ICLSL 2017

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Author: search.filters.author.Premaratne, C. D. H. M.

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    A Case Study on the University Students‟ Beliefs on the Methodology Used for English Language Teaching.
    (The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Dayananda, G.M.C.M.; Premaratne, C. D. H. M.
    Beliefs are a main construct in the process of Language learning. Students‟ beliefs on the methodology that their teachers employ in improving language skills of the students play a major role in English language teaching and learning. The aim of this research is to identify the attitudes of the university students on the methodology used in the English language teaching process. The data was collected by a modified questionnaire administered from the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory by Horwitz. It was distributed among forty first year undergraduates of the Faculty of Business Studies and Finance in the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. For further confirmation, three lecturers who conducted English lectures for the Faculty of Business Studies and Finance were interviewed. 100% of the students accept that they should repeat and practice a lot to be successful in the Language classroom. 92.5% of the students believe that new technology must be used in an innovative way and 52.5% of the students think that exposure to the culture of the native speakers is important in enhancing the English Language competence. According to the key findings of this research, it is evident that time allocated for the practice is not satisfactory and immediate correction of errors is essential as errors can be fossilized. Due to the less exposure to the culture of native English speakers, it is beneficial to encourage students for the practice of the language as it will develop the communication competence. Therefore, it is important to promote student centered learning and out of classroom language learning among the university students to be successful in English language learning process. The research findings depicts that it is vital to introduce information communication technology to the second language classroom.
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    Attitudes of University Students towards Second Language Learning.
    (The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Anupama, D.S.; Premaratne, C. D. H. M.
    Second Language Acquisition occurs in both informal and formal linguistic contexts and both these contexts are essential in enhancing the language skills of the learners. This study is aimed at investigating the attitudes of the students towards second language learning „inside the classroom‟ and „outside the classroom‟. A random sample of 54 second year students of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the Wayamba University was selected for the study. The data was gathered by employing a questionnaire, which carried questions that dealt with the attitudes of the students on this matter. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of the SPSS statistical software. It was found that the majority of the students in the sample agreed to the fact that out-of-classroom language learning (OCLL) improved their speaking skills (37%) and vocabulary (41%) but when it comes to writing, majority i.e. 44% neither agreed nor disagreed to the fact that OCLL improved their writing. In addition, majority of the students (46%) believed that they learnt English in formal contexts than in informal contexts. Furthermore, majority of the students (46%) strongly agreed to the notion that learning English through OCLL is more enjoyable than learning English inside a classroom and 43% strongly agreed to the idea that OCLL motivates them to learn English. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the students acknowledge the importance of OCLL. However, they believe that both in-class learning and out-of-class learning should go hand in hand to further enhance the language knowledge. When it comes to „enjoyableness‟, students place their interest upon out-of-classroom language learning than in-class language learning. Hence, the language teachers should get the maximum use of OCLL, by integrating what is done inside the classroom with activities that can be done outside the classroom, to give the students the opportunity to use the language in an authentic linguistic environment.