SLIIT International Conference on Advancements in Science and Humanities [SICASH]

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Open Access
Fear of Peers: A Case Study of Speaking in the Sri Lankan Context
(Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Anderson, K
This paper examines the relationship between Sri Lankan students and the core skill of speaking English. Drawing on an informal needs analysis of 240 pre-service English teachers and American Corner students, the paper examines students’ self-reported needs and emotional relationship with speaking in English. Results shed light on the demotivating factors associated with speaking in front of others. Moreover, the paper acknowledges the myriad challenges of assessing speaking but also highlights the need for educators to differentiate between speaking activities that prompt students to read out loud and activities that encourage students to interact extemporaneously.
Embargo
To Leave or not to Leave: Attitudes of the Undergraduates towards Speaking in an Online ESL Classroom
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2022-09-15) Peiris, A.E
Covid 19 pandemic has affected all sectors in Sri Lanka including education. Online delivery mode was integrated into tertiary education in most of the universities to meet the new challenges. Facilitators of the English as a second language (ESL) classes use effective strategies and platforms to improve English language(L2) proficiency of the students. Improving speaking of the learners in such online ESL classes is challenging. ESL facilitator commonly experienced that some students leave the meeting when they are assigned to do a group activity or a speaking activity. Hence, it is vital to study the attitudes of the students towards speaking in an online class to help them improve speaking. A questionnaire was distributed among the first year, first and second semester students in a non-state university, and one hundred twenty-eight responses were collected. The results of the quantitative data were analysed using the percentages of the responses. As revealed, the main reason to avoid ESL lectures is irregular power cuts. On the other hand, the learners have not clearly identified the importance of L2 speaking. The majority use L2 only for oral exams/ assignments, and some prefer the recording. The decision to leave the online lecture when there are speaking activities is rooted mainly from psychological factors, and then secondly from linguistics factors. With proper guidance the students may change their attitudes towards L2 speaking, and their 47 decision to leave the online lecture would be less.
Embargo
An Exploratory Analysis of Activities of Grade 11 English Language Textbook
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Jeganathan, T. B; Palihakkara, H; Manchanayaka, M. A. S. P; Chamalika, H. K. L; Gunaratna, M. D. M. K; Michael, M. A.T
This paper presents the findings of a survey that investigated the students' preference of the themes, lessons, and activities of the grade 11 English language textbook. The objectives of the study were to explore the appropriacy of the units, themes and activities and examine the role of the activities in improving speaking skills. A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect data in a non-experimental research design. We obtained our sample (n=207) from grade 11 students from 3 schools in the Colombo Division. Data were subjected to several statistical measures. It was reported that 83% of the students preferred the activities, but 17% reported that they disliked the activities in the workbook. 67.1% of the students reported the need for interesting activities. 62.3% of the students reported that they needed to learn English language grammar, while 60% of the students expressed the need for using technology for effective learning. One recommendation is adapting materials and activities to suit the current proficiency levels and preferences of the students. Using additional teacher-made communicative activities and adding supplemental speaking activities to support a balanced skills approach (BSA) are also suggested. A small sample contributed to low statistical power and limited generalizability of the findings. Limitations in statistical analysis and the non-representative sample reduced the generalizability of the results. Future studies involving a representative sample of students and a combination of quantitative and qualitative statistical measures are suggested.

SLIIT International Conference on Advancements in Science and Humanities [SICASH]

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