Junior Research Symposium on English Language Education for World Citizenship: Challenges and Opportunities

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    Undergraduates’ Motivation in Learning English
    (English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jayasingha, I.; Bandara, R.; Jayawardhana, R.; Wijayabandara, C.
    The paper will be based on an empirical research conducted at University of Kelaniya. This research examines the type and level of motivation in English language learning and the reasons for the lack of motivation in learning English. It is widely accepted that motivation is one of the variables that influences the rate and the success of learning the language. The population of this research comprises of 20 undergraduates who were selected randomly from each faculty. The research lasted for two weeks .Data has been collected via a questionnaire which consists of five point Likert scales and few multiple choice questions. The undergraduates were given an adequate period of time to solve the questionnaire. The study reveals that high anxiety towards the teachers, lack of the basic knowledge provided during their early stages of learning and humiliation on students affect for the lack of motivation in learning English. The results of the research indicate that the motivation in learning English in the faculty of Humanities is high when comparing with other faculties. This research points out steps which can be taken to enhance the motivation in learning English in undergraduates .For instance, lessons should be conducted in an interesting manner, teachers should be sensitive to students' language learning problems and should provide appropriate solutions. So, the research seems to be helpful in enhancing the motivation in learning English in undergraduates.
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    Awareness and the Attitudes towards Sri Lankan English among Undergraduates
    (English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Ariyasinghe, D.
    This study examines dialects 1-3 based on the pronunciation of the back vowels in the typology of Sri Lankan English (SLE) by Siromi Fernando (2006) across the selected phonemes /ei/, /z/, /θ/, /ʒ/ and /oʊ/. The methodology included online questionnaires/interviews and voice recordings of 50 undergraduates, mean age 22 years, from diverse disciplines in universities and institutes in Sri Lanka and abroad. 05 of the participants were case studies. The findings identified that a fairly large undergraduate population declare that the variety of English they speak is either Standard British English or American English thus belonging to dialect 3. But analysis of the podcasts evidenced that in the selected pronunciation areas examined SLE characteristics are indicated. In the usage of identified morphological processes too they retained SLE characteristics. Analyzing the Likert scale measurements for awareness and the attitude towards the variety it was clearly visible that both of the aforementioned factors distinctly differ according to the discipline the undergraduates follow at the universities. The attitude towards speaking SLE in undergraduates especially from Sciences, unless they are exposed to the background of Social Sciences or Humanities, was negative. Their belief of the inadequacy of SLE for communication with native speakers was the cause for their negativity. Further there was a lack of awareness in this population that SLE is a standard variety of English. On the contrary, the students who are from Social Sciences or Humanities backgrounds were aware and were proud to use Standard Sri Lankan English. Conclusively it can be stated that dialect 3 is becoming more powerful and influential among the Sri Lankan undergraduate populations. Moreover, it can be recommended to introduce SLE as a standard variety in undergraduate English programs, especially for the undergraduates are from Science backgrounds, in order to increase their confidence.