Date of Award
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
College/School
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department/Program
Linguistics
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
David Schwarzer
Committee Member
Eileen Fitzpatrick
Committee Member
Katia Paz Goldfarb
Abstract
The purpose of this Master of Arts (MA) thesis is threefold:
First, this reflective paper provides a critical literature review on English Language Teaching (ELT) in Sri Lanka.
Second, this reflective paper presents seven guiding principles which will steer my English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching in an urban public university in Sri Lanka.
Third, drawing from the seven guiding principles, this reflective paper presents a complete syllabus and three assignments as concrete examples (attached as appendixes) which will be implemented in a College of Humanities and Social Sciences in an urban public university in Sri Lanka.
The importance of the present reflective paper can be summarized under four main points:
First, the critical literature review could help researchers and practitioners to better understand the complex linguistic situation and ELT in Sri Lanka.
Second, based on the seven guiding principles I will have a new syllabus which will be implemented in my ESL classes in an urban public university in Sri Lanka. After the implementation of the syllabus, I will reflect on my experience of implementing the syllabus and improve the syllabus further.
Third, the seven guiding principles which will inform my future practice as an ESL teacher are transferable to English dominated post-colonial countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and so on.
As a novice ESL teacher in an urban public university in Sri Lanka, one of the challenges I faced was the lack of a formal syllabus for my ESL classes. It gave rise to multiple issues in relation to teaching methodology, lesson planning, and teaching materials, resulting in the dissatisfaction of my students and myself. It was the lack of a formal syllabus for my ESL classes that motivated me to design a syllabus for an intermediate level ESL course in an urban public university in Sri Lanka. I believe that the new syllabus steered by the seven guiding principles presented in this MA thesis will create a new synergy in my future ESL classrooms.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Gajasinghe Maramba Liyanage, Kasun, "Teaching English as a Second Language in an Urban Public University in Sri Lanka : A Reflective Paper" (2019). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 291.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/291