ICLSL 2017
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/18326
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Item First Language Interference in Learning Tamil as a Second Language:A Case Study.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Srikantharajah, S.Language learning has been one of the significant interest in the humanistic discipline. In recent studies, First Language Learning is viewed as a part of individual's biological development. Second Language Learning is a major discipline in both Applied Linguistics and Psycholinguistics, which have gained significance in educational contexts around the world today. In Sri Lanka Tamil Language acts as the First Language for Tamil and Muslim people, further the Sinhalese students learn it as a Second Language. Since Tamil and Sinhalese Languages belong to different Language families, many similarities and differences can be identified between these two languages. The aim of this research is to identify the Sinhalese Language interference in learning Tamil as a Second Language. A sample of twenty-three first year students, who are following Translation studies at the Department of Linguistics in University of Kelaniya were selected for this study. In the process of learning Tamil as a Second Language, students tend to perform many errors because of the interference of their first Language. The data were collected by studying the answer scripts, written assignments and presentations of the above-mentioned group of students. Twenty-three written assignments and answer scripts were analyzed using the theory of error analysis. Being a structural analysis, it consideres the errors from the lexical level. Thus, the first Language influence could be seen in morphological and syntactic levels. Significantly, many errors could be identified in morphological level, where 75% of the students made errors particularly in cases in Tamil. There are eight cases in Tamil and the Sinhalese students have shown no errors when making sentences in 1st (Nominative) and 8th (Vocative) cases because they are similar to Sinhalese, whereas they have made considerable number of errors when making sentences in other cases, particularly the 2nd (Accusative) and the 4th (Dative). Therefore, word-to-word translation is not effective in teaching cases in Tamil for the Sinhalese students, thus, it is recommended to teach Tamil while comparing the grammar rules with Sinhalese.Item The Impact of Gender Differences on Class Attendance and Student Performance in Second Language Learning (A Case Study Based on First Year Undergraduates of the Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya).(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Kelanigama, D.A.This study intends to investigate the relationship between gender and second language learning, while paying special attention to the class attendance of the undergraduates. This was achieved through the analysis of their performance in language in relation to class attendance according to their gender. The sample of this study consisted of 46 (23 male and 23 female) first year students from the Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya. The final grades based on the mid-term and end-term results on English tests and attendance recorded for both semesters of the students who completed the questionnaire based on the compelling reasons for absenteeism were obtained for analysis. The quantitative data collected were analysed using Statistical Package for Microsoft Excel Windows 2010. The study reveals that females are significantly successful than males in terms of overall test scores with the females scoring an average of almost fifteen points higher than male language learners. It is found that 92% of female students earning above-average grades have over 75% attendance while 83% of male students earning grades below class average have low attendance. Thus, class attendance seems to be particularly effective at reducing the number of failures while having stronger or weaker effect on the number of high grades received. When further analysing the possible underlying reasons for absenteeism, 43% of the males say that they use English hours to do the work of the other subjects they are doing while only 4% of females express the same. Moreover, 88% of the students who use English hours for extracurricular activities and students‟ union/ welfare activities are males. This is mostly due to the mind-set that they only have to focus on their own academic specification and utilize the English hours for such activities. Thus, it is found that there is a direct relationship between grades achieved for second language learning and the class attendance of the undergraduate corresponding to the specific gender.Item A Case Study on the Impact of Task-based Language Teaching on Improving English Speaking Skills.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Chandrasoma, K.M.K.U.Teaching English as a second language is gaining prominence within the scope of language teaching, where Task-based Language Teaching plays a major role, as it is comparatively a new method of English language teaching. The current study is a qualitative research, which is designed to identify the impact of practicing authentic tasks based on task-based language teaching in the ESL classroom in order to improve English speaking skills. Since most of the Sri Lankan students find it difficult to speak in English fluently even after learning English for almost 10 years at school denotes that an alteration in teaching methodology is required. The research sample was a randomly selected fifty students of English diploma followers at the Department of English and Modern Languages of Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy. The sample was supposed to face a pre-test along with a questionnaire. As the second step, they were subjected to a teaching program based on Task-based Language Teaching for three months proceeding with a post-test which was the same test they faced at the very beginning of the study. The ultimate objective of the study was to figure out the impact of Task-based language teaching method on improving English-speaking skills, and to obtain a clear idea about how they learnt English at school. When comparing the marks of each criterion of both the tests, it was obvious that speaking skills of the research sample has been improved by 20.9% in the post-test than the results of pre-test. The data collected through this research evidenced both the facts that, there is a positive impact of Task-based Language Teaching on improving English-speaking skills as a second language and the majority of the students are not satisfied with how they learnt English at school. Finally, it has been identified that, one‟s English speaking skills can effectively be nourished with the practice of Task-based Language Teaching Methodology.