Browsing by Author "Hettiarachchi, S."

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Accessing tertiary education: in expectations and realities for student experiencing disabilities
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Hettiarachchi, S.; Attanayake, L.D.; Ranaweera, M.; Walisundara, D.
Accessing tertiary education: Rights and realities for students experiencing disabilities
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Hettiarachchi, S.; Daskon-Attanayake, L.; Das, A.; Jalil, I.; Chanaka, W.; Walisundara, D.; Ranaweera, M.; Rassool, R.
Although the right to higher education is ensured in the Education Acts of Sri Lanka, in practice, the challenges faced by persons with disabilities within the university system questions this assumed prerogative. Anecdotally, the provision of special recording devices has enabled students with particular disabilities such as visual impairment, to better access the curriculum, while others such as those experiencing hearing difficulties or dyslexia may have inadequate support. This study aims to identify the barriers and facilitators to accessing higher education within two universities: the University of Kelaniya and the University of Sri Jayawardenepura. It aims to gather information via individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The data will be analysed qualitatively using key principles of Framework Analysis (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994). The findings will have important implications for policy and practice.
Analysis of historical accident data to determine accident prone locations and cause of accidents
(International Research Conference on Smart Computing and Systems Engineering - SCSE 2018, 2018) Ifthikar, A.; Hettiarachchi, S.
Road traffic accidents causes great distress and destroy the lives of many individuals. Inspite of different attempts to solve this problem, it still resides as a major cause of death. This paper proposes a system to analyse historical accident data and subsequently identify accident-prone areas and their relevant causes via clustering accident location coordinates. This system, once developed, can be used to warn drivers and also to aid fully autonomous automobiles to take precautions at accident-prone areas.
Charming the unseen snakes
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) de Zoysa, A.M.; Jayatunga, M.; Hettiarachchi, S.; Pathirana, H.; Gunesekera, M.
The initial documentation of sociolinguistic data of a remote discourse community of Tulu speakers is the essence of this paper. A pilot study to collect first hand experience of documenting evidence of discourse communities8 was conceptualized by a team of researchers converging from disciplines such as Language Studies, Linguistics, Musicology, Cultural Studies, Gender, and Disability Studies from the University of Kelaniya. Consultations and briefing with researchers who have worked with discourse communities and similar communities preceded the visit to the community of “Snake charmers”. De-briefing of data collection, critical analysis of literature produced so far on the Tulu language and contextualizing the ongoing research concluded the three day pilot study. The methodology for the study is the audiovisual recording of the initial meeting with a remote discourse community of the Telegu people. The Ahikuntaka community of Devagama, living in Aligambay in the Akkaraipattu District (Eastern Province) was visited over the Vesak weekend of 2013 to make initial contact and build rapport with the discourse community. This objective of this paper is to demonstrate the challenges of sociolinguistic or ethnographic research in the 21st century. It pinpoints some issues that are glossed over, or overlooked as being irrlevant to the topic when presenting facts in reports, because they have not been included in the research proposal. It will also record difficulties, disappointments and disenchantments when working in “exotic settings”. The paper highlights the difficulties of data collection with ‘researcher as observer’ in the context of ethical clearance. In terms of the discourse community, the results of the study show the sociolinguistic issues of identity under threat. The only educated villager calls herself a Tamil speaker and takes pains to hide her Telugu/Tulu roots. Similarly, the villagers identify themselves as Tamils in the official domain, as in filling out electoral register forms, and in claiming that the traditional occupations of snake charming and palmistry are no longer practiced, contrary to the general belief that these are the occupations of the Tulu speaking community.
Colour me…orange? : Incorporating Aspects of the Colourful Semantics Approach into English as a Second Language Lessons at Preschool
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Hettiarachchi, S.; Walisundara, D.; Ranaweera, M.
Among the challenges faced by Sri Lankan children learning English as an additional or second language is the accuracy of word order and vocabulary knowledge. The Colourful Semantics approach (Bryan, 2008) has been used successfully in the UK and in Australia with children experiencing language-learning difficulties (Bennington, 2011; Chiat, Law, Marshall & Bryan, 1997), with many programmes devised by Speech and Language Therapists (Morrissy, 2010; Wade, 2009). It uses thematic roles and a colour-coding system to support the development of syntax through a semantic route. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using aspects of Colourful Semantics to develop vocabulary knowledge and the use of Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structures in young learners of English. Twenty preschool children in ESL classrooms were included in the study. Key aspects of Colourful Semantics were introduced as a whole-class approach using children‟s storybooks, colour-coding and signing with lessons offered once a week for 12 weeks together with supplementary activities. Pre- and post-intervention measures were undertaken on five receptive and expressive language and literacy measures of vocabulary and syntax. In this presentation we will discuss the programme offered, the pre- and post-intervention assessment scores and statistical results on vocabulary and discuss the benefits of incorporating aspects of the Colourful Semantics approach into the English language teaching classroom.
Colour Me…Orange? incorporating aspects of the colourful semantics approach into a TESOL programme at preschool
(The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2018) Hettiarachchi, S.; Ranaweera, M.; Walisundara, D.C.
Among the challenges faced by Sri Lankan children learning English as an additional or second language is the accuracy of word order and vocabulary knowledge. The Colorful Semantics approach has been used successfully in the UK and in Australia with children experiencing language-learning difficulties, with many programmes devised by Speech and Language Therapists. It uses thematic roles and a colour-coding system to support the development of syntax through a semantic route. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using aspects of Colourful Semantics to develop expressive language skills (accurate responses to target wh questions, sentence length and syntactic complexity) in young learners of English. Twenty-one preschool children in TESL classrooms were included in the study. Key aspects of Colourful Semantics were introduced as a whole-class approach using children’s storybooks, colour-coding and signing with lessons offered thrice a week for a month together with supplementary activities. Pre- and post-intervention measures were undertaken on two expressive language measures of sentence-length and syntax. In this paper we will discuss the programme offered, the pre- and post intervention assessment results, and the benefits of incorporating aspects of the Colourful Semantics approach into the English language teaching classroom.
‘Colourful Semantics’ as a whole-class approach with Sri Lankan Tamil speaking children experiencing language-learning difficulties
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2013) Hettiarachchi, S.
The Colourful Semantics approach (Bryan, 1997) has been used effectively as a whole-class approach to support vocabulary and syntactic development in children. Using a colour-coding system and thematic roles, it helps children learn to use and respond to key ‘wh’ questions. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Colourful Semantics approach to develop target vocabulary and the use of Subject- Object-Verb (SOV) structures in 30 Sri Lankan-Tamil speaking children experiencing languagelearning difficulties. The Colourful Semantics approach was introduced as a whole-class approach via the teacher and incorporated into daily literacy activities for 6 weeks. Preand post-intervention assessments were undertaken on five receptive and expressive language and literacy measures of vocabulary and syntax. There were positive changes in all the vocabulary and syntactic measures undertaken at an individual and group level. The post-therapy language scores on all five measures were highly significant at a p< 0.05 level. It is recommended that the Colourful Semantics approach be used as a whole-class intervention approach, facilitated by the teacher under the supervision of a speech and language therapist in deprived and under-resourced areas.
Communication disability in low and middle-income countries : a call to action
(BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2024) Marshall, J.; Wylie, K.; McLeod, S.; McAllister, L.; Barrett, H.; Owusu, N.A.; Hettiarachchi, S.; Atherton, M.
No abstract available
A Comparative Study of Language Skills in Young Men With and Without Traumatic Brain Injury
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Hettiarachchi, S.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impacts among other skills on attention, orientation, cognition, communication and higher executive functions such as problem solving (ASHA, n.d.). The primary aim of the study was to explore the effects of focal brain injury on Sinhala soldiers. Ten soldiers following shrapnel head injuries (experimental groups-five right-hemisphere and five left-hemisphere) and their carers and five young men without head injuries (control group), all within the age of 20 to 35 years were included in the study. Language data were collected via a picture description task consisting of three target pictures from participants of both groups and data was gathered from a conversational task between the participants of the experimental groups and a caregiver using a question guide. The language data was analyzed qualitatively to document its syntactic structure and analyzed quantitatively on the syntactic category words produced by the two groups via one-way ANOVAs. In the control group, there was a trend towards higher mean scores on all five syntactic category variables and use of more complex syntax in comparison to the experimental groups. The one-way ANOVAs performed indicated a highly significant difference between the three groups of participants on the number of utterances (F (2, 14) = 13.65, p<0.005), the range of syntactic structures (F (2, 14) = 23.63, p<0.001) and syntactic complexity (F (2, 14) = 21.56, p<0.001). While reduced syntactic category words and structural differences were indicated in the picture description task for the experimental groups, the features perceived by the carers as hindering communication were non-linguistic such as articulation, memory and psychosocial difficulties.Reduced syntactic complexity and range and paucity of utterance were noted for the two experimental groups in comparison to the control group, in-line with literature on English. However, in contrast, the left-hemisphere group did not omit or produce fewer main verbs compared to the control group and the right-hemisphere head injury group indicated a paucity of nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Scrambled word order and subject/object deletion were not perceived as disrupting communication by the carers.
Constructing ‘disabilities’ and ‘inclusion’: An explanatory models of disability and inclusive education among teachers in Sri Lanka
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Hettiarachchi, S.; Ranaweera, M.; Walisundara, D.
The current thrust towards implementing ‘inclusive education’, which is ‘the integration and education of most students with disabilities in general education classes’ (Field, 1998 in Eleweke & Rodda, 2002) poses many challenges in a resource poor country. Arguably, one challenge may be the perceptions, constructs and explanations of disability held by teachers, which could influence their openness to embrace inclusion. The aim of this study is to uncover the constructs, beliefs, attitudes, explanatory models of ‘disabilities’ and inclusive education among teachers. 60 teachers (30 from special schools; 30 from mainstream schools) were interviewed using an interview guide. The interview data were analyzed using the key features of Framework Analysis (Ritchie and Spencer, 1994). In the main findings, the teacher explanations of disability reflected a religio-cultural framework and to a lesser extent, a medical model. While the teachers within special educational facilities asserted the need to offer special educational support, the teachers in mainstream echoed the same view, stressing that these students are better placed within special educational rather than mainstream educational contexts within inclusive education. However, these explanations were not framed within a social model or rights-based model of disability, reflecting a limited understanding of the disability movement. The findings reveal that there is a need for pre-service and in-service training programmes for teachers to include information on the current explanatory models of disability, the need to acknowledge students with disabilities as equal and comprehensive training on mainstreaming children with disabilities within mainstream schools if inclusive education is to be successfully offered across the country.
Developing a tool to screen for disability among pre-school children: preliminary results
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2014) Perera, K.M.N.; Wijerathne, L.; Jayasinghe, C.; Kasturiratne, A.; Hettiarachchi, S.; Fonseka, R.; Jayasena, B.N.; Siriwardhena, D.; Godamunne, P.; Dahanayake, W.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a tool that can be used by pre-school teachers to identify disabilities in the pre-school age group. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team was formed and the initial tool was developed^ Consensual validity was achieved by using nominal group technique and the tool was pre-tested in the Ragama MOH area. To assure criterion validity, the tool was used to screen all the children in the pre-school age group (2-5 years) in an MOH area randomly selected from the Anuradhapura District. The screened positives .were referred to an expert panel for confirmation of diagnosis and follow-up if required. RESULTS: Thousand nine hundred children were invited for screening and 1536 participated (478 2-3 years, 495 3-years, 560 > 4 years of age) and 267 (17.4%) were referred to the expert panel. Out of the referrals, majority (38.9%) had multiple disabilities. Hearing and speech difficulties were seen in (29.6%). Psycho social problems (11.6%), disabilities and other diseases (19.8%) accounted for the rest. The response rate for confirmation by experts was 64%. The predictive value of a positive test was 79.5%. The prevalence of disabilities among the screened pre-school age group was 88 per 1000 (95% Cl= 74 to 103). CONCLUSIONS: This tool can be used to screen children in the pre-school age for disabilities.
Developing and Pilot- Testing A Post - Stroke Dysphagia Screening Protocol for Speech and Language Therapists in the Sri Lankan Context
(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Elilnangai, T.; Hettiarachchi, S.; Pillay, M.
Background-Accurate and timely evaluation of swallowing is necessary to determine how to safely administer medications, maintain adequate nutrition and hydration in a person with dysphagia. Unfortunately, dysphagia is a life threatening medical condition and the leading cause of death due to aspiration pneumonia and airway obstruction. Therefore, this population requires timely completion and documentation of the initial swallow screen by a speech and language therapist. Notwithstanding its value, there are limitations and challenges to implementing a dysphagia screening tool from a developed country context to a developing country context. The requirement for a reliable, clinically applicable and valid screening tool for dysphagia is essential which considers the context, system rule regulation and resources of the current settings. This study sought to develop and test a dysphagia screening tool to be used by speech and language therapists who are undertaking dysphagia management in different settings in the local context. Methodology-The post – stroke dysphagia screening tool was developed based on the Massey Bedside Swallowing screen (Massey, 2002) with the help of an experts’ panel on dysphagia. The study was a quantitative, non – experimental, descriptive cross – sectional design with a prospective component. Convenient sampling was used to recruit 35 post – stroke patients within 7 days of onset, from selected government hospitals in Sri Lanka. The post – stroke dysphagia screening tool consists of 6 sections and was administered by speech and language therapists. The current study established inter – rater, test – retest reliability and content validity of the swallowing screen. The content validity was established by a panel of expert speech and language therapists from the local and international context via 5-point Likert scale. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine reliability agreement. Results-The post – stroke dysphagia screening tool was shown to be reliable in detecting dysphagia amongst stroke patients. The expert panel of speech and language therapists who assessed content validity, strongly agreed with every statement in the questionnaire, strongly agreed that the content was accurate and consistent with current research, swallowing screen was formatted in an organized manner and also the information obtained from the swallowing screen would be useful in determining swallowing function. Thirty - five post-stroke patients were tested on and 10 SLTs participated in this study. Due to lack of availability of the instrumental evaluation, Cervical auscultation was used as a goal standard test. The procedure will only take 7-10 minutes. The inter-rater and test- retest reliability of the dysphagia swallowing screen, as calculated in this study, was relatively high. In both tests the p-value was <0.001. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 1.000. The p-value less than .05 shows that there was a strong correlation between the test – retest and inter – rater reliability agreement of the developed post – stroke dysphagia screening tool. Discussion and Conclusion- This was a first step in developing and establishing a contextually appropriate dysphagia screening tool that is reliable and helpful to speech and language therapists to identifying post – stroke patients at risk of dysphagia within government hospitals in Sri Lanka. The developed post—stroke dysphagia screen was found to be accurate and easy to administer to post – stroke clients in the hospital setting. It would be help speech and language therapists, especially those newly qualified to identify the difficulty early and for follow – up.
Developing and pilot-testing an Oropharyngeal Dysphagia Screening Tool for children with cerebral palsy aged 4 – 6 years
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2020) Hettiarachchi, S.; Ravihari, M.G.I.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) demonstrate a variety of dysphagic symptoms. Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are mainly involved in the diagnosis and management of oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD). Objectives were to develop a screening tool to detect OPD among children with CP aged 4 – 6 years, Pilot test the OPD screening tool with SLTs for children with CP aged between 4 – 6 years and to identify the test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability of the developed screening tool. METHODS: The screening tool was developed based on the Dysphagia Disorder Survey (DDS) with the assistance of an expert panel of speech and language therapists (SLTs) and a pilot study. The study included 30 children with CP aged between 4;0 – 6;0 years. The OPD Screening Tool conduct together with expert SLTs to evaluate the inter-rater reliability and the study was conducted initially and 2 hours later by the researcher to evaluate test-retest reliability. RESULTS: The OPD Screening tool was shown to be reliable and applicable in detecting dysphagia amongst children with CP. The content validity was assessed by the five expert SLTs. The test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability of the OPD Screening Tool was calculated and it was relatively high. CONCLUSION: The screening tool was shown to be a reliable tool and it was found to be a tool that easy administer in clinical setting to detect OPD in young children with CP.
Developing and validating a Sinhala phonology assessment for children aged between 3 to 6 years: trends observed and lessons learnt
(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Nonis, P.D.M.; Ranaweera, M.; Saleem, S.; Udugama, K.L.L.G.; Lokubalasuriya, T.; Hettiarachchi, S.
Clinical experience of speech and language therapists working in Sri Lanka has put into question the current reliance on norms for English (Grunwell, 1985) to determine a child’s speech skills and phonological acquisition in Sinhala. Cross-linguistic studies have revealed differences in ‘universal principles’ and ‘language-specific’ aspects (Amayreh & Dyson, 1998). At present, there is an urgent need to develop and validate formal language-specific standardized assessments for speech and phonology for Sinhala. The aims of the study were; 1)to develop and validate test items for a Sinhala speech and phonology assessment for children aged between 3;0 to 6;0 years, 2)to document the typical phoneme acquisition and typical phonological processes in Sinhala-speaking children aged between 3;0 to 6;0 years. The ‘Sinhala Speech and Phonology Assessment’ was devised based on the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (Dodd et al. 2002) and administered to 250 Sinhala-speaking children between the ages 3;0 to 6;00 years. The use of test items were determined by measures of content validity, test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability. The trajectory of Sinhala speech sound acquisition showed universal sound acquisition sequences and language-specific features in both the order and rate of speech sound development. The sequence of speech sound acquisition for Sinhala showed early acquisition of plosives and some nasals with comparatively later acquisition of fricatives, the palatal nasal and flap/tap sound. Language-specific phonological processes of lateralization and denasalisation of prenasalised stops were also evident. The test items demonstrated effectiveness at generating target speech data and typical phoneme and phonological development in children between 3;0 to 6;0.
Effect of an Experiential Dysphagia Workshop on Caregivers’ Knowledge, Confidence, Anxiety and Behaviour during Mealtimes
(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Kitnasamy, G.; Bandara, M.M.M.K.; Subajini, A.A.N.; Hettiarachchi, S.
Children with cerebral palsy who have associated feeding difficulties are at risk of aspiration and poor nutrition. This study aimed to measure the changes in knowledge, confidence and anxiety among 21 Sri Lankan caregivers with responsibility for feeding children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, after they attended an experiential workshop. Data collection was done through pre- and post-workshop questionnaires, observations and semi-structured interviews. There was a significant improvement in reported levels of knowledge and confidence and a decrease in the caregivers’ level of anxiety during mealtimes. The qualitative data analysis indicated changes in participant knowledge, particularly about the signs of aspiration and positioning during mealtimes. Observations showed better adherence to recommendations on communication, bolus size and utensils. The findings support the utility of experiential training for caregivers, to ensure that children with cerebral palsy are fed safely.
Effect of an experiential dysphagia workshop on caregivers' knowledge, confidence, anxiety and behaviour during mealtimes
(VU e-Publishing, Netherlands, 2013) Hettiarachchi, S.; Kitnasamy, G.
PURPOSE: Children with cerebral palsy who have associated feeding difficulties are at risk of aspiration and poor nutrition. This study aimed to measure the changes in knowledge, confidence, anxiety and behaviour among 25 Sri Lankan mothers with responsibility for feeding children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, after they attended an experiential workshop. METHODS: Data collection was done through pre- and post-workshop questionnaires, observations and semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in reported levels of knowledge and confidence and a decrease in the caregivers’ level of anxiety during mealtimes. The qualitative data analysis indicated changes in participant knowledge, particularly about the signs of aspiration and positioning during mealtimes. Observations showed better adherence to recommendations on communication, bolus size and utensils. CONCLUSION: The findings support the utility of experiential training for caregivers, to ensure that children with cerebral palsy are fed safely
The Effectiveness of a multisensory traditional storytelling programme on target vocabulary development in children with disabilities accessing English as a second language: A preliminary study
(SAGE Publications, 2022) Hettiarachchi, S.; Walisundara, D.C.; Ranaweera, M.
ABSTRACT: The current deliberations on increasing access to English and the democratization of English in post-war Sri Lanka must extend to students with disabilities. Research evidence from speech and language therapy promotes the use of multi-sensory stimuli to advance the development of communication and language skills in children with intellectual disabilities. In this preliminary study, 3 local children's stories, together with relevant story-making activities, were offered to 7 children with intellectual disabilities in one special school across 12 lessons. Vocabulary measures of word naming of target vocabulary were undertaken pre- and post-intervention using picture-based tasks presented via PowerPoint. A positive difference was found post-intervention on the target vocabulary naming test. The findings of this small preliminary study should be interpreted with caution. However, the findings are suggestive of the potential benefit of using culturally relevant familiar local traditional stories with a range of multi-sensory stimuli and storytelling activities to aid learning of new vocabulary in children with disabilities accessing English as an additional language. Further research using a large sample together with a control group will be required to substantiate the positive trend of vocabulary gains observed within this preliminary study. KEYWORDS: English; intellectual disability; multisensory; stories; traditional.
The Effectiveness of colourful semantics on narrative skills in children with intellectual disabilities in Sri Lanka
(SAGE Publications, 2016) Hettiarachchi, S.
BACKGROUND: Children diagnosed with intellectual difficulties experience difficulties with narrative skills, due to limited syntactic knowledge. The Colourful Semantics approach with thematic roles and a colour coding system may encourage syntactic development in children experiencingintellectual disabilities. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of using the Colourful Semantics approach to develop narrative skills in Sri Lankan Tamil-speaking childrendiagnosed with intellectual difficulties. METHODS: Thirty Sri Lankan Tamil-speaking children identified with intellectual difficulties were included. The Colourful Semantics approach was offered twice a week for 6 weeks, facilitated by the class teachers. Pre- and post-intervention narrative skill assessments were undertaken and analysed for content and syntactic structures. RESULTS: The results indicate positive changes post-intervention on the qualitative and quantitative narrative skills measures undertaken on content and syntactic structures. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The Colourful Semantics approach is an effective therapy approach to support development of narrativeskills in children with intellectual difficulties.
The Effectiveness of the adapted Box Clever language intervention programme in the development of vocabulary and narrative skills of deaf and hard of hearing children
(Taylor & Francis, 2022) Hettiarachchi, S.
ABSTRACT: Children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) in Sri Lanka have inadequate access to early amplification and language stimulation. As a result, they are at risk of impoverished language development: spoken language and sign language. Thirty DHH children who use Sri Lankan sign language between the ages of 4;4-7;2 years from three classrooms of a School for the Deaf were included in this study. The culturally-modified Box Clever language-enrichment programme was offered as a whole-class approach twice a week during a 12-week school term through the class teacher. Pre- and post-intervention language measures and statistical analyses of language scores were undertaken of receptive and expressive vocabulary on picture-naming tasks of target vocabulary. In addition, content and syntactic analyses of narrative skills were undertaken using the Elephant Tales Narrative Assessment, an informal assessment created by the researchers, as no local formal standardised assessments exist currently. There were promising results with statistically significant positive gains in receptive and expressive vocabulary skills on target vocabulary items post-intervention by all the participants. Positive qualitative differences were observed in the content within the target narrative assessment post-intervention by all participants with evidence of the emergence of two to three sign combinations by many of the children. KEYWORDS: Deaf, vocabulary, narrative skills, language intervention, sign-language, Sri Lanka, whole-class, LMIC
The Effectiveness of Using Colourful Semantics as a Whole-class Approach with Sri Lankan Tamil-speaking Children with Language-learning Difficulties
(University of Kelaniya, 2012) Hettiarachchi, S.
Background: The Colourful Semantics approach (Bryan, 1997) has been used effectively to support vocabulary and syntactic development with children experiencing language-learning difficulties (Bennington, 2011; Bryan, 2008; Ebbels and van der Lely, 2001; Morrissey, 2010; Wade, 2009). Using a colour-coding system and thematic roles, it helps children learn to use and respond to key ‘wh’ questions. Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using the Colourful Semantics approach to develop target vocabulary knowledge and the use of Subject- Object-Verb (SOV) structures in Sri Lankan-Tamil speaking children experiencing language-learning difficulties. Methodology:Thirty Sri Lankan-Tamil speaking children identified with language-learning difficulties attending a community centre in a deprived area were included in the study. The Colourful Semantics approach was introduced as a whole-class approach via the teacher and incorporated into daily literacy activities for 6 weeks. Pre- and post-intervention measures were undertaken on five receptive and expressive language and literacy measures of vocabulary and syntax. Outcomes & Results: There were positive changes in all the vocabulary and syntactic measures undertaken at an individual and group level. Conclusions: The Colourful Semantics approach can be used successfully as a whole-class intervention approach, facilitated by the teacher under the supervision of a speech and language therapist. The study supports the use of collaborative practice between speech and language therapists and teachers, particularly in deprived and under-resourced areas.