Background
Prepare a need analysis of the students of a sinhala medium government scl in srilanka where English is taught as a second language .
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the study curriculum which the teachers in the Sinhala Medium Government School in Sri Lanka use. To serve the purpose and to progress with the study, students in the Sinhala School have been chosen. The purpose is being achieved in a structured manner that has elements like a need analysis of the students in the Sinhala School, report writing on the findings and a review of the material which is used to teach English to the students.
A need analysis of the students of a Sinhala medium government school in Sri Lanka
Background
The population for the English Language Learners (ELL) is growing in Sri Lanka. This is due to the efforts of the Sri Lankan government which is aimed at raising the standard of schooling and the education system in Sri Lanka (Walisundara & Hettiarachchi, 2016). Such thought process has boosted the number of foreign students coming to the country. This is due to the reason that demands for teachers and curriculum reforms are growing. There are demands for teachers who can potentially harness and manage the development of English Language Learning linguistically and culturally. In a similar way, there is a need for a potential study curriculum, so that, the stress involved in imparting the teaching is reduced (Agbatogun, 2017). These are two of the reasons which make “need analysis of the students’ expectations” an important part of the educational system. A need analysis helps to know the future needs which the students learning the English language will require.
In Sri Lanka, the improvement of the English teaching standard is now one of the priorities. The Sri Lankan government and the institutions want to create and provide ample of opportunities for students to access to English for both comprehension and the communication. Accessing to the English language has always remained a top most priority of the ESL program. However, it appears that it has so far failed in enabling students to access the English language. The real challenge that the program faces is to bring every single student on the similar platform (Buragohain, 2018).
Needs
There is a need for looking at the probable prospect like the curriculum reforms and the recruitment of teachers with better tracks in linguistically and culturally handling of students. Curriculum reforms must include a few changes to touch the requirements of students who are not yet benefitted from the ESL program. Every single student is not yet benefitted from the ESL program. This is due to their socio-economic background and also the availability of resources. Curriculum reforms should not just be based upon the syllabus but also the books’ and materials’ contents. Additionally, there is a need to give emphasis on improving the teaching objectives and also the teaching methodology.
Needs
A Need Analysis
For the need analysis section, students of “Grade 3” of a Sinhala Medium Schools are being considered. The chosen textbook to assess the students’ needs is “Whriting Practis G3 E”. The textbook is equipped with materials designed in an engaging pattern, so that, students feel connected to it and love it as well. To understand whether the innovation used to design the textbook is fulfilling the students’ needs or the curriculum reforms is the only thing which is required to improve the educational needs of students.
To serve the purpose it would be better to compare the history of performances with curriculum reforms. Moreover, this will give an idea of whether the curriculum reforms are a good thing to continue with. Notably, curriculum reforms in the past have struggled to make an impact on the English learning standard. According to Department of Examination Statistics, approximately around 75% of school students fail every year at the GCE (O/L) examination (Cirocki, Tennekoon & Calvo, 2014). However, it does not mean that 25% of students in a Sinhala Medium Government School and in other schools in Sri Lanka pass the GCE (O/L) exam. Actually, the rate of students passing the GCE (O/L) exam is different in different districts of Sri Lanka. The differences are quite a huge as it happened in 1998 when approximately 65 percent of students passed the exam in the Colombo whereas only 15 percent could only pass in Polonnaruwa (Cirocki, Tennekoon & Calvo, 2014). Additionally, there were schools in Colombo where not even a single student had passed the exam despite the fact that Colombo had high rates of students passing the GCE (O/L) exam. Such differences just indicate that the curriculum reforms are not only sufficient to change the level of English learning in Sri Lankan schools specifically in the Sinhala Medium Schools. These statistics just suggest that curriculum reforms do not make a much of a difference to the examination results.
Curriculum reforms are not only the necessity for school students specifically for students studying in a Sinhala Medium School. If this is the only need that students of a Sinhala Medium School want, there would not have been such struggles for students. The one very prominent reason for the issue looks like to be the disparity between schools in terms of the availability of resources and the socio-economic background of students. There are students who cannot access textbooks and important materials as they cannot afford the expenses. The unavailability of resources is the other thing which creates additional worries for such students (DelliCarpini & Gulla, 2016). It means that such students lack the access to important textbooks and the materials as well. It also means that one of the objectives of the curriculum reforms to bring every single student on the similar platform has not yet achieved. One of the reasons for the failure could be that similar problems have so far been viewed with similar perspectives. However, the improvement in the English learning standard requires different perspectives and approaches for different schools such as for a Sinhala Medium School.
Recommendations based on the Needs
Recommendations based on the needs
Introduction of the activity-based oral English for students in Grade One and Two in the school will be the first recommendation addressing the needs addressed as above. A large number of teachers must be trained on the required skills. Formal English should be taught from Grade Three. There must also be the bilingual teaching of the chosen subjects probably at the Junior Secondary Level. At Grades Ten and Eleven, there is a need for introducing the Alternative English syllabuses. Two years optional English must also be introduced focussing the improvement in the comprehension and communication of English (Durán, 2016). The Sri Lankan government’s role in raising the educational standard of schools in different districts that are average in performance will be the things to watch. The challenge would be to improve the socio-economic background of people and also equipping the entire schools with necessary resources. This is time-consuming and yet there is no surety of whether the recommended moves will work (Economidou-Kogetsidis, 2015).
Background
The section of the study covers the findings of the ‘Need Analysis’ conducted in the first section of the study. The purpose for collecting the information in the form of finding is to support the English learning standard in a Sinhala Medium School in Sri Lanka. The section is indeed very critical from the perspectives of students learning in Sinhala Medium Schools and the Sri Lankan government as well. This is critical for students as there are many schools in the different districts of Sri Lanka where students are still struggling to learn the English language. It is critical as well for the Sri Lankan government because their efforts have not paid off yet and are still finding the clues on how to improve the English teaching standard.
Findings
The needs analysis section has produced a lot of useful information regarding the current English educational systems in Sri Lanka especially in Sinhala Medium Schools. The section has covered a historical evolution of curriculum reforms in different grades in Sri Lankan schools. The assessment was done by comparing the Grade 3 syllabus for the English language and the historical performance of curriculum reforms. It was found that the innovation used in designing the curriculum had failed so far to deliver the expected results (Raju, 2017). There are still differences in the performance of students studying in different schools and in the different districts of Sri Lanka. The differences are quite bigger as few of districts like Colombo has high numbers of students performed well than Polonnaruwa. Additionally, not all the schools in Colombo have equally performed. There are average performing schools also. The differences in results in between the different districts of Sri Lanka and also the schools just suggest that curriculum reforms are not alone the needs of students. To improve the English learning system, other factors like quality of teachers, the teaching standards and the teaching methodologies should also be focussed upon (Prasangani, 2015).
Writing a Report of the Findings
In addition to the teaching standards and the methodologies, the socio-economic background of students is also important. These students are not able to access the books and materials like the other students with the better socio-economic state do. In addition to this, such children are into schools that are not equipped with better curriculum and the advanced teaching standards (Naseem & Stöber, 2014). The socio-economic background is letting these students down and they are not able to be in schools that are performing better. Now, the question arises about what to do with such students. The Sri Lankan government has two ways to head for such as the one to improve the socio-economic state of the affected people or to improve the educational standard of averagely performing schools. The socio-economic state is a time consuming process. On the other hand, educational standards can be raised; however, it also requires a huge planning and implementation of robust strategies. Both of the ways are time consuming and full of challenges as well. This would not be advisable to focus on just the one part of the issue. It is rather advisable to consider both of the issues and address these with effective strategies (Han, 2015).
The socio-economic state is related to the country’s economic development. Sri Lanka needs to focus on promoting investments in businesses, attracting foreign direct investments (FDI), spending on the R&D, supporting the technological advancement and focussing on the infrastructural development. These are the few things which improve the employment condition and the per capita income as well.
The educational system as recommended in the need analysis section must consider certain changes to the educational pattern to create a difference to the productivity. An oral based activity must be introduced to the Grade 1 and Grade 2 students. Professional English must be taught to students in Grade 3 and above. English must be made an alternative subject for students in Grade 10 and Grade 11. Additionally, a comprehension and communication of English must also be given an importance for students in Grade 10 and Grade 11 (Husin & Ariffin, 2017). A restructuring of the educational system in this way does not hold any guarantee for a huge improvement in the outcomes. The changed format must also be accompanied with the curriculum reforms and an improved teaching standard. Teaching methodologies and the study curriculum do affect the outcomes. Study curriculum must be engaging; however, it should also be coverable within the maximum time limit allowed for each term. Study curriculum if not covered within each term this will certainly put pressure on students and the teachers as well. Teachers will then be in hurries to wrap up the syllabus without at all caring for the quality of teaching being imparted to (Ibrahim et al., 2015).
Conclusive section
Based on the findings, this can be said that students in Sri Lankan schools especially in a Sinhala Medium School must be provided with a changed pattern for education, teaching methodologies and the curriculum reforms. The changed pattern should consider an inclusion of oral base activity for Grade 1 and Grade 2 students. From Grade 3 onwards students must be introduced to professional English learning. Students at Grades 10 and 11 must be encouraged to select English as the alternative subject. A comprehension and communication of English must also be made optional to those students. Curriculum reforms must continue; however, it should not put an unnecessary burden on students and the teachers. A syllabus should be in this way that it is coverable within the maximum allowed time for each unit. Teachers must not just continue teaching rather they must put an emphasis on innovating with techniques to teach in an effective manner.
The chosen textbook to review is “Whriting Practis G3 E”. The book is taught to students to make them able to identify the different alphabets. The learning in this book is designed in such a way that it becomes quite engaging for students in Grade 3. A lot of diagrams and sketching have been used in the practice book, so that, students in the lower classes feel connected to this. This is basically a foundation course book that prepares students in Grade 3 for an active oral based presentation. Such things as mentioned in the finding section of this study must be kept confined to syllabus followed for Grade 1 and 2. Grade 3 students must be taught formal English, so that, they find this easier in Grade 4 and onwards. The types of assessment factor as according to Naseem & Stöber (2014) do really affect the implementation of the syllabus. Marks allocation is yet a very complicated thing to continue with. Test papers are designed and prepared by teachers of the selected departments. Teachers consider the number of units in the Pupil’s Book to frame the test paper. Marks allocation is done differently for junior secondary classes and the higher grades. Students in junior secondary classes are also required to appear in the “speech test” which carries 10% of the total marks. However, students with higher grades are tested on their written abilities only (Cirocki, Tennekoon & Calvo, 2014).
The test pattern mentioned as above does only test students on their knowledge for the English language. However, tests should have been more focussed on examining the students on their understanding and the ability to use the English language. It means that there are issues in the assessment pattern. The chosen textbook is actually giving importance to understand the English; however, the assessment styles are not speaking the same words. Students at the junior secondary levels should also be made equipped with skills to understand and use English as a language. Kim (2015) identified the assessment problem as one of the challenges to the implementation of a new syllabus or the curriculum reforms. As opined by Obeiah & Bataineh (2016), materials writing team and the governing bodies are questionable for the varied inputs that they bring to one subject. Testing experts may have questions like how to test the skills and English development standards of students from so many things included in just one book. There should rather be the quality inputs in place of a large number of things.
The chosen book “Whriting Practis G3 E” is designed to teach students the capital and small alphabets in an innovative and engaging manner. The book is mainly based on activities that cover tracing and drawing of alphabets and others. The book looks like being designed for students to make them well equipped with activities for oral based tests. However, the importance of professional English and the types of test assessment were already being identified in the aforesaid sections. On the other hand, the chosen book which is taught to “Grade 3” students is just not meeting the identified needs. Such books should not have been the part of the class. These kinds of books must be excluded from the syllabus for Grade 3 and above (Pishol & Kaur, 2015). The syllabus thus must be revised for Grade 3 and above students. However, this should also be kept in mind that the changed syllabus is not loaded with too many things in it. The change is advised just to improve the contents; however, the contest should not be made problematic for teachers and the students. Contents would become problematic and unproductive as well if it has a lot of thing in it. As stated earlier, teachers will not be able to cover the entire thing from within each unit. On a similar note, students will also not get enough time to understand English as a language. They will rather be focussed on scoring marks rather than understanding English as a language (Pollock, 2018).
The importance of points being raised about the chosen textbook will be explained in this section. It was raised that the textbook should not longer be a part of Grade 3 class. It is absolutely fine with Grade 1 and Grade 2 but not for Grade 3 & above. Grade 3 and above classes must be equipped with a syllabus which focuses a lot on improving the English learning standard of students. The quality of the textbook must necessarily be of high quality, so that, it becomes utilisable. Textbooks are like a universal element of teaching. There are many essential elements of ESL; however, instruction materials and textbooks are the important parts of it (Sardareh, 2016). This means that textbooks must have contains which is both informative and easy to grab. Contents are really a concern for novice teachers. It acts as a guide to novice teachers. If textbooks are contained with many things, novice teachers in particular will struggle to understand the portion to cover (Uba et al., 2017). They may just try to wrap up the entire textbook which will not fulfil the purpose as identified in this study. Teaching and learning sessions can never be completed if the syllabus textbooks are not relevant to the needs. Textbooks unless and until contained with any supplement material will simply not be a satisfactory move for meeting the students’ needs. This is rather more realistic for teachers to be confined just to maintain a balance between textbooks and their instructions (Vasu, Ling & Nimehchisalem, 2016).
The importance of textbooks’ materials is required more to novice teachers but not for good and experienced teachers. Good teachers know how to deal with textbooks and to make these impactful. However, even those teachers would struggle to make the difference and fulfil the needs if textbooks’ materials keep on following the repeated things (Naseem & Stöber, 2014). The chosen textbook does not look competitive and appropriately equipped with materials needed to serve the English learning needs of students in Sri Lanka. The ESL program in Sri Lanka is largely unsuccessful in terms of its productivity. Students in higher grades in the number of districts are not up to the expectations. Districts with good performance rates have also not performed uniformly as there are still few schools where the performance is of average level. It is indeed true that miraculous things will not happen easily. This would rather require the extensive efforts being put to get this. It is understandable that it is difficult to find materials that would interest everyone from students to teachers. It just indicates that emphasis must be shifted from finding the intrinsically engaging materials to doing engaging and interesting things with materials. The syllabus must not be designed with perspectives to meet the level of intrinsic motivation in students. It should indeed be equipped with required materials and made interesting to the students (Pollock, 2018).
Textbooks can flourish the learning standard if supplied with relevant contents. However, it might also limit the teacher’s creativity if not being supplied with relevant things or are overly contained with unnecessary and useless things for the target student group. Such textbooks that are overly contained are often problematic for students and for teachers as well. English for students in Sri Lanka is the second language. It is, therefore, important that contents are relevant and are engaging as well. Textbooks must be able to connect with the students, so that, the desired outcomes are attained. The importance of textbooks grows bigger in context of the educational system in Sri Lanka due to a fact that textbooks are the only major resource of education in the country. In the light of the stated facts, it is imperative that the Sri Lankan government and the material designing bodies work together to produce the improved textbooks. Bodies responsible for designing the contents must also consider the experience of teachers from each department. This is because teachers normally have a lot of questions regarding the textbooks. Their feedbacks on the textbooks will certainly help the firms design the better and relevant books (DelliCarpini & Gulla, 2016).
The chosen textbook for Grade 3 for this study is one of the books being taught to students in a Sinhala Medium School in Sri Lanka. The book is quite creative and engaging as well. It has well designed and structured as well. Smaller things have been presented in such a way that it becomes quite easy to understand. Smaller and capital alphabets have been covered in the chosen books and are very easy to understand as well. However, it does not meet with the increasingly growing requirements for a revolution in syllabus reforms and also the teaching standard. The textbook does have elements suitable for Grade 1 and Grade 2 students. It is not suitable and appropriate for Graded 3 students. Grade 3 students as identified in this study must be put to advanced syllabus where they can be introduced to professional English. Students especially those studying in a Sinhala Medium School need to be familiar with the constructive study. To supply such benefits, it is important that textbooks are changed or are modified to meet the identified needs in the need analysis section. Students must be encouraged for developing their understanding of the English language. They should learn it practically and are able to relate themselves with little or no such difficulties. However, such radical changes are possible only with a significant makeover of the syllabus and the teaching styles (Buragohain, 2018). Teachers must feel the difference with the messages being conveyed to them through the modified books. They should be supplied with improved books which are appealing and productive as well to the chosen class of students. Teachers especially the novice teachers should also be trained on skills required to understand what to choose from the range of contents being covered in textbooks. It is not necessary that alphabets learning class should cover the entire thing from the chosen practice book. Teachers can rather play smart and save on time while also not spoiling the productivity. They should rather know how to cut down on time and to interest or intrinsically motivate the students in Grade 3 (Agbatogun, 2017).
Conclusion
In summary, this can be said that the students’ linguistics expectations in Sri Lanka in a Sinhala Medium School are the appropriate textbooks, improved teaching styles & methodologies, students’ improved socio-economic background and a much active Sri Lankan government. The need analysis work has helped to identify that there are students who do not have access to textbooks and the quality teaching style. Textbooks are not appropriately designed which creates problems for both teachers and the students. Novice teachers in particular face the challenge. The chosen book “Whriting Practis G3 E” for Grade 3 students is equipped with good materials; however, this is not feasible now and need fulfilling to Grade 3 students. The textbook is better suitable for Grade 1 and Grade 2 students rather. There is a need for modifying the textbooks, so that; it gives way to students’ development as an English learner. Students must not just read the English language rather also understand it.
References
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