providing training to the teachers on teaching methodology in this special setting, teaching the students how to use the language items in their day-to-day life taught in the class, preparing lesson plans accordingly and paying special attention for setting proper term examination papers. Once these recommendations were implemented in the classes, the results were favourable and it was proved through a special final evaluation conducted orally as well as in written form for the sample participants in grade 10 and 11. The participants were asked to answer the questions in 2016 past paper book for this evaluation. This special final evaluation revealed that 75% of students were able to gain more than 63 out of 100 marks in the written examination. At the same time, the oral evaluation showed the students‟ ability to communicate in English in their day-to-day life.