Browsing by Author "Kandambi, S.U."

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The difficulties in Chinese language acquisition of Sinhala speaking students
(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kandambi, S.U.
Chinese is one of the most ancient languages in the world spoken by the people not only in the mainland of China mainland, but also in other regions. Learning the Chinese language has become important in several countries due to issues linked to economic development. The Chinese language is a historical language which belongs to the Chinese-Tibetan language family. It script belongs one of the most historical writing systems called "Hanzi". In recent times, Sri Lanka has also stepped towards teaching Chinese language as a second language in order to overcome communication difficulties. In order to understand the difficulties associated with Chinese language acquisition, it is important to analyze the structure of the first language as well as the Chinese languages through a comparative study. This research examines Chinese language acquisition by comparing it with Sinhala. When Sinhalese-speaking students learn the Chinese language, the major problem faced by students is the difference in between the language structures of Chinese and Sinhala, as Sinhala follows SOV (subject, object, verb) structure and Chinese follows SVO (subject, verb, object) language structure. In addition, when learning Chinese, students make a number of acquisition errors due to the absence of several language phrases in their own mother tongue. For instance, in Chinese, there are several set phrases such as "méi guan xi” (It's ok), “bù yòng xiè” (no thanks), “bù kè qì” (no need to be polite) which do not appear in the Sinhala language. Thus, the learners face difficulties due to the absence of those phrases in Sinhala. Therefore, Sinhala-speaking students should also keep in touch with the English language in order to solve the communication problems somehow as no such particular word phrases exist in their own language. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the difficulties faced by Sinhala speaking students and provide a clear understanding of the differences between Sinhala and Chinese languages.
A Study on Adaptability of the Chinese Language Teaching Material “Happy Chinese” for Elementary Chinese Education in Sri-Lanka
(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Kandambi, S.U.
The Chinese language plays a vital role in current Sri Lankan education. Although at first the Chinese language has been introduced as a certificate course study program in Sri Lanka, now it has been uplifted as a degree program. In recent years, it has also entered into primary and secondary Sri-Lankan education system. Teaching and learning materials are classroom resources which create better conditions for the combination of both theory and practice in foreign language education. Nowadays "Happy Chinese" textbook is the main teaching material used in elementary Chinese education in Sri Lanka. The aim of this study is to identify the compilation issues of the “Happy Chinese” teaching material which are not adapting for younger adolescents in education system of Sri Lanka in order to enhance using teaching materials and as well as to propose suggestions to improve the quality of Sri Lankan elementary Chinese education. This research is based on a student interview method and the research sample consisted of 35 students who are studying the beginner level of Chinese language in primary and secondary schools in Sri Lanka. They are questioned on the effectiveness of the lesson themes, content and the language used and their satisfaction regarding the compilation of the text material. The findings of the study indicated that the lesson themes are not culturally relevant to the Sri Lankan society, the exercises are not designed to a very satisfactory level, the material content does not focus the difficult language points of the language leaner, the text material does not contain enough target language cultural exposure. Moreover, these kinds of deficiencies might cause lack of interesting towards Chinese language learning. Accordingly, the country-specific teaching materials should be carried out in order to lay out a solid foundation for the cultivation of good Chinese speakers abroad and the scholars should consider about publishing newly innovative teaching materials to determine the success and progress of elementary Chinese language education among primary and secondary schools in Sri Lanka.
A Study on Chinese Vocabulary Teaching Strategies for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Classroom in Sri Lanka.
(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Kandambi, S.U.
In recent years, as a result of the economic and cultural interactions between China and Sri-Lanka, teaching Chinese language has successfully stepped towards the education system in Sri Lanka. Gradually, a vast number of students are motivated to learn Chinese language because of its essentiality in contemporary Sri Lankan society. Vocabulary teaching is very important in teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) in the language classroom. It is also the nuclear section of comprehensive Chinese study. This paper mainly focuses on the deficiency of vocabulary teaching, which is caused due to the usage of irregular teaching methods and suggests some teaching strategies and methods, which can be used in TCFL classroom. This research is based on a student questionnaire in order to study the vocabulary teaching strategies used in TCFL classroom in University of Kelaniya. The research sample consisted of 32 students belonging to 2015/2016 academic year, who study Chinese. They were questioned on the vocabulary teaching methods and strategies used by the Chinese language teacher and their satisfaction regarding Chinese vocabulary teaching. The results reveal that the Chinese vocabulary teaching methods prevailing in Sri Lankan TCSL class room are not flexible to attain the vocabulary enrichment goals in foreign language learning. It lacks student centered leaning activities, such as group work, pair work activities and other interactive classroom activities, which enhance four major language skills (writing, reading, listening, speaking). The interaction between teacher - student and student-student is not at all paid regular attention and it affects foreign language leaner‟s language learning efficiency. The teacher should use different kinds of teaching strategies in order to overcome the identified translation issues between the source language and target language. Classroom activities focused on vocabulary practice as well as games based on interacting with each student can be arranged in order to let the leaner actively participate in language learning. In addition, comparing and contrasting the targeted vocabulary with the leaners‟ mother tongue, letting them overcome certain vocabulary issues related to interpretation and translation can be recommended as well.
A study on the curriculum of Chinese culture in the field of Humanities, Sri Lanka
(International Conference on the Humanities (ICH 2018/2019), Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Kandambi, S.U.
Gradually, a vast number of Sri Lankan students are becoming motivated to learn the Chinese language because of its necessity in contemporary Sri Lankan society. Foreign language education is basically not derived from humanities education as it focuses on cultural norms, values and aspects related to a foreign nation. This research study aims to study and make cultural teaching and learning quality in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) in the university education system as it is a platform of transmitting values of the Chinese language including Chinese arts, philosophy, literature and civilization for better understanding of China and Chinese people. Therefore, this study focuses on the current situation of the curriculum of Chinese culture in the field of humanities including learning and teaching methods practiced and the Chinese culture text materials usage in TCFL classroom. This paper is designed to be a quantitative research study and the research sample consists of 100 students who belonged to the 2015/2016 academic year and 7 Chinese language teachers including Chinese, local and volunteer teachers. The research methods used were the questionnaire method, the interview method and the experiment method through which mainly the research study focused on the significant characteristics of the curriculum, teaching methods and strategies used by Chinese teachers. The findings demonstrated that the teaching methods and strategies used in the Chinese culture curriculum are not flexible to attain the culture teaching enrichment goals in the field of humanities. Some of the issues faced are, lack of sufficient time for the teaching process, teaching materials not being sufficient for effective teaching, the culture classroom arrangement lacking communication between local Chinese teachers and volunteer Chinese teachers, the Chinese culture teaching material not being suitable to enhance the humanities education in the University. Thus, in conclusion teachers should regulate new teaching methods engaged with the new developments of foreign language education including the communicative method, the multimedia teaching method and the activity based method. Further, culture teaching should be student centered in order to allow students to easily acquire cultural values in contemporary Chinese society and scholars must also compile the Sri Lankan culture materials with the objective of exposing the system of Chinese cultural values in order to standardize and revalue the humanities education in the University system of Sri Lanka
A Study on the Multimedia Teaching Method Applied in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning in Sri Lanka
(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Kandambi, S.U.
In recent years, as a result of the economic and cultural interactions in between foreign countries and Sri Lanka, teaching languages has successfully step towards Sri Lankan education system. Gradually a vast number of students are motivated to learn languages because of its essentiality in contemporary Sri Lankan society. Due to the rapid development of the information technology in the 21st century, the modern society is also more concerned about the integration of the multimedia education in to the education system in Sri Lanka. This study mainly focuses on the effectiveness of the multimedia teaching method in language teaching classroom in Sri Lanka. This research is designed to be a quantitative research study and the research sample consisted of 100 students engaged in Chinese language learning, as well as the local Chinese teachers who involved in Chinese culture teaching in the University of Kelaniya. Data collection method of this study includes questioner and the interview. The research sample was questioned on the multimedia methods used in the Chinese language classroom and the student satisfaction regarding the multimedia teaching method currently used. The findings demonstrated that, the multimedia techniques usage is not satisfied to meet the academic needs of teachers and the language education system of the university is not yet derived from the traditional education process. Thus, the conclusion concerns the teacher should regulate the new multimedia teaching methods engaged with the new developments of the second language education including PowerPoint presentation, video displaying, picture displaying and object displaying methods in order to let the language learner easily acquire the focal point of the teaching and also to facilitate the effective utilization of learning time by enhancing the interest towards learning. The leaners themselves can be taught to operate multimedia and learning materials. Create more opportunities to train the teachers to use multimedia methods in TCFL classroom is also recommended in order to grow needs and demands of the language studies through the digital media towards a sustainable future in Sri Lanka
A Study on The Writing Errors among the Beginner level Chinese Language Learners in Secondary Schools in Sri Lanka
(International Postgraduate Research Conference 2019, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Kandambi, S.U.
“One belt one road initiative” concept caused to strengthening China – Sri Lanka bilateral relations considerably during last years and as a result of it a vast number of Sri Lankan students are motivated to learn Chinese language based on its significant impact on Contemporary Sri Lankan society. In order to promote the Chinese language learning, Sri Lanka general education system, Sri Lanka has designed a Chinese language curriculum including Chinese character writing and composition as a complementary part of it, focusing on the successful achievements of local students in source language environment. Chinese writing and composition is one of the main language skills that Chinese language learners need to acquire. There are certain standards and requirements for writing Chinese in terms of characters, grammar and discourse. At present, the writing competency of the beginner Chinese language learner in schools (G.C.E. Advance level classes) is not up to the standard. This study mainly focuses on exploring the writing errors done by the Chinese language learner, the factors which may influence Chinese language writing errors and the countermeasures to develop the communication competency of learner. This research is designed to be a quantitative research study and the research sample consisted of 50 students engaged in Chinese language learning as G.C.E Advance level leaners. The research methods used were the questionnaire research method and the classroom observation method. The questionnaire is based on the theories related to foreign language writing and influencing factors for Chinese language writing errors in foreign language classroom. Data analysis revealed that, the main cause for the Chinese writing error is the negative influence of the mother tongue, also the learner is not acquired the writing regulations of the target language systematically and scientifically. The study while looking into an overall scenario of the research findings related to the students writing errors of the Chinese language, the conclusion concerns that, the teacher should regulate teaching methods according to the learning requirements of students while enhancing the students’ interest towards guided writing and composition in Chinese. Similarly, the teacher should let the learner acquire the uniqueness of Chinese writing style without relying on the learner’s source language or the second language writing systems. Finally, this research work looks forward to develop and promote the Chinese language writing, learning and teaching by providing reference to the future research carrier in order to enhance the Chinese language secondary education in Sri Lanka.
Understanding Demotivating Factors in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language among Advanced Level Students
(Centre for Chinese Studies, Department of Modern Languages, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kariyawasam, K.B.G.W.S.; Kandambi, S.U.
චීනයේ සහ ජපානයේ භාවිත වන චීන අක්ෂරවල සම්භවය සහ විකාශය (රූපාක්ෂර කලාවේ සිට වත්මන් අක්ෂර කලාව දක්වා පැමිණි ගමන් මඟ)
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kandambi, S.U.; Illukpitiya, A.
Chinese characters are one of the most historical letters in the world. It has originated from pictographs about 4,000 years ago. Chinese traditional characters are also used in Japan and are called “Kanji”. Due to the large number of strokes in a single Chinese character, it has been converted to characters with a few strokes in order to facilitate writing. These simplified characters are called as “Hanzi” in China mainland carrying the historical value of ancient Chinese characters.