Papers by Professor Rohini Chandrica Widyalankara
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This study recognizes that the provision of Vygotsky's More Knowledgeable Others (MKOs) within th... more This study recognizes that the provision of Vygotsky's More Knowledgeable Others (MKOs) within the Zone of Proximal Development of online courses as a unique challenge to all stakeholders. Extending the data-driven decision making culture at the Centre for Distance and Continuing Education of University of Kelaniya to the newly introduced online course English for Communication, the aim of this study is to develop a learning analytics mindset to predict at-risk students enabling timely intervention. Further, future cohorts of the course are provided analytics on student performance thus enabling them to take decisions to improve the course especially to address the necessity for increased MKO availability. Capturing attendance data benefits the need to identify reasons for absenteeism. The instrument was a 100 mark allotting paper which evaluated three of the four skills: Reading, Writing and Speaking. The total population was stratified into 19 centres across provinces. The corpus for analysis (n= 3700) was selected under stratified random sampling procedures from which approximately 200 papers were shortlisted from each centre. Findings illustrate the diversity of Poverty and prosperity indices and Digital denizenship across the provinces have a significant influence on the performance of the population. The % mean marks distribution indicated a strong variation based on the province. Thus this study provides Learning analytics which constructs an information-rich landscape for the functional groups for understanding and optimizing the learning process of the students who offer the course. The findings benefit educational mandates of similar institutions who face the challenge of handling groups which are non-monolithic in proficiency in English and Digital denizenship but who are monolithic in size.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This study examines dialects 1-3 based on the pronunciation of the back vowels in the typology of... more This study examines dialects 1-3 based on the pronunciation of the back vowels in the typology of Sri Lankan English (SLE) assembled by Siromi Fernando across the phonemes. The methodology included online questionnaires/interviews and voice recordings of 50 undergraduates, mean age 22 years, from diverse disciplines in universities/institutes in Sri Lanka and abroad. 05 of the participants were case studies. The findings identified a large undergraduate population declare that the variety of English they speak is either Standard British English or American English thus belonging to dialect 3. But analysis of the podcasts evidenced that in the selected pronunciation areas examined SLE characteristics are indicated. In the usage of identified morphological processes too they retained SLE characteristics. Analyzing the Likert scale measurements, it was clearly visible that both of the aforementioned factors distinctly differ according to the discipline the undergraduates follow. The attitude towards SLE in undergraduates especially from Sciences, was comparatively negative. Their belief of the inadequacy of SLE for communication with native speakers was the cause for their negativity. Further they lack awareness of SLE as a standard variety of English. On the contrary, the students who are from Social Sciences/Humanities were aware and proud to use SSLE. Conclusively, dialect 3 is becoming more powerful and influential among the Sri Lankan undergraduate populations. Moreover, it is recommended to create awareness on SLE as a standard variety in undergraduate English programs, especially for the undergraduates from a Science background.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
... more Postcolonial Englishes are a rich resource on cross linguistic dynamics in contact situations where English is the superstrate. Sinhala is a minority language of the world and is spoken by a population of 15,173,82016 in Sri Lanka. The language specific rankings of markedness constraints in the phonological grammar and conventions governing grapheme to phoneme conversion of Sinhala result in the dichotomy of transfer versus inhibition of the source language phonology. The Constraint Fluctuation Hypothesis recognizes that the reranking of constraints of a donor language is not a homogeneous process. Thus within the typology of Sri Lankan Englishes the pronunciation of the Standard variety has gained endonormative stabilization and codification while Other Varieties of SLE flout a multitude of norms set down by the standard. English l...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This paper argues that the transference of existing, selected phonological practices of Sinhala i... more This paper argues that the transference of existing, selected phonological practices of Sinhala is one of the causal factors for generating three phonemic features in the pronunciation of the users of learner dialects of Sri Lankan English. Through analysis of evidence drawn from English loanword adaptation paradigms in current Sinhala print media the paper argues that the three selected deviations from Standard Sri Lankan English in learner phonological practices are influenced by the non volitional and non elective transfer of existing phonological practices in Sinhala.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This study proposes that the pedagogical procedures within the genre of Teaching English as a Sec... more This study proposes that the pedagogical procedures within the genre of Teaching English as a Second Language should not only gain from the rich theoretical resources and the vast repertoire of methodological approaches available it should also tap the creative powers of the teaching practitioners. Merging tenets of Behaviorism with Innatism in the Interaction Theory and adapting theories on Second Language Acquisition the second language teaching/learning environment discussed aims to maximize acquisition and lower the affective filters of the learners. Principled Eclecticism provides the methodological foundation for cooperative learning and formative peer assessment with focused corrective feedback provide remedial support and an opportunity for the learners to reevaluate their work and engage in timely adjustments. The session aims at interpsychological cognitive development with peers/teacher and individual intrapsychological cognitive enhancement in language skills.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This paper compiles evidence from linguistic historians and print media to attest that two famili... more This paper compiles evidence from linguistic historians and print media to attest that two familiar practices of Sinhala: the insertion of the lax front close vowel /ɪ/ in spoken Sinhala before word initial consonant clusters commencing with /s/, and the lack of phonemic status for /ʃ/ which results in the orthographic variations of /ʃ/ and /s/ not being reflected in Sinhala pronunciation, are realized as distinctive features of Non Standard Sri Lankan English (NSSLE) pronunciation. These features are no fortuitous occurrences. They in their ultimate origin are the results, particularly, of natural and nonvolitional transfer of linguistic behaviour patterns of the speaker of Sinhala to English discourse in the process of becoming a bilingual. The study cites phonological conventions which govern the diglossic variation in Sinhala which give rise to differing representations for pronunciation and orthography as a causal factor for the existence of these two S/NSSLE phonetic features....
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Reading is a dynamic pursuit embedded in two language systems: the language and the writing syste... more Reading is a dynamic pursuit embedded in two language systems: the language and the writing system that encodes the language (Perfetti, 2003; Perfetti & Liu, 2005).Unlike L1 (first language) reading L2 (second language) reading involves two languages, is cross linguistic and thus possesses the inherent quality of being more complex. The two languages pertaining to this paper are Sinhala the L1 of ESL learner undergraduates and English their L2. These undergraduates have achieved high competency in L1 reading but the majority consists of weak, low level L2 readers. One reason for this is the fact that they stagnate at the first stage of processing a text: decoding lexis, unable to identify the phonological codes of the words. The paper identifies three factors which negatively affect reading comprehension of the learner population: differences in orthographic and phonological systems of English and Sinhala, brain activation which, according to neuro-scientific research, is identified...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The use of L1 in Teaching English as a Second Language contexts is a ubiquitous but haphazard ped... more The use of L1 in Teaching English as a Second Language contexts is a ubiquitous but haphazard pedagogical practice in Sri Lanka. This thesis examines whether the use of L1 (Sinhala) could be validated across high, intermediate, and low learner proficiency levels in English. Sociolinguistically, the complex ontological and epistemological milieu of ESL in Sri Lanka granted this thesis an entrée for scrutinizing the evolution of resistance to English in the undergraduate participants. The findings of pilot studies validated the expulsion of high proficiency learners from the procedures of L1 integration. Conversely a significant % mean increase across the intermediate and the low proficiency learners was revealed under the Sinhala Gloss (SG) condition. The mean comparison for both populations was equal and low for No Gloss (NG) and English Gloss (EG) conditions resulting in the gloss condition performance indicator NG = EG > SG. Scaffolding these findings to pedagogy, the study con...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Reading is a dynamic pursuit embedded in two language systems: the language and the writing syste... more Reading is a dynamic pursuit embedded in two language systems: the language and the writing system that encodes the language (Perfetti, 2003; Perfetti & Liu, 2005).Unlike L1 (first language) reading L2 (second language) reading involves two languages, is cross linguistic and thus possesses the inherent quality of being more complex. The two languages pertaining to this paper are Sinhala the L1 of ESL learner undergraduates and English their L2. These undergraduates have achieved high competency in L1 reading but the majority consists of weak, low level L2 readers. One reason for this is the fact that they stagnate at the first stage of processing a text: decoding lexis, unable to identify the phonological codes of the words. The paper identifies three factors which negatively affect reading comprehension of the learner population: differences in orthographic and phonological systems of English and Sinhala, brain activation which, according to neuro-scientific research, is identified...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The spread of World Englishes has generated a need for maximizing intelligibility in speech disco... more The spread of World Englishes has generated a need for maximizing intelligibility in speech discourse. Yet in current pedagogy teaching pronunciation is a much neglected area. In the Sri Lankan context deviations from Standard Sri Lankan English pronunciation, especially in segmental phonology, results in impairing intelligibility even amongst the local interlocutors. Utilizing the limited technology available this study constructs a short term Action Plan based on the tenets of cooperative and collaborative learning to address two selected pronunciation deviations: the nondifferentiation between /ʃ/ and /s/ and confusion of /p/ and /f/ in 20 undergraduate users of learner English. The Action Plan informs practitioners of Teaching English as a Second Language on implementing short courses which benefit learners who deviate from inner circle pronunciation.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
In the sphere of communication in Sri Lanka using English fonts for recording Sinhala discourse d... more In the sphere of communication in Sri Lanka using English fonts for recording Sinhala discourse during the use of Short Message Service or Interlingual Texting is very popular. Analyzing such discourse this study argues that the asymmetry in the phonologies of Sinhala and English, and the difficulty in graphically denoting of sounds of Sinhala in English make the deciphering of Interlingual texts complex leading to unintelligibility and ambiguity of the messages. Data analysis further identifies a formal vs. colloquial dichotomy in the register of interlingual texting. The nonvolitional and nonelective transfer of fossilized English loan phonology of Sinhala too is evidenced in the register. The spread of the language of Sinhala Interlingual texting to English print media too is noted in this sociolinguistic analysis.
Index Terms: Interlingual texting, formal vs. colloquial dichotomy, Sri Lanka, multiglossia.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The phonology of Standard Sri Lankan English (SSLE) reflects a strong influence from the vernacul... more The phonology of Standard Sri Lankan English (SSLE) reflects a strong influence from the vernaculars of Sri Lanka:
Sinhala and Tamil. This results in deviations from the donor colonial Standard British English pronunciation. This study provides
measurements of formant frequencies in synchronically recorded sound data for six selected vowels, short and long monophthongs
of SSLE.Evidence is compiled through formant readings of acoustic documentation from elicitations of ten
female bilingual subjects.Of the ten bilingual subjects five have Sinhala and the rest Tamil as their first language while SSLE is their
second language. Formant contoursare compared to parallel data in literature. Discriminant analysis showed that these SSLE vowels
differ in terms of average frequencies of formants from Standard Southern British Englishand American English equivalent
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The pluralistic construct of the Sri Lankan Teaching English as a Second Language environment rec... more The pluralistic construct of the Sri Lankan Teaching English as a Second Language environment recognizes
cultural sensitivity as a paramount requisite as cultural diversity can exist within the student populations and between
students and the teacher. Cultural perceptions of students and teachers when based on the principle of equity negate
tunnel vision and biases. Incorporating material and activities that foster cultural awareness is identified as a classroom
strategy which when used astutely can reap optimal benefits and result in cross cultural bridging. Thus the intricate
weave of the cultural fabric of the country has made the management of the Teaching English as a Second Language
classroom in Sri Lanka complex.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This book examines dialectal variation in Sri Lankan English (SLE) pronunciation through a taxono... more This book examines dialectal variation in Sri Lankan English (SLE) pronunciation through a taxonomic vantage where the architecture is scrutinized through deviations in lexical pronunciation. The status of Tamil English is examined and empirical validation is procured for its recognition as a separate entity in the taxonomy of SLE pronunciation. This validation is constructed through the analysis of the % rate of occurrence of 10 pronunciation characteristics unique in Tamil/Other Variety of Sri Lankan English (T/OVSLE) bilinguals. These features deviate from Standard Sri Lankan English (SSLE) as well as the pronunciation of Sinhala/Other Variety of Sri Lankan English (S/OVSLE) bilinguals. 486 participants selected through stratified random sampling measures provide data across an instrument of 50 word tokens. The word tokens represent 7 common areas of pronunciation and 10 unique to T/OVSLE bilinguals and were randomly shortlisted from literature on SLE and learner English pronunciation of bilinguals with Tamil as their first language. Analyzed data evidences a zero occurrence of the 10 features unique to T/OVSLE bilinguals in lexical elicitations of the S/OVSLE populations.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
During empirical sociolinguistic research this correlational study statistically compares quantit... more During empirical sociolinguistic research this correlational study statistically compares quantitative scores of an independent variable Proficiency in English against the quantified dependent variable Rate of occurrence of deviations from Standard Sri Lankan English (SSLE) pronunciation across the 185 users of Other Varieties of Sri Lankan Englishes. The participants diversified in their first language. 100 participants had Sinhala while the first language of 85 participants was Sri Lankan Tamil. a questionnaire cum word elicitation process compiled data. The instrument consisted of 25 lexical items which gave rise to pronunciation deviations compiled from literature on Sri Lankan English. Descriptive statistics posit that there is a negative correlation between the two variables while the percentage variance explained for the correlation between the variables was a medium 9% for the Sinhala and 24% for the Tamil bilingual participants. This study concludes that other exogenous factors too would have influenced the rate of occurrence of deviations from SSLE. Most importantly it informs pedagogy that devoid of the diversity of the first languages Sinhala and Tamil, Proficiency in English influences deviations from SSLE pronunciation which is the target of Teaching English as a Second Language in Sri Lanka.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Literature on Sri Lankan English, through reasonable deduction, states that deviations from Stand... more Literature on Sri Lankan English, through reasonable deduction, states that deviations from Standard Sri Lankan English (SSLE) pronunciationis a feature of Sinhala dominancy in Sinhala/Other Variety Sri Lankan English (S/OVSLE) bilinguals or Tamil dominancy in Tamil/Other Variety Sri Lankan English (T/OVSLE) bilinguals. This study using standard statistical procedures collates the difference in the mean values of self-declared competence in First Language (L1) and Second Language (L2) across the four skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening with the difference in rate of usage of L1 and L2 in selected social and personal domains to calculate L1 dominancy in each bilingual participant (n= 185). Then the rate of occurrence of selected deviations from SSLE pronunciation in each participant is estimated. The correlation between the independent variable L1 dominancyand the dependent variable rate of occurrence of selected deviations from SSLE pronunciation in the populations is illustrated through scatter diagrams, calculation of the Pearson Correlation and the Coefficient of Determination. Statistical analysis shows that there is a medium 9% and a moderate 11% correlation between L1 dominancy and rate of occurrence of deviations from SSLE pronunciation in S/OVSLE and T/OVSLE bilinguals respectively.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Professor Rohini Chandrica Widyalankara
Index Terms: Interlingual texting, formal vs. colloquial dichotomy, Sri Lanka, multiglossia.
Sinhala and Tamil. This results in deviations from the donor colonial Standard British English pronunciation. This study provides
measurements of formant frequencies in synchronically recorded sound data for six selected vowels, short and long monophthongs
of SSLE.Evidence is compiled through formant readings of acoustic documentation from elicitations of ten
female bilingual subjects.Of the ten bilingual subjects five have Sinhala and the rest Tamil as their first language while SSLE is their
second language. Formant contoursare compared to parallel data in literature. Discriminant analysis showed that these SSLE vowels
differ in terms of average frequencies of formants from Standard Southern British Englishand American English equivalent
cultural sensitivity as a paramount requisite as cultural diversity can exist within the student populations and between
students and the teacher. Cultural perceptions of students and teachers when based on the principle of equity negate
tunnel vision and biases. Incorporating material and activities that foster cultural awareness is identified as a classroom
strategy which when used astutely can reap optimal benefits and result in cross cultural bridging. Thus the intricate
weave of the cultural fabric of the country has made the management of the Teaching English as a Second Language
classroom in Sri Lanka complex.
Index Terms: Interlingual texting, formal vs. colloquial dichotomy, Sri Lanka, multiglossia.
Sinhala and Tamil. This results in deviations from the donor colonial Standard British English pronunciation. This study provides
measurements of formant frequencies in synchronically recorded sound data for six selected vowels, short and long monophthongs
of SSLE.Evidence is compiled through formant readings of acoustic documentation from elicitations of ten
female bilingual subjects.Of the ten bilingual subjects five have Sinhala and the rest Tamil as their first language while SSLE is their
second language. Formant contoursare compared to parallel data in literature. Discriminant analysis showed that these SSLE vowels
differ in terms of average frequencies of formants from Standard Southern British Englishand American English equivalent
cultural sensitivity as a paramount requisite as cultural diversity can exist within the student populations and between
students and the teacher. Cultural perceptions of students and teachers when based on the principle of equity negate
tunnel vision and biases. Incorporating material and activities that foster cultural awareness is identified as a classroom
strategy which when used astutely can reap optimal benefits and result in cross cultural bridging. Thus the intricate
weave of the cultural fabric of the country has made the management of the Teaching English as a Second Language
classroom in Sri Lanka complex.