Symposia & Conferences
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Item Problems Encountered by Students in French in Learning Grammar and the Possibility of a Student Oriented Approach into Teaching of Grammar(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Rajapaksha, U.D.The principal objective of learning a language is to express ideas or sentiments among humans. Whether the communication is oral or written, knowledge of grammar plays an important role when it comes to language learning.The students in French at the University of Kelaniya have been learning French since Grade 12 at school for Advanced Level, sometimes even at a younger age; before entering the university level. Thus, they are expected to demonstrate a high competency in French. The focus is on determining whether the students in French as a Foreign Language at University of Kelaniya, find it difficult to communicate in grammatically correct French. In the case of affirmative, the researcher intends to explore the possible reasons and secondly suggest a possible solution for the situation.The researcher plans to carry out the research by first identifying one grammar area which is considered difficult. Secondly, the researcher will study their reasons for declaring so and thirdly provide suggestions to improve the level of grammar of the students. The primary objective is to identify the presence of a difficulty in expressing oneself in communicating in French. In case of a lack of knowledge or competency in grammar, the researcher intends to evaluate what reasons are behind this communication failure and intends to provide possible suggestions to them. The research is based upon interviews and sample writings collected from students. The lecturers in French at the University of Kelaniya will be interviewed with open and closed questions, thus adding both quantitative and qualitative value to the study. Finally, I hope to present a sample lesson of a selected difficult grammar part in the suggested approach.The findings of the research would serve both students and teachers in French, in improving the quality of Teaching French as a Foreign Language.Item Theatre or anti-theatre: An analysis of characteristics in absurd theatre and its classification as theatre(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Rajapaksha, U.D.Absurdism or Absurd theory is a prominent offspring of the Second World War. The genre explores the futile and existentialist nature of human life, the breaking down of all logic and communication in a godless universe. Many European authors were influenced by this experimental movement during the post war era, thus resulting in an absurdist fiction. Eugene Ionesco and Samuel Beckettbrought this movement into the limelight. All these authorstook great care to distance themselves from all conventional forms of theatre.The characteristics of absurd theatre differ from conventional theatre to such an extent, that the playwrights themselves referred to their works as “anti-theatre”. These works are considered to be anti-thematic, anti-ideologic and anti-realist. Thus, the focus of the research is to explore the anti-theatrical characteristics in Ionesco’s “Cantatrice Chauve” (The Bold Soprano) in comparison to conventional theatre, and the possibility of it being justified as an actualform of theatre. This study seeks to answer three major questions; What defines conventional theatre? What defines absurd theatre? Can absurd theatre be considered as “theatre”?Thus the research intends to identify the characteristics of the conventional theatre and those of the absurd theatre in order to make a comparison. Furthermore, the research will ascertain the possibility of absurd theatre being categorized as real theatre. Hypothetically speaking, absurd theatre, with its anti-theatrical characteristics, cannot be considered as “theatre”.Initially, in a qualitative approach, the researcher will identify the characteristics of both conventional and absurd theatre. The title, theme, characters, events, action, stage settings, stage directions and structure of the two forms will be closely observed and analyzed. Secondly, the research will include a detailed analysis of Eugene Ionesco’s “Bold Soprano” (La Cantatrice Chauve). Absurdist literature has appealed to the researcher’s interest due to its novel and refreshing nature. This new school of thought represents a shift in the European ideologies. Thus the research would be an exploration of the collision between these old and new ideologies.