ICLSL 2016
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/14246
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Item Using Sinhalese in Teaching German as a Foreign Language for the Undergraduates of the University of Kelaniya(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Lansakara, L.H.M.D.S.The study focuses on the controversy, revolving around the teachers‟ use of the mother tongue (MT) in foreign language (FL) teaching. Specifically, this report concentrates on the examination of German teachers‟ and learners‟ attitudes and methods of employing Sinhalese in teaching German language. Theoretical studies highlight that the MT should be fused by teachers in FL classrooms in resulting a productivity in acquiring a second language or a foreign language. The current study was conducted among the German language teachers and thirty randomly selected students who follow German language as a main subject, representing the three specific course levels of BA degree program conducted by the University of Kelaniya. The research tools were two particular questionnaires designed specifically for the purpose of the study, aiming the German teachers and the students selected. Additionally, the efficiency and the productivity of using Sinhalese in teaching German in the classrooms were examined through keen observations of the students‟ level of understanding and progress in acquiring the language as required. Hence, it becomes a qualitative data analysis. The findings reveal that the teachers‟ as well as the students‟ overall attitude towards the use of Sinhalese in German language classrooms is positive, however with limits; the teachers report that they use Sinhalese for teaching as well as for the classroom management while the students convey that the explanations in Sinhalese support them in understanding the German grammar and language facts better. This understanding will be followed by a comparison between the two particular languages (MT and FL) as well. The findings of this study will be useful in enhancing the quality of the acquisition of foreign languages with a base of using mother tongue and it will open up to approach the theories of applied linguistics in second language acquisition.Item The Problems Encountered in Using Communicative Language Teaching in Teaching German as a Foreign Language(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Cooray, B.M.S.This paper focuses on the difficulties encountered by the teachers in using communicative teaching method in teaching German as a foreign language. The communicative language teaching which emerged in the 1970s and 1980s after the mechanical practice of audio-lingual method consists of interactive communication sessions where the learner is eligible to engage in authentic meaningful communication. The objective of this research is to examine what difficulties are encountered by the teachers in using communicative language teaching method in teaching German as a foreign language at the university of Kelaniya and what steps should be taken to overcome these difficulties in order to use communicative teaching method more effectively. This research is based upon the data collected by a questionnaire distributed among the German teachers, followed by semi structured interviews and classroom observations to analyse their experiences in dealing with the difficulties in using communicative teaching method. According to the findings of the research it was evident that the lack of class room environment suitable for a communicative language teaching, the traditional frontal teaching method which makes the students difficult to adopt to the communicative learning method, and the number of students exceeding the capacity for a communicative classroom were the main difficulties encountered by teachers in using communicative method. It was suggested to divide the students in to small groups to use games and to implement more authentic classroom activities, give students positive encouragement, limit error correction during speaking and to improve the classroom facilities which is suitable for a communicative classroom to get more effective use of communicative teaching.