SLIIT Conference and Symposium Proceedings
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All SLIIT faculties annually conduct international conferences and symposiums. Publications from these events are included in this collection.
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Publication Open Access ESP Needs Analysis for Nursing Students at a Sri Lankan Higher Education Institution(School of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Jayarathna, A.K.S.; Wanasooriya, W.M.K.C.; Senarathne, D.D.H.G.Y.; de Silva, B.D.S.V.U.; Jayasinghe, D.R.W.; George, L.V.; Wijesekera, H.D.This study analyzes the effectiveness of existing English for Academic Purposes (EAP) modules in meeting the English language requirements of the Higher National Diploma Nursing program at a non-state Higher Education Institute (HEI) in Sri Lanka. Drawing on the Nation and Macalister’s Language Curriculum Design framework, a needs analysis was conducted. This comprised determining students’ linguistic needs, aspirations, and gaps in academic and clinical settings through a validated questionnaire, followed by interviews with two lecturers of core subjects, one English language lecturer, and twenty-eight students. The data were analyzed thematically using an inductive approach. The findings indicate that the current EAP modules are insufficient to meet the professional communication needs of nurses. A substantial proportion (65%) of students reported not using English daily, while (52%) reported low confidence, mainly in oral communication, and (57%) emphasized the need for improving medical communication. Students and lecturers emphasized the need for interactive language instruction with a nursing focus. Next, the study compared the international ESP curriculum models with the existing EAP module, supported by the findings, and observed significant content differences. The study recommends that English for Specific Purposes or English for Nursing should be integrated into nursing school curricula along with faculty development support, differentiated instruction, and authentic materials. Language instruction should be keyed to actual communication needs to promote academic achievement and professional competence at the global level.Publication Embargo Lessons Learnt: A Study of Student Feedback Regarding Online Proficiency Assessment(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) Rathnasena, U.; Kalinga, J.Subsequent to the revolutionary advances in technology and its remarkable impact on universities, online summative assessment has become increasingly commonplace and popular in the academia. Consequently, online English language proficiency assessment has also gained momentum globally. This study was conducted at a Sri Lankan private university where online assessment is utilized as the standard summative test for several modules including EAP (English for Academic Purposes) module. The main objective was to explore undergraduates’ perceptions of the online EAP assessment and its effectiveness and feasibility in gauging competency of English among ESL (English as a Second Language) learners. A quantitative approach was chosen for this study where a questionnaire was used as the primary data collection tool. The sample was a convenience sample of 120 undergraduates who had taken the online test. The findings revealed the undergraduates’ displeasure regarding several aspects of online English assessment. They were critical of the reading component of the online test in addition to experiencing time management issues, technical limitations that marred their performance.