Browsing by Author "Jayavindi, A.M.S."

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ESL Teacher Challenges in Dealing with Heterogeneity among Undergraduates
(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Dissanayake, P.D.S.N.; Jayavindi, A.M.S.
Heterogeneity refers to various proficiencies of students in a classroom where the learners are endowed with mixed abilities and intellectual variety along with knowledge extremes can be seen. Teaching heterogeneous students is one of the major issues faced by many teachers around the world as it is common in any learning community. When considering the field of ELT, heterogeneity becomes crucial as it determines the acquisition of a target language which is different from one’s mother tongue. There may be individual needs and demands of learners due to their own proficiency levels. Thus it is important for teachers to be aware of the problems resulting due to the heterogeneity in ESL classes and to discover the strategies to minimize or solve this issue. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the challenges faced by ESL teachers in teaching heterogeneous groups of undergraduates and strategies they use to overcome these challenges. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the researchers utilized interviews and observation as data collection methods. Five ESL teachers of a state university of Sri Lanka were selected as participants for this study. The findings revealed that there are multiple challenges in teaching heterogeneous classes. These challenges were categorized under four factors: materials, teaching, evaluation and students’ motivation with the intent of contributing new pedagogical strategies into the field of ESL in Sri Lanka
The Influence of Computer Technology on Sinhala Lexicon
(International Postgraduate Research Conference 2019, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Jayavindi, A.M.S.
Many domains such as computer technology, science and technology and management have influenced the Sinhala language. Sinhala language has a very long tradition in lexicon building in various domains. Computer technology has become a significant domain due to its extensive use for various tasks in the modern world. The part played by computer technology in the evolution of language is noteworthy. The objective of this study is to examine whether the computer technology has affected Sinhala lexicon and ways it has affected. This is a less researched area and needs extensive studying since computer technology continues to be a field of paramount importance which influences not only Sinhala, but also many languages in the world. IT glossaries were referred to find out the technical terms related to computer technology. Moreover, fifty students were selected from the Faculty of Computing and Technology, University of Kelaniya and they were given twenty terms related to computer technology to write the term that is used. Accordingly, it was found out that computer technology has made a considerable impact to the Sinhala lexicon. Words related to computer technology have been added to Sinhala lexicon as loan words, loan blends and neologisms. From these three ways, loan words and loan blends have become more popular whereas neologisms could gain currency only to some extent.
The significance of the English language errors made by tourist guides in Sri Lanka
(Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jayavindi, A.M.S.; Jayasinghe, D.N.P.; Dissanayake, D.M.R.N.; Shavoni, D.P.N.; Jayathilaka, G.R.A.P.; Fernando, W.D.M.
In Sri Lanka, this has become the subject of extensive research as tourism in Sri Lanka is one of the largest foreign exchange earners. Within the industry the role of a tour guide is indispensable in value with regard to the nation. Thus proficiency in foreign languages is of utmost importance for tour guides and the English language has been identified as the most commonly used language by the majority of tourist visiting Sri Lanka. It has been observed that there are certain limitations in the use of the English language by the local tourist guide. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify such limitations in the English language used among tour guides; a profession challenging the sustainability of an important industry for the economy of the country. Data for the research was gathered through interviews with English speaking tour guides and were analyzed with attention mainly focused on phonological, grammatical, and vocabulary errors. It was found that language is an integral skill for tour guides. Foreign tourists tend to ignore errors in language as long as they can comprehend the content.