Kathikawa: Dinali Fernando. Is there something called Sri Lankan English?

The Kathikawa/Dialogue programme is an interview with a writer/academic/artist about an issue related to language learning/language/translation/and writing. Here, Dinlai Fernando, Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Kelaniya, speaks about what it means to talk about a Sri Lankan English.

[@townshipwithvlth1733]

බොහොමත්ම ස්තුති මහාචාර්යවරුන් දෙදෙනාටම මෙම වෙනස්කම් ගැන පැහැදිලි කීරීම පිලිබඳව සහ වටිනා තොරතුරු, පොත් ගැන අදහස් බෙදාහදා ගැනීම පිලිබඳව. 😍😍😍❤️‍🔥

[@sxcoba9885]

In Colombo schools, there are no Jayawardanas-instead ja'"wardenes....No Gunawardenes..but Gunawa"danes... In the 70's English educated men who got married to non-English speakers never promoted English at home--- their children had to suffer.....You are right those who like to have a bit of English flavour use lot of English words in their Sinhala/Tamil conversation: Your endeavour is interesting. Old Boy from Nuwara Eliya

[@mr.rusiruchitrasena-univer3839]

Thank you so much for this informative and insightful video about Sri Lankan English(es). I learnt a lot about popular ideologies surrounding SLE but there is something I disagree with, related to my area of research. Is Second Language Acquisition (SLA) really outdated? SLA became recognized as an established (sub)discipline in language education in the early 70s and has since then developed and expanded, even up to this minute. It explains how languages are LEARNT, as opposed to how they are TAUGHT. How languages are taught these days continues to evolve and be influenced based on research that explains how these languages are learnt by students in instructed and non-instructed settings. Early SLA approaches like Contrastive Analysis, and Error Analysis are outdated, but that does not mean SLA is outdated because, every minute, new research findings regarding how languages are learnt or acquired are added to the existing literature, even at this very minute. Key concepts like comprehensible input, noticing, intake, interaction, output and feedback remain influential. A wide array of traditions, models, theories, hypotheses, principles, frameworks, and strategies keep expanding. Insights from SLA research can help teachers make our teaching more and more student-centred, effective and engaging. And we can help students develop their fluency and confidence more. To explain how SLA theories can inform pedagogical practices, researchers have proposed certain digestible principles based on the array of SLA research: Ellis, R. (2014). Principles of instructed second language learning. In M. Celce-Murcia, D. M. Brinton, & M. A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language, (pp.31-45). Cengage Learning. englishforbeachpurposes.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/r-ellis-2014-principles-of-instructed-second-language-learning.pdf Tomlinson, B., & Masuhara, H. (2021). SLA Applied: Connecting Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108559263 Thank you and I hope the debate regarding these issues will continue to evolve, especially in a world linguistic landscape that is moving away from ethnocentric understandings of language, dialect and accents towards international mutual intelligibility. As English is used globally as a lingua franca, the most important concern is to be understood clearly when English is spoken.

[@critical-thinking]

Thank you. That's a very valid point. What we should have clarified perhaps is that despite the chnages in SLA thinking - Rod Ellis himslef has stated his changed positions - the practices of TESL in Sri Lanka at institutional levels (practices, not thoery mind you) have not changed very much.

[@mr.rusiruchitrasena-univer3839]

Yes, one way ELT in Sri Lanka can improve is to align the curricula and coursebooks with insights and principles from recent ELA research. It is not something an individual can do in a few days. We can all make certain changes within our limits and continue to develop as reflective practitioners. To drive a systemic change, many stakeholders from top to bottom need to open their minds, learn from international best practices and adapt them to suit the local classrooms and keep reflecting on and evaluating the changes. ELT experts in Sri Lanka also should be ready to change.

[@dinalifernando7930]

Hi Rusiru thanks a lot for your detailed comment. You know, I was thinking of you when i was mentioning SLA! So long life! :) You're totally right, I should have nuanced my comment to say that we have moved on from SOME of the earlier concepts of SLA like error correction, whereas the others you mention are still valid, if not unquestioned realities of language learning. Thank you also for highlighting the distinction between SLA being about learning as opposed to teaching. Thanks for watching the discussion and the comment, and for sharing the resources here

[@mr.rusiruchitrasena-univer3839]

@@dinalifernando7930 Thanks for the comment and for taking this feedback, in the sentiment in which it was intended, miss :) Best wishes !

[@dinalifernando7930]

@@mr.rusiruchitrasena-univer3839 Always good to hear from you Rusiru! :) Best wishes to you too!

[@maheshisandeepani6866]

❤

[@tharinduniranjan2734]

Actually we don't want any type of English language because we are srilankan we have language (sinhala) it is our mother language . Russia,China,India,Japan,Korea,Bangladesh ,Dubai that county world powerful county English is not important language in that country . We want think lot of because srilanka want future. Thanks

[@sxcoba9885]

Those who had the same opinion sent their children to London and still continue to send their children to International schools run in garages with a signboard on- So please do not mislead the common man.