ICLSL 2017
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Item 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.Item 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.Item 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.Item The Contrast between Jaffna Tamil and Upcountry Tamil: A Dialectological Study.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Yasmini, P.The scientific study of dialects is known as dialectology, which is generally regarded as a subfield of sociolinguistics. Tamil, which belongs to the Dravidian language family, is one of the major languages spoken in Sri Lanka. As Tamil is a diglossic language, it constitutes two complementary varieties: the literary and the colloquial. The latter has a variety of dialects both regional and social. The aim of this research is to identify the contrast between regional dialects of Tamil. The Jaffna Tamil dialect is a Tamil dialect that is native to the Jaffna peninsula and it is the primary dialect used in the entire north province of Sri Lanka. The upcountry Tamil dialect is another Tamil dialect, which is native to the central province and Uva province. In this paper, the Jaffna dialect of Tamil is compared with the upcountry dialect of Tamil with emphasis on different linguistic features. A contrastive study and descriptive analysis was conducted to identify the differences and similarities between Jaffna Tamil dialect and upcountry Tamil dialect. The primary data were collected through participatory observation and the secondary data for this study were obtained from related books, journal articles, conference proceedings and websites. Jaffna Tamil dialect is largely distinct from the Upcountry Tamil dialects of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, a number of similarities and dissimilarities in phonology, morphology, and lexicon of Jaffna Tamil and Upcountry Tamil dialects have been identified.Item Analysis of Learner Errors Seeking the Requisite Cognitive Skills to Address Them.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Rathnayake, W. M. P. Y. B.; Wijesekera, G. J. S.Analysis of errors (EA) in learner language in search of clues of language acquisition has been an interesting area of applied linguistics. Traditional EA approaches spot sources of learner errors in terms of interlingual and intralingual base that gave way for the language teachers to find remedial measures. This study endeavors to spot learner error sources in terms of a proposed phrase structure linguistic taxonomy aligned with pre-defined frames of requisite cognitive skills deemed for learners to construct phrase structures of the language devoid of errors. The error sources thus are captured along with such cognitive skills, and consequently remedial measures are proposed for each category of errors and their sources by prescribing linguistic content for the ESL input espoused with strategy of metacognitive nature. The errors are analyzed framing the study within the problem: what combination of linguistic and metacognitive strategy content can encourage metacognitive learning to enable learner language devoid of errors. A corpus of learner language composed by executing an exercise of composition nature among 45 Architecture undergraduates provides the data for EA. The EA has been able to convince the impact made by each basic phrase structure in contribution to surface errors. Verb phrase, noun phrase and diction associated errors lead the frequency line up convincing us the relevant cognitive skills to be empowered among learners to avoid further surfacing of errors. Qualitative analysis provides acute clues on learner experiments and cognitive functions employed within the learner cognition in second language acquisition (SLA) process. The cognitive skills based categorization of errors and such analysis of cognitive skills base makes the study easy to negotiate remedial measures required for addressing learner errors. The analysis confirmed the need for a thorough exposure of every basic phrase structure in a prospective input espoused with metacognitive strategy to address learner errors with varying emphasis at different cognitive skills.Item A Study on Divergent English Translations for ‘Bhavaṅga’.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Wijayawimala Thero, Suriyawewa; Sugunaseela Thero, YakkaduweThe term bhavaṅga of the Theravāda Buddhist Philosophy is predominant due to many reasons. When studying the discourses of the Buddha, this term cannot be found anywhere in the basket of discourses (suttapitaka). Therefore, it is to be believed that this term is a production of later disciples of the Buddhist Philosophy. It is, to be believed that this term appeared, for the first time, in the Abhidhamma treaties which were composed soon after the Buddha‟s parinibbāna (passing away). Although, its history began with the oldest Abhidhamma compilations, the uppermost development of it is distinguished in the latter period of Theravāda Buddhist philosophy. In other words, it is implied that this term appears to be the basis of the entire Theravāda Buddhist Philosophy. As a result, various kinds of interpretations exist among the scholars who write on the Theravāda Buddhist philosophy, to elucidate the nature and real meaning of the Buddhist Philosophical term bhavaṅga. Hence, it has been difficult to select an exact and more appropriate translation to convey the accurate sense of the term. Therefore, this research focuses in distinguishing the most convenient translation of the term by scrutinizing almost all translations that have been given for the term so far.Item A Study on the Effective use of Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) for Language Teaching.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Wijayawardane, B.Re-thinking classrooms today, learning in the 21st century cannot be limited to literacy and numeracy, but needs to be broadened to enable students to think, deliberate and address the socio-emotional problems they face individually and collectively with technological advancements. Within the field of language learning, many approaches and methodologies exist and these changes are due to influences dictated by new psychological theories of learning as well as innovative technologies. Nowadays, most ELT educators consider the use of technology is essential to improve the teaching and learning process of a new language. The recent introduction of the Interactive Whiteboard in schools in Sri Lanka has created the question about the usage of this new tool to enhance teaching and students‟ learning. It made the teachers deal with phenomenon of interactive whiteboards; their characteristics, installation in schools, possible ways of use and contributions to English lessons. The main aim of this paper is to examine the tool from various perspectives, to research the situation of IWBs in Sri Lanka and to provide technical as well as methodological support for teachers of English as a foreign language. The theoretical part summarizes facts about interactive whiteboards on the basis of worldwide research and publications, whereas the main body is more teacher-oriented and focuses on the practical aspects of using IWBs at schools.Item A Study about Language Rights Violation in the Post War Sri Lanka.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Wickramasinghe, D. D.Language constitutes a fundamental right of all citizens of Sri Lanka. According to Chapter III, Article 12 (2), no citizen shall be discriminated against on grounds of language. The constitutional provisions thus entitle a citizen to transact business with and access government in the language of his/her choice. Language as a right defines a set of duties and obligations on the part of the State and of the citizen that would enable the fulfillment of such rights. Language emerged as a crucial factor in political mobilization of the two major communities, the Sinhala and Tamil in the post war scenario. However, the language rights continued to be flouted in certain state sectors in the postwar Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to find out which sectors in the society have the most tendency to breach the language policy and there forth to recommend a proper mechanism. The findings reveal that the non-compliance of language policy occurs to a degree in terms of visibility and ambience and service delivery in the government offices. It is recommended to perform a revision in the language policy act and the proper decentralization of the language policy provisions to the ground level and to create designated bilingual positions in the government sector. The study was of qualitative nature and the data for the study was accumulated from the complaints and investigation Division Official Languages Commission of Sri Lanka where the language complaints was analyzed in terms of the nature of the violation of the language policy.Item A Study of the Strategies Used by Aphasics in the Retrieval of Words in Their First Language.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Weerasinghe, K. W. A. A. G.Word retrieval difficulty is a characteristic of Aphasia, which is a language impairment that occurs due to brain damage. Stroke is the main cause of brain damage that results in Aphasia. Individuals utilize various strategies to retrieve words in their speech. Finding out the successful strategies used by individuals experiencing Aphasia can be implemented in therapy activities as well as in facilitating communication in daily settings. The specific objectives of the study are to identify strategies used by Sinhala speaking individuals who experience Aphasia when retrieving single words in a picture-naming task, to identify strategies used when retrieving single words during a conversation and to identify the strategies used by the carers to support word retrieval. A descriptive study was carried out in a government hospital Speech and Language Therapy unit on 10 individuals experiencing Aphasia and their carers who were selected through consecutive sampling. Each pair carried out two conversational tasks and a picture-naming task. Video recordings were done of the activities carried out and verbatim translations were made. The strategies were identified which were used in successful retrieval of a predetermined set of nouns. These were analysed using psycholinguistic theories. Four findings emerged as successful strategies used by the individuals experiencing Aphasia, which were fillers, circumlocutions, conduit d‟Approche and gestures. Semantic cues and phonemic cues were identified as strategies used by their carers in facilitating word retrieval. Individuals experiencing Aphasia with word retrieval difficulties can be supported in word retrieval using different strategies, which are self-generated, as well as carer prompted. Carers need advice and training in strategies that can be used in helping word retrieval other than semantic and phonemic cueing.Item A Comparative Study of the Products of Machine Translations and Human Translations in the Field of Literary Translation.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Udeshika, O.P.D.Translations can be mainly categorized as technical and non-technical translations. Literary translations which belongs to the category of non-technical translations are considered to be challenging than technical translations. With the modern technology, the manual translation has been replaced by machine translation and it is popular due to its easiness, inexpensiveness and it is time saving. The aim of this study is to identify the issues regarding Machine Translation in comparison to manual translation related to literary translations. Data was collected by comparing “Malagiya Aththo” written by Ediriweera Sarachchandra and its Japanese translation “Nakibito|” by Tadashi Noguchi with the translation gained through Google Translate. Selected sentences which include cultural terms have been translated through Google translate and they were compared with the original text. In this comparison, it is clear that the manual translation has performed better than the Machine translation. It is because, in the manual translation, the translator has used precise words in Japanese (L2) for the cultural terms appeared in the original text, without harming its original meaning. Therefore, the reader may not get the feeling that he is reading a translation. In contrast, the machine translator always provides with inaccurate terms, which in fact changed the meaning of those sentences. While human translator has captured a greater referential cohesion of literature, Google translations has performed less in capturing literary cohesion. Translation of literature is a far more creative art than other types of translations. Software can translate many words quickly, but still it cannot express the meaning of a sentence exactly as a human translator can. In Literary translations, Human Translation is more effective than Machine Translation. Therefore, Human translation remains the most reliable, most accurate form of translation.