Browsing by Author "Rajapaksha, R.M.W."
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Item An approach to enhance intercultural competence in EFL classrooms of universities of Sri Lanka(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Li, M.; Rajapaksha, R.M.W.This paper is an exploration of teaching intercultural competence in foreign language courses through the example of a pedagogical experience in local universities. Language research increasingly acknowledges the intercultural dimension of foreign language acquisition. Intercultural communicative competence can therefore be considered as one of the central aims of foreign language education, so that learners can successfully communicate with people from different linguistic and cultural domains. However, there have been few empirical studies which illustrate intercultural competence with a view towards assisting its integration into classrooms. The objective of this investigation is the increased understanding of practice of language competence along with intercultural competence as an educator, which entails the construction of an understanding of intercultural competence teaching and learning in the foreign language classroom. The study incorporates insights from critical pedagogy, critical multiculturalism, and intercultural competence theories and examines the ways in which the research process has influenced and reshaped classroom practice, paving the way for future improvements. During a classroom-based study over three academic semesters, an intercultural syllabus for an English writing course aimed at facilitating new understanding of cultural diversity contributed to the learners’ intercultural awareness. Qualitative data collection and analysis endeavored to answer the questions by investigating student perceptions of cultural diversity and assessing their response to the syllabus. By focusing on the enhancement of students’ intercultural competence, the study sought to identify successful strategies for teaching intercultural competence. The analysis reflects a more fluid and moderate understanding which acquires the cultural ‘other’ in more positive ways. In addition, deeper understanding of intercultural issues is evidenced with reflection on the concept of culture and increased cultural self-awareness.Item /t/ before /ʈ/ or /ʈ/ before /t/: Emerging trends from a preliminary study of consonant acquisition in typically developing sinhala-speaking children aged 3 to 6 years(Ubiquity Press., 2021) Hettiarachchi, S.; Ranaweera, M.; Rajapaksha, R.M.W.Purpose: Speech and language therapists use developmental norms established for consonant acquisition to determine whether a child has age-appropriate, delayed or disordered speech skills. There are currently no established norms for the acquisition of Sinhala consonants, which have implications for accurate diagnosis. The aim of this study was to document preliminary trends observed in the trajectory of consonant sound development in Sinhala-speaking young children so as to form a set of ‘working norms’. Method: A picture-based articulation assessment was administered to 70 typically developing children who were between 3 years and 6 years 11 months of age. Results: Regarding the rate of acquisition and order of acquisition, the findings displayed trends comparable to general patterns of consonant mastery reported within cross-linguistic studies. In addition, a different rate of acquisition and order of mastery was observed for both uncommon Sinhala language-specific speech sounds showing ambient language effects and for a few common sounds occurring in Sinhala and other languages. Conclusion & Implications: The convergence and divergence in the rate and order of Sinhala consonant acquisition compared to the cross-linguistic literature has important clinical implications for assessment, early identification of speech difficulties and intervention within speech and language therapy practice in Sri Lanka. © 2021, Vrije University. All rights reserved.Item ප්රායෝගික ද්විභාෂක ශබ්දකෝෂ මගින් වචනාර්ථ ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමේදී මතු වන ගැටළු පිළිබඳ වාග්විද්යාත්මක අධ්යයනයක්(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2008) Rajapaksha, R.M.W.Item භාෂණ සිංහලයේ එන අර්ථ ඒකක පිළිබඳ අර්ථ විචාරාත්මක අධ්යයනයක්(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2008) Rajapaksha, R.M.W.Item වාග්විද්යා අධ්යයනය අංශය(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2008) Rajapaksha, R.M.W.Item සිංහල දුරකථන සංවාද පිළිබඳ අර්ථ විචාරාත්මක අධ්යයනයක්(University of Kelaniya, 2000) Rajapaksha, R.M.W.Item ළමා භාෂාව හා අර්ථ උපාර්ජනය(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2002) Rajapaksha, R.M.W.