Browsing by Author "Gamage, S.U."

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“Hoos’ and Hurrahs in Jumbo vs. Betel Final”
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Gamage, S.U.
This study attempts to investigate the common morphological processes used in forming neologisms found in Sri Lankan print media. The morphological processes adopted in this study are affixation, compounding, borrowing, acronomy, clipping and blending. The oxford English dictionary defines neologism as ―a new word or expression‖ or the coining or use of new words. Neologisms are formed daily in most languages around the world. Nowadays, many Sri Lankan ESL learners tend to use these neologisms in their writing compositions and in their conversations knowingly or unknowingly with the advent of social sites. Furthermore, many journalists make it a practice to use at least one or more neologisms in their newspaper articles to expand their vocabulary. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to find out how word formation has become an important process in the growth and expansion of the English vocabulary. The research problem of this study was what are the morphological processes frequently used in forming neologisms found in print media. The neologisms were collected from a selected weekly paper ―The Island‖. The data collection lasted throughout the month of August, 2015.40 neologisms were found after a careful observation of the editorials in ―The Island‖ newspaper. These selected neologisms were classified into their respective word classes. After that the meanings of the selected neologisms were mentioned based on the context in which they have been used in the selected material. Finally, the morphological processes of the selected neologisms were identified and analyzed by the researcher. Based on the analysis of the data it was found that ―affixation‖ is the most frequently used morphological process in forming new words whereas ―acronomy‖ is the second most frequently used neologism in forming neologisms. The study also showcased that ―blending‖ is the least frequently used morphological process out of the six morphological processes identified in the study. It was clearly evident from the findings that English is a language that is subjected to constant growth. In conclusion it is clear that the morphological processes that have been used for decades are still being used in the formation of neologism.
Leadership Training Programme –Does It Create a Positive or a Negative Impact? A Case Study of the New Entrants, University of Kelaniya
(University of Kelaniya, 2012) Gamage, S.U.
The leadership training programme launched by the Ministry of Higher Education has become a widely discussed, controversial topic among most of the scholars and the general public. This study attempts to find out whether the leadership training programme creates a positive or a negative impact among new entrants. A sample of 100 undergraduates who followed the English Intensive Course at the University of Kelaniya was used for this study. A well structured questionnaire and interviews were used as the major method of qualitative and quantitative data collection in this study. The questionnaire administered to the new entrants was designed based on several factors related to leadership training programmes, such as, pragmatic knowledge about society and the world, awareness of modern technologies, conflict resolution capability, problem solving and facing challenges of physical fitness. Furthermore, 15 ELT (English Language Teaching) lecturers were interviewed with special focus on discipline, eticula patterns and sensitivity of the new entrants. The results of the study highlight that although the leadership training programme helps to build innovative, courageous, challenging and dynamic undergraduates the cultural norms, discipline and the sensitivity of the new entrants are deteriorating rapidly.
Music as an effective tool to increase levels of motivation, entertainment, and self-confidence of ESL learners
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gamage, S.U.
This study attempts to investigate whether music can be implemented as an effective tool in the ESL classrooms to increase motivation level, entertainment, and self-confidence among ESL learners. The hypothesis of the study was the use of English songs in an ESL classroom increase motivation level, entertainment and self- confidence among Sri Lankan ESL Learners. The sample of this study consists of 80 students from the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. This sample was divided into two groups as the control group and the experimental group. The control group was taught English verb forms in a traditional classroom setting whereas the experimental group was exposed to a teaching session of English verb forms using English songs. After that, a Likert-type scale questionnaire was distributed to rate the feelings and the attitudes of the students of the two groups in terms of the application and non-application of music in ESL classrooms.SPSS data package was used to analyze the data gathered from the questionnaires. The results of the study showcased that, the students of the experimental group (Group 18) have given a higher positive feedback about the English session than the control group (Group 03). In other words, the students who got exposed to background music and English songs in the ESL classroom has turned the classroom into an enjoyable and relaxing setting where the students’ interest, self-confidence, and motivation towards learning English verb forms have achieved an immense growth.
The Significance of Music in Teaching English Verb Forms to Learners of English as a Second Language.
(2016) Gamage, S.U.
Today, most of the ESL learners in Sri Lanka consider English language learning as anxiety packed, insipid and an unconquerable obstacle. As a facilitator in ELT (English Language Teaching) the researcher has experienced the negative responses of the students in terms oflearning English grammar in ESL classrooms. Most of the students find English verb forms as a difficult grammar section to be mastered in ESL classrooms. They tend to do many grammatical errors in their writings with specific reference to primary helping verbs and main verbs. Moreover, Karunarathna (1993) has mentioned that the methods employed by the facilitator have not been successful at improving English proficiency of ESL learners. Especially, when teaching English verb forms most of the facilitators have used the same old chalk and talk method. If facilitators can integrate music into ELT (English Language Teaching), the ELT sessions can be converted into a stress free, learner friendly atmosphere. This study attempts to investigate whether songs and background music can be implemented in teaching English verb forms. The sample of this study consists of 80 students from the Faculty of Management studies and Commerce of University of Sri Jayewardenepura. A pretest was administered to test their prior knowledge in English verb forms. After that, the selected sample was randomly divided into two groups. The control group was taught English verb forms in a traditional classroom setting whereas the experimental group was exposed to a teaching session of English verb forms using English songs and background music. Later on, the first test instrument, a posttest on English verb forms was administered - to assess the proficiency level of the students after getting them exposed to two different types of treatment. Then, the second test instrument, a likert type scale questionnaire was distributed to assess the feelings and attitudes of the students about iii the English class. Finally, the third test instrument, delayed posttest was administered to assess the memory retention of ESL learners. SPSS data package was used to analyze the data gathered from the questionnaires. The results of the posttest showcased that, the students of the control group outperformed the experimental group in terms of the proficiency level obtained at the posttest. Furthermore, the students of the experimental group claimed that the use of songs and background music in the classroom has turned the classroom into an enjoyable and relaxing setting where the students' interest, self-confidence and motivation towards learning English verb forms have achieved an immense growth. The results of the delayed posttest depicted that songs and background music have been a positive factor to increase the memory retention of the students. Even though, the combination of songs and background music negatively affected the acquisition of English verb forms the application of songs and background music in the classroom has increased the motivation level, entertainment and self-confidence of ESL learners and positively affects the memory retention of the targeted population. In conclusion, it is clearly evident that the use of English songs and background music in ESL classrooms has not been a supportive tool to teach English verb forms.
The Use of Music as an Effective Tool in English as a Second Language Classrooms to Teach Verb Forms
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gamage, S.U.
Today, most of the ESL learners in Sri Lanka consider English language learning as anxiety packed, insipid and an unconquerable obstacle. Moreover, Karunarathna (1993) has mentioned that the methods employed by the facilitator have not been successful at improving English proficiency of Sri Lankan school students. Especially, when teaching English verb forms, most of the facilitators have used the traditional chalk and talk method. If facilitators can integrate music into ELT (English Language Teaching), the ELT sessions can be converted into a stress free, learner friendly atmosphere. This study attempts to investigate whether music can be implemented in teaching English verb forms. The sample of this study consists of 80 students from the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce of University of Sri Jayewardenepura. A pretest was administered to test their prior knowledge in English verb forms. After that, the selected sample was randomly divided into two groups. The control group was taught English verb forms in a traditional classroom setting whereas the experimental group was exposed to a teaching session of English verb forms using English songs. Later on, a posttest on English verb forms was administered to assess the proficiency level obtained by the students after getting them exposed to two different types of treatments. The results of the posttest showcased that, the students of the control group outperformed the experimental group in terms of the proficiency level obtained at the posttest. In conclusion, it is clearly evident that the use of English songs in ESL classrooms has not been supportive in teaching English verb forms.