An Analytical Study of Practical and Linguistic Problems Arising in the Study of Literature for University Students Studying Hindi as a Foreign Language: Based on Hindi Prose Literature

Abstract

The contribution of literature to the learning and teaching of a foreign language is enormous. The study of the literature on those languages for language learning is the subject of discussion in many books and research studies. Although Hindi is a practically unused language in Sri Lanka, it is taught as a foreign language in many educational institutions. Among these, Hindi studies have a prominent place in Sri Lankan universities, where Hindi prose literature is naturally used. According to the facts obtained from the presurvey of the students, it was found that they face some kind of challenging situation in the study of Hindi prose literature. The main objective of this study is to identify the challenging pedagogical problems arising in the study of Hindi prose literature. Apart from this, other objectives of this study are to help make literature an attractive and problem-free method of study for students by discussing solutions to those problems. This study is going to be conducted as qualitative research. In this study, the survey research method, as well as the evidence-based research method, will be used. Primary data will be obtained through a questionnaire. Data is collected from the third- and fourth-year undergraduates studying Hindi at Kelaniya, Sabaragamuwa and Sri Jayawardhanapura Universities, selected as the research sample. The secondary data will be collected through interviews with university lecturers based on the primary data. These problems and challenges are to be classified and analysed mainly into two parts: practical and linguistic problems. The presumption of this study is that practical problems are more challenging than linguistic problems.