Symposia & Conferences
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10219
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item A Study on the Language Planning Situation in British Colonial Ceylon.(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Perera, A.Language is one of the prominent resources that should be planned for the socio-political well-being of a multilingual and multi-ethnic country. This study intends to examine the Colonial Period Language Planning of Ceylon, particularly from 18-19 centuries, which is in the British Colonial Period. The study was done with special focus on the types of language policies introduced by the British to govern their official domains, specially the administrative process and the judicial services. The data was collected from official documents such as Colebrook and Cameron paper, books, journals and from discussions. According to the findings, English has been introduced as the only official language for administration, Judicial and other official domains in this particular time period and it was established through Colebrooke, Cameron and Dounghmore constitutional reforms. Research findings show that majority of the Ceylonese were either Sinhala or Tamil native speakers and limited number of people could work in English. According to the recommendations of this research the monolingual policy, is not suited for the multilingual and multi-ethnic country. However, British rulers should have introduced the national level for the Sinhalese and Tamil Languages. This gap caused many problems during that period and afterwards. Findings of this research can be used in preparing a better language planning Policy in Sri Lanka and the other countries where multi-ethnic groups exist.Item Colonial Period Language Planning in Sri Lanka(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Perera, A.In linguistically heterogeneous societies, language planning constitutes core institutional practice for maintaining social cohesion as well as unique cultural identities. This study intends to examine the Colonial Period Language Planning in Sri Lanka. The data were collected through official documents, books, journals and thesis such as Colbrooke Cameron Papers, Language Planning by Robert. B. Kaplan etc. The first Europeans to visit Sri Lanka in modem times were the Portuguese who arrived in 1505 and the Dutch who captured Ceylon in 1656. Then the British presence in Sri Lanka began in 1796. The arrival of Europeans was a novel influence on our languages. During those periods Portuguese, Dutch and English were introduced as their official languages and Greek, Latin and Hebrew were included as the languages under the education planning. The colonisation brought European style of education to Sri Lanka, especially to prepare students for positions in the colonial administrations. All official domains were conducted in their official languages. Accordingly, those language policies were introduced to our educational system and to Sinhalese and Tamil languages. As a result, only few people could obtain a proper education and most of the people remained uneducated. Therefore, those language policies caused several social issues. Moreover, Mr. J. R. Jayawardhana introduced a new language planning proposal to change the colonial language planning in 1944. However, that proposal could not be implemented properly. This was a reason for the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka that took place after the independence.Item Teaching English as a Second Language in Sri Lanka: Facing a Paradox(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Perera, A.English is the most popular foreign language in Sri Lanka. This language played a key role in the process of social stratification which took place after the collapse of the feudal and the colonial systems. After teaching English for so many years in schools, why do students hesitate to follow and indirectly reject this subject at school level? There is a continuing matter of debate on whether first language (L1) contributes to or precludes the learning of a second language (L2). Internationally numerous studies have been conducted on this topic, but no clear consensus exists on whether L1 should be banned or its inclusion in classrooms should be allowed. However, few studies have identified the reasons for which students need such an inclusion. So this opinion survey was done to find out the root causes of this particular problem in Sri Lanka. This study primarily investigates the opinions of the persons who can make an influence on this issue. So, two university professors, one provincial director of English Education, two zonal directors of English Education, three instructors of English Education in three educational divisions and two instructors of English Education, attached to zonal English Support Centers were interviewed. This survey was confined to find data regarding the use of Sinhala as the mother tongue (MT) in teaching English as a second language. The findings may be useful to language education policy-makers in designing more formal and concrete guidelines to help teachers who teach English as a second language. While some interviewees agree the use of L1 judiciously in classrooms, all the interviewees agree, to make an impact on policy makers in this regard to design policies as well as a methodical approach to teach English as a second language in comparison with mother tongue (MT).