Deakin University to take English Language to Sri Lanka's rural students
Deakin University (DU) of Australia is planning to take the English Language (EL) to students in rural Sri Lanka in order to prepare them for the challenges of a competitive global job market.
Sri Lankan born Prof. Indika Liyanage is here to oversee the educational project titled ‘shame and shaming’ aiming to counter barriers that pose problems for Sri Lankans using the English language, socially.
Prof. Liyanage at DU noted that although the English language is taught in the Sri Lankan educational cur- riculum along with the vernacular languages, most children are not confident to speak in it because of the ‘shame and sham- ing’ practices associated with its social use.
‘Shame’, he said, is what a speaker feels for not being able to use the EL properly, and ‘shaming’ is when others ridicule the speaker for not using the language appropriately. He said that practices of ‘shaming’ is affecting students’ learning of the language both in and outside classrooms.
Research has shown that in Sri Lanka the ability to communicate in English is a powerful indicator of a person’s economic and educational status.
The use of English is widespread globally including business communication and technology, and there is a greater need for students to be conversant in the language when they transition from study to work.
Identifying the problems beneath the phenomenon - why most students lack the ability to converse in English - he said it is a ‘colonial legacy’ that has been passed on from generation to generation, and the issue has not been properly addressed since English was first taught as a second language.
The ‘rationale’ behind the project is to deeply explore any surrounding socio-educational issues and address them. “We need to address the effects of shame and shaming in English language teaching and learning, the effects of which have become a social phenomenon” he said.
For this purpose, Sri Lanka needs to invest on developing teacher capacities to tackle this issue. ‘Empowering teachers to use local knowledge in teaching innovatively will be a good way forward’
The affluent in the urban areas have opportunities to study in international schools where the medium of instruction is English and moreover they already have strong networks. But, millions of children in rural Sri Lanka have no similar opportunities – they do not even have teachers who can address their basic learning needs.
Prof. Liyanage however said that the vernacular languages – Sinhala and Tamil should also be taught in Schools, and English should not take priority.
“It is quite possible for people to lose interest in the vernaculars when they see the many economic advantages of the English language,” he said.
To tackle this problem satisfac- torily a multi-disciplinary approach is needed. Also, “it should be a collective effort of the community, students, teachers, department of education”, he said. Philanthropic organizations and corporate sectors are invited to participate in DU’s efforts to address this problem.
“DU has around 550 Sri Lankan students out of a total of 8500 international students. We feel obligated to do something in return for the country,” he said.
DU is also planning to recruit doctoral students to investigate this and related issues in Sri Lanka.
The project is expected to bring regional economic development and provide opportunities for Sri Lankans to connect globally.
Prof. Liyanage said the talks with the government have been successful, and the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Education and other private education providers have warmed up to the ‘Shame and Shaming’ project.
DU which will be the supervising university of this project has requested also the assistance of the Australian Consulate General in Melbourne to facilitate the process.
By Chrishanthi Christopher