Symposia & Conferences
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Item The opinions on the use of Sinhala language in adult ELT classroom: A survey conducted at the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya(International Conference on the Humanities (ICH 2018/2019), Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Ratnayake, A.R.M.J.C.The study set out to investigate the opinions of the use of Sinhala language in adult English Language Teaching (ELT) classrooms. First it is important to state that research in regard to the opinions of the use of Sinhala in Adult ELT classrooms is limited in the Sri Lankan context. The survey was conducted at the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya. For the purpose of this study 20 first year undergraduates belonging to the basic level group were randomly chosen. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. The main research questions of this research study were whether first language (L1) favoured ELT classrooms or not and whether students and teachers favoured the use of L1 in ELT classroom for teaching and learning processes and also whether L1 use in the classroom motivated and influenced students in an attitude change. The findings were used to determine whether they agreed or disagreed with the use of first language in the second language (L2) classrooms. At the same time, two ESL classrooms were monitored and observed for a semester in which one class used only the target language (TL) and on the other L1 was used for classroom activities and instruction. In order to gauge whether L1 use improves students motivation and attitudinal changes through student attendance, student attendance records were summarized and the number of students in each group who participated in ESL classes during the semester were listed down. Finally, the records of the percentage of the students‘ attendance was calculated to gauge whether L1 use in ESL classrooms led to student motivation and a change in student attitudes. The data collected from the students and instructors‘ responses in the interviews were also analyzed. The study revealed that students‘ L1 is used for pedagogical, administrative and international purposes in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom and that instructors teaching in these basic level classes used the L1 as a strategy to accommodate students‘ low language proficiency and also as a strategy to create more student friendly classrooms. Based on the findings it is posited that the students‘ L1 might be a useful strategy that enhance target language acquisition. With respect to the opinions with regard to L1 use in adult ELT classrooms, both the students and instructors stated that it facilitates the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (FL).Item Language Acquisition Patterns: A Case Study of a Child Acquiring Sinhalese as the First Language(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Weerawardhana, V.Child language acquisition is an innate strategy which reveals the psychological base of human language. Innate hypothesis is the pre-knowledge of the language. Human beings are born with this ability of internalising the first language with the help of language Acquisition Device (LAD). Children acquire structural regularities of their mother language (L1) from their environment. This happens in the critical period of the language development which is identified as the period from first six months to three years. This research is a case study focusing on the nature and the patterns of acquiring the Sinhalese language as L1. The child was in its critical period of language acquisition and data was collected using electronic and manual transcription. Structural linguistic analysis and theoretical concepts of Transformational Grammar on language acquisition such as competence and performance, generalisation, simplification, deep structure and surface structure are employed as the methodology. Accordingly, the gradual development of L1 acquisition from 6 months to 24 months are discussed. Babbling, sound acquisition and patterns of one word utterances, two word and three word utterances are among the findings. A comparison with the previous studies reveal that the patterns of above utterances, generalisation and simplification are commonly visible in the acquisition period. Also, the child often proves that competence is greater than performance. The results of the study further highlighted some semantic, syntactic and morphological overgeneralisations. Thus, this study and its findings are of significant importance to psycholinguists, language therapists and to researchers interested in studying child language acquisition process.Item Factors which generate Pronunciation Difficulties for the Undergraduates of University of Kelaniya(English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wijesundara, E.; Wijesooriya, K.; Pathirana, S.; Warnasooriya, K.The research paper will focus on the fundamental pronunciation problems faced by the randomly selected undergraduates who learn English as a second language in the University of Kelaniya. The sample of this study consists of the undergraduates belonging to faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management in the University. The collection of data was done as a semi structured interview (Pronunciation Test) and as a questionnaire. The sample consisted of forty undergraduates for the questionnaire and ten undergraduates for the semi structured interview. The research was carried out in September 2015.The study identified two major problematic areas; how the puberty age affects for pronunciation and how the rural and urban distinction affects for pronunciation. The findings show that undergraduates who started learning English before puberty are more fluent in English than others and undergraduates from urban areas are more fluent in English than those who are from rural areas. The study also revealed other pronunciation problems such as anxiety, family background, influence of the first language and incomplete knowledge about grammar and vocabulary. Based on these findings the researcher recommends that the undergraduates will be able to overcome these pronunciation difficulties and speak in English correctly by implementing teaching methods regarding pronunciation in English classroom, giving proper phonetic training, practicing pronunciation activities and having good motivation as well.