Symposia & Conferences

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    The Impact of Using Computer Assisted Language Learning System (CALL) in Teaching Hindi Language in University of Kelaniya
    (Indo-Sri Lanka Hindi Conference-2017.Department of Hindi Studies,University of Kelaniya,Sri Lanka, 2017) Chandrasekara, P.V.S.
    Hindi has been successfully taught in Sri Lankan universities as a foreign language for several decades. With the rapid development of the technology language teaching and learning has been also influenced with technology. As a result of that e-learning has been introduced to the world of education. Computer Assisted Language Learning System (CALL) is one of the online learning system which is successfully practiced in world wide. University of Kelaniya is one of the leading university of Sri Lanka which offers language courses to the students. Department of Hindi studies, University of Kelaniya has been implemented CALL in teaching Hindi language to the students. In this paper it is expected to illustrate impact of using CALL in teaching and learning Hindi as a foreign language in University of Kelaniya. Lesson notes related to History of Hindi Literature, Indian Culture, Grammar and Literature have been uploaded to the system before the lecture. Hence students had a prior understanding about the lesson and more time could spend on discussions related to the topic. Questions and assignments related to the lessons were posted in separate folders and provided the facilities to submit their answers within a given period of time. Difficult lessons have been explained through presentations in order to make them more interesting to the students. Reviewed answers again uploaded in the wall page so that everyone could learn by the mistakes of the colleagues. Selected best answers have been uploaded with the names of the students in order to inspire their online participation in CALL. Video clips have been utilized to improve listening and spoken skills. As a result of above mentioned efforts, students actively participated in CALL and their computer literacy could be improved. Lack of computer competence and believe in traditional teaching methods could identified as the challenges faced while introducing CALL to the students. Computer assistance has been provided to the students as well as to the teachers in order to make e-learning a success.
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    Practical Problems of Learning and Teaching Hindi as a Foreign Language.
    (Department of Hindi Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2016) Hansika, W.A. Maduni
    In Sri Lanka, Hindi is not considered as a main language. Some Indians those who live in Sri Lanka use Hindi language as their first language while some Sri Lankans use it as a second language. However majority of the people are interested in learning foreign languages and Hindi language holds a priority yet there are many problems associated with learning Hindi as a foreign language. For the study, a sample of 32 students who are learning Hindi as a foreign language was taken into consideration. Relevant data was gathered through conducting direct discussions, observation and by administering self-developed questionnaire. According to the findings it was revealed that learners are not practicing what they have learnt and the explanation of the teacher is not given in an understandable language. Specifically, not using interesting teaching methods in the teaching process, teachers' verbal explanations having the many difficult words which are simply too hard to catch and repeated failures in learning Hindi etc. can be given as problems of learning Hindi as a foreign language. Finally, it is recommended from the teachers’ perspective that students have to practice what they have learnt about Hindi, they need to make extra efforts on learning and from the learners’ perspective teachers should use more interesting methods on teaching while encouraging the students to overcome the difficulties in learning Hindi as a foreign language. Furthermore, the teacher should use an understandable language to teach Hindi.
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    Problems Faced by a Bilingual Child in Learning
    (Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Thilagarajan, N.
    Generally, people start to learn a second language after a particular age when they would have a clear idea about a second language. However, in present society many children happen to be bilingual by birth, because of the multi-ethnic nature in their parents‟ marriage. The child thus begins to acquire the language from his parents‟ mother tongue. When the child lacks words in one language, he replaces them with the words from the other language. Though, children have a flair of understanding both languages from the childhood, they encounter some challenges when the start their initial education. For instance, the inability to understand the differences between the two languages, proceeding their conversations using both languages, making syntactical and grammatical mistakes and suffering to pronounce different sounds properly are some of the perennial challenges in this regard. It is difficult for a bilingual baby to keep every difference of the languages in mind. When a learner is exposed to unfamiliar situations in the learning at the first time, bilingual baby faces a difficult situation and ultimately seeks the help of the rules of his most familiar language to understand the learning. Consequently, the respective children are mentally affected and suffer considerably at the commencement of their primary education. Thus, it should be examined how these problems can be minimised. The aim of this research paper is to identify the problems faced by these children and to suggest viable solutions to overcome them. This study is based on a child whose mother‟s mother tongue is Sinhala while her father's mother tongue is Tamil. This is a qualitative research and data will be collected from a sample of selected bilingual babies and teachers. The ultimate goal of this research is to introduce techniques to overcome the problems faced by a bilingual child in the process of learning.
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    The Logical Relationship between the Writing Errors and the Acquisition Order of the English Grammatical Morphemes
    (Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jeyaseelan, S.; Wijeratne, W.M.
    The study of the acquisition of the grammatical morphemes seems to be a key concern of this study in terms of the order of acquisition. Acquisition order is very much inter-related with the process of second language learning and acquisition. The grammatical morpheme like third person singular –„s‟ is acquired later than the other morphemes such as the plural-„s‟ and the past tense –„ed‟. The research problem is however, the teachers deal with the learners making errors in such morphemes repetitively. The objective is to investigate the logical relationship between the acquisition order and the errors. The first year students of the Faculty of Business Studies of Vavuniya Campus were selected as the sample. The convenient sampling method was used. The data were collected by conducting tests based on the nine grammatical morphemes. The findings reveal that the use of some morphemes the copula-„be‟, the auxiliary-„be‟, the possessive –„s‟, and the irregular past are used less than the plural –„s‟, the past tense –„ed‟, and the progressive –„ing‟. The reasons for less or no errors in the use of the morphemes can be attributed to the non-attempt nature and a strategy of the respondents to avoid using any forms difficult to be used correctly. There is a logical relationship between the findings of the ranking order of the morphemes based on the results of the closed test and the findings of their use in the creative writing assignment. The morphemes of the lower ranks in the closed-test are used less or not used at all in the creative writing.
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    Preferences on Learning English as a Second Language
    (Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jayasundara, J.M.P.V.K.
    English occupies the place of a Second Language (ESL) in primary, secondary and tertiary levels playing an inevitable role in the Sri Lankan education arena. Moreover, the necessity of English as a medium of instruction is realised by the government and steps have been taken to elevate the competency in English among students in Island‟s education system. However, much attention has not been paid to the favorite learning methods and styles of ESL learners even though methods and styles create enormous impact in acquiring language competency. Hence, the present study intends to explore ESL learners‟ preferences on learning English. Therefore, the research problems were formulated as the ways in which ESL learners wish to pursue English, their favorite methods of learning, learning styles and strategies preferred by the learners. In order to acquire the research objectives, a sample of 50 respondents from Uva Wellassa University was selected using stratified sampling technique. Further, a designed questionnaire was utilised to collect primary data while implementing graphs and charts for graphical depiction of the result. According to the results, most of the respondents (43%) are with the view that they need to improve their speaking skill further and secondly, one fifth of the respondents require enhancing their writing skill. When considering the ESL learners‟ favorite method of learning English, the method of conducting presentations has acquired the highest number of preferences by the undergraduates. However, lectures and videos both are placed at second with equal percentages. Moreover, more than fifty percent of the respondents wish to apply visual learning style while nearly one third of the respondents prefer to use a combination of visual, auditory and kinesthetic styles in order to pursue English. Thus, the results are beneficial for the teachers, the syllabus designers and the researchers to uplift the ESL learners‟ proficiency levels while highlighting the importance of recognising the learners‟ preferences in ESL teaching process.
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    Improving English though Participating in University Student Organizations.
    (English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Ponnamperuma, P.; Ruwandika, K.; Devindi, T.
    English has become the de facto language of communication in the academia and the language that some of the student organizations operate in. These student organizations operate networking all universities in and outside Sri Lanka. The aim of this study is to see whether undergraduates actually improve their English knowledge by participation in student originations. For this purpose, a sample of 30 students were given questionnaires with two open ended questions asking about their views on improving English knowledge through participating in student organizations. For this purpose three student organizations, AISEC, Gavel club and Model United Nations (MUN) were selected. The participants were selected through purposive sampling; those who are members of one or more of the aforementioned student organizations. The results elaborate that although students use English, there is much code switching and it is difficult to identify if they really improve their English through participation in these organizations. In conclusion, a more comprehensive study would help to have a better understanding of this phenomenon.