Browsing by Author "Gunawardena, C.P."

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Developing oral skills of students learning French as a foreign language
(Research Symposium 2009 - Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2009) Gunawardena, C.P.
This paper will focus on how to develop oral skills of Sri Lankan students who learn French as a foreign language. This topic is highly interesting as speaking skills are often under represented in the traditional classroom. This is mainly due to the fact that it is considered a less- academic skill than writing. A questionnaire was given to seventy university students studying French. The questions were aimed at summarizing the main difficulties faced by students when learning to speak French. A thorough study was also made on methodologies used in applied linguistics. It is important to elucidate the main issues related to the acquisition of oral skills mentioned by students and the emphasis will only fall upon the most pertinent issues such as the use of native languages (Sinhala and Tamil) and English in the classroom, over usage of translation, lack of interaction between teachers and students, problems of ignoring real communication, rigid teaching methods etc. Finally, the stress will be on the solutions which can be used to overcome the above mentioned problems. The bespoke solutions derive from teaching methodologies and applied linguistics theories like direct method, the audio lingua method, the behavioral approach, the nativist theories and Noam Chomsky’s theories etc.
Gustave Flaubert‟s influence on Guy de Maupassant‟s novel Une Vie (A Woman‟s Life): A comparative study
(University of Kelaniya, 2011) Gunawardena, C.P.
Parallels have often been drawn, by literary critics, between Gustave Flaubert and the most prominent 19th century short-story writer, Guy de Maupassant. Many studies have been carried out to analyse Flaubert‟s influence on Maupassant‟s short stories. However, not much attention has been paid to compare their novels and see Flaubert‟s influence on them.The paper investigates Flauberien influence on Maupassant‟s first novel, Une Vie (A Woman’s Life). This study also pays particular attention to Flaubert‟s famous novel, Madame Bovary, which was very influential for many 19th century naturalist writers. The main objective of this paper is to draw a comparison between these two novels in order to demonstrate similarities in protagonists, secondary characters, narration, setting, plot, rhetorical devices and figures of speech. The methodology for this study was literary surveying and textual analysis of selected critical work of both writers. Studies of this nature will draw the attention of critics to understand the value of Maupassant‟s novels as their significance is very often overlooked. Hence, this study will look to improve the understanding of French literature among Sri Lankan readers in a broader perspective. This paper would provide further insight into Maupassant‟ work and also identify areas that need further study and investigation.
Sinhala and French word phonology: a contrastive study
(2014) Gunawardena, C.P.