Browsing by Author "Udayamali, S. A. T. S."

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Difficulties Encountered in Teaching German Family Forms to Non-native Students.
(The Third International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka, ICLSL 2017. Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Udayamali, S. A. T. S.
Foreign language learning not only includes the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary but also the acquisition of a cultural competency related to the target language. However, acquiring cultural competency could be a challenge when the student‟s culture is distant from that of the target language. German as a foreign language is offered to the undergraduates in the University of Kelaniya and the cultural theme “family forms” (“Lebensformen in Deutschland”) is introduced to them in their second year. Cultural differences between Sri Lanka and Germany make the above theme a culturally challenging subject to Sri Lankan learners. Thus, it has been observed that language teachers find it difficult to introduce these forms to their students. Further, the refusal of learning a culturally unfamiliar theme and the interference of students‟ personal attitudes in acquiring cultural competency have in fact been discussed in previous studies. The aim of the present study is to find methods through which such culturally controversial themes could be introduced to students in order to overcome refusal of learning culturally unfamiliar themes and interference of adverse personal attitudes. The study was conducted using a sample of 21 undergraduates from the second year (2015/2016). Before starting the lesson, a fun warm up activity linked to the selected theme was carried out in groups. The activity (a quiz at the end of which students would find their tolerance profiles) was aimed at measuring tolerance levels of students. This was followed by a plenary discussion where attitudes and stereotypes were brought to question. Texts about family forms in Germany were then given to the class and practical activities (role plays) related to the theme were also conducted. At the end of the session it was observed that students‟ participation at the proposed activities were higher than seen in the previous study. It could be concluded that culturally unfamiliar themes could be grasped by foreign language students when accompanied by carefully planned warm up activities questioning culturally formed stereotypes. The findings of this study will be useful for language teachers facing difficulties in developing cultural competency among their learners.
The Impact of Using Digital Multimedia in Creating an Effective Image of the Target Culture and the History in Foreign Language Learning.
(International Conference on the Humanities (ICH), 2017 Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Udayamali, S. A. T. S.
With the rapid growth of science and technology, the use of multimedia technology has evolved into an effective tool in language teaching. The rapidly growing popularity of learning foreign languages including German, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean in Sri Lanka has paved the way for new teaching methods being developed to teach the target language. The aim of this study is to analyse the effectiveness of using multimedia in teaching culture and the history of the target country, namely German for Sri Lankan learners. The research question is to examine how the digital multimedia technology can enhance learner motivation and their performance. Data were collected from 30 undergraduates of German as a Foreign Language in the second year at the University of Kelaniya. The sample was divided into two groups. The same lesson was presented to the two groups with and without multimedia technology. The results of the study show that there is lack of motivation resulting in underperformance of students when teaching German culture and the history in the traditional teaching method. Multimedia technology with audio, visual and animation effects motivate the students to learn a language more effectively.