Saturday, July 20, 2024

The 24th Annual International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPRC) – 2024 of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka will be held on 29th November 2024, under the theme of “Research and Innovation for economic development”

INTERNATIONAL POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE (IPRC) - 2024

29th November, 2024, Sri Lanka

 INTERNATIONAL POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE (IPRC) - 2024

29th November, 2024, Sri Lanka

INTERNATIONAL POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE (IPRC) - 2024

29th November, 2024, Sri Lanka

Impact of English Proficiency of Sri Lankan Pre-school Teachers on the Employability in Overseas Countries Dr. D.N. Aloysius Senior Lecturer (Retired) Visiting Lecturer (Postgraduate Diploma in Education Unit) Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Mihintale Email: aloysiusrjt@gmail.com

 Introduction

At present, there are about 18,800 pre-schools in Sri Lanka and it is a serious matter that most of the pre-school teachers are not diploma holders. According to the Minister of Education, only 6,000 out of 34,000 pre-school teachers in Sri Lanka are diploma holders.  First of all, these teachers should have academic and professional qualifications for the employment opportunities in overseas countries. In addition to that, they must also have a sound English knowledge to teach in English medium. It is now apparent that these pre-school teachers are required to meet three main requirements; namely, academic and professional qualifications and competence in the English language. Those who are incompetent in English can be employed in Sri Lanka as preschool teachers whereas those who are competent in English can get job opportunities in overseas countries. Both sources directly or indirectly contribute to the national economy of the country. The objective of the present study is to ascertain whether these teachers are academically and professionally qualified with a sound English knowledge to be employed as pre-school teachers in foreign countries, which brings foreign exchange to Sri Lanka. The sample for the research was taken from the North Central Province (NCP). Both primary and secondary data were used for the research. Qualitative method was also applied to collect information. Results and findings of the study imply that pre-school teachers of the NCP are much weaker in English whereas to some extent, they are academically and professionally qualified respectively it is ……. % and ……%, which is also below the required international standard. It was also found that only ……% of the pre-school teachers are competent in English. Hence, it is suggested that while they should be academically and professionally promoted as pre-school teachers for the national and international job market, they should also follow an instant and effective English course for improving their English knowledge for teaching in English medium in the overseas countries.

Keywords: Pre-school Teachers, Overseas Job Market, Academic and Professional, English

 

Aloysius College Anuradhapura GCE OL English Literature Poetry Sunday 21.07.2024 from 2.00 to 4.00 pm conducted by D.N. Aloysius

Big Match-1983

The poem is an objective perception of the ethnic conflict that erupted in Sri Lanka in 1983. The poem opens with how media report about the outbreak of ethnic violence in the country. The general civilian life gets disturbed and the tourist arrivals to the country get cancelled. The ordinary public life turns topsy-turvy. “Flash point in paradise” and “racial pot boils over” are the headlines which the newspapers carry around the world. It seems that poet is subtly sarcastic over the sensational wording of the situation reported by the media. The way the poet relates the incident seems to have a touch of irony and pun. An arrival of an expatriate boy in search of his lost roots, lost lovers, lost talents as poet says is timely. Yet he seems to be gripped by unexpected circumstances of violence and bloodshed. The title itself seems to be a nuance that seemingly carries an idea of a popular event in Sri Lanka. Probably the poet uses this in order to highlight the common mentality of the people in Sri Lanka and how they treat the incident. The poet reminiscences over how the ethnic violence first sparks off in the Isle. She traces it back to “forty-eight and fifty-six”. But it seems her focal point is treacherous politics played in nineteen fifty-eight by making Sinhala the state language. The politicians riding on popular waves of electoral promises as depicted by the poet have contributed in fuelling the ethnic sentiments of the masses. It seems that they have comfortably ignored the opinions of the academia in the country. Big match-1983 English Literature Grade 10 & 11 The poet makes very dexterous maneuvering of words in coloring it with popular big match cricket. This may be to heighten the fact that people enjoy sadism in hurting others in the same spirit as they welcome big match cricket in Sri Lanka. As the high spirited young boys take to streets with great enthusiasm which sometimes even the adults overlook during the big match season, the ethnic violence seems to be on rampage while the authorities pay a blind eye over what is happening under their nose. She goes on to say that the violence has reached the unprecedented proportions than the highest runs scored in a game of cricket at the oval grounds. The fourth stanza spotlights one isolated incident where an old man living “in a tall house with old books and pictures” is answering the phone. The words of the old man are packed with razor sharp sarcasm and insult over what is happening at the time. The caller seems to be someone who domiciles away from the country. The old man seems to be gripped by the eventful days filled with fear and trepidation. Though the days are filled with horror and suspense the old man doesn’t seem to lose his sense of humor. He says life is full of unexpected twists and turns which drive away the boredom and monotony. He calls the mobs the “brave lads”. No sooner the curfew is lifted they are back on the street as if they enjoy every bit of what they are doing. This seems to be the order of the day and the old man says that he sends away his loved ones to a neighbor’s home for safe. Big match-1983 English Literature Grade 10 & 11 But he seems to be ready to fight back and protect his valuable books which he thinks are more important than his own life. He washes away his nervousness and anxiety in liquor which he says is more excessively consumed than usual. He humbly thanks the caller in an unruffled voice for his concern over the wellbeing of him and his family. The sixth stanza starkly illustrates some inhuman and callous circumstances which had become the commonplace during the period of ethnic violence in Sri Lanka. The brutal killings of unarmed innocent civilians and the destruction of valuable property seem to be the order of the day. The telephone conversation concluded with heart pouring gratitude and he was surprised over the communication network which was still uninterrupted. Because when the violence broke out most of the telecommunication lines were damaged and the civil life literally came to a standstill. Dead bodies lying on the road and the indifferent attitude of law enforcing authorities culminated the shameful bloodbath in Sri Lanka. Big match-1983 English Literature Grade 10 & 11 The last two lines of the seventh stanza bring out the most horrendous and gruesome nature of the killing spree which was unleashed on the ethnic minority in the country. It was brazenly ironic to see a man being beaten to death under a Bo-tree while pleading for his life. This leaves lot of questions than answers to the already wounded Sri Lankan public psyche. The last stanza sums up the whole scenario with a cutting reference to the pieties and politics which seem to have ravaged the once calm and serene life style of Sri Lanka.

Source: https://www.e-thaksalawa.moe.gov.lk/moodle/pluginfile.php/23109/mod_resource/content/2/sg10_elit_big_match_1983.pdf


Sunday, July 7, 2024

First Term Test Marks 2024 obtained by the English Medium Students of Aloysius College Anuradhapura

පාසල් ප්‍රථම වාර පරීක්ෂණයෙන් (2024) ලකුණු 90ට වැඩියෙන් ලබා ගත් සිසුන් තම ලකුණු මෙහි සඳහන් කරන්න. දැනට ලැබී ඇති ලකුණු මෙසේය.පාසලේ නම, සිසුවාගේ නම සහ විෂය සඳහන් කරන්න.

1. අනුරාධපුර මධ්‍ය විද්‍යාලය  9 වසර නිසිනි ස්නේහා ඉංග්‍රීසි  96 (මාසික පරීක්ෂණය) 

2. අනුරාධපුර මධ්‍ය විද්‍යාලය  9 වසර විහස් ඉංග්‍රීසි 97 (මාසික පරීක්ෂණය)  

3. නිවත්තක චේතිය මහා විද්‍යාලය 6 වසර තෙනුජ ඉංගිසි 99

4 නිවත්තක චේතිය මහා විද්‍යාලය 6 වසර විසුල  ඉංගිසි 99

5.නිවත්තක චේතිය මහා විද්‍යාලය 6 වසර යෙනුල්  ඉංගිසි 93.

6. නිවත්තක චේතිය මහා විද්‍යාලය 8 වසර සෙනිත ඉංගිසි 91

7. වලිසිංහ  හරිස්චන්ද්‍ර මහා විද්‍යාලය 9 වසර තිසුම්  ඉංග්‍රීසි 91                                                                         

Saturday, July 6, 2024

Aloysius College Anuradhapura GCE OL English Literature

 The Nightingale and the Rose

‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ is a fairy tale by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). It is about a student who is in love with a girl, a Professor’s daughter. She has told him she will dance with him if he brings her a red rose, but the student’s garden does not contain any roses. The Nightingale listens to the lovelorn student lamenting his hopeless love, and feels sorry for him. She knows how rare true love is, and she knows it when she sees it. The prince is giving a ball the following night, but although the student and the girl he loves will both be there, she will not dance with him without a red rose.

A Lizard, a Butterfly, and a Daisy all tell the Nightingale that it’s ridiculous that the young student is weeping over a red rose, but the Nightingale sympathises with him. She flies to a nearby grass-plot and asks the Rose-tree to give her a red rose, and in exchange she will sing for it. But, the Rose-tree says it produces only white roses, so cannot give her what she wants. It suggests going to the Rose-tree by the sun-dial. The Nightingale proposes the same deal with this tree, but it replies that it only produces yellow roses, so cannot help. However, it directs her to the Rose-tree right under the student’s window. However, although this Rose-tree does produce red roses, the winter has frozen its branches and it cannot produce any.

The Nightingale asks if there is any way she can get one red rose for the student. The tree replies that the only way of producing a red rose is for the Nightingale to sing by moonlight while allowing a thorn to pierce her heart, so her blood seeps through to the tree and produces a red rose. The Nightingale agrees to this, because she believes Love to be more valuable than Life, and a human heart more precious than hers. She goes and tells the forlorn student what she is going to do, but he doesn’t understand her, because he only understands things written down in books. The Oak-tree, in which the Nightingale has built her nest, does understand her words, however, and requests one last song from the Nightingale. She sings, but the Student, taking out his notebook, is rather unimpressed, because the bird’s song has no practical use.

That night, the Nightingale sings with her heart against the thorn, until it eventually pierces her heart while she sings of love. Her heart’s blood seeps into the tree and produces a red rose, but by the time the flower is formed the Nightingale has died. The next morning, the Student opens his window and sees the red rose on the tree, and believes that it is there thanks to mere good luck. Plucking the rose, he goes to the house where his sweetheart lives, and presents her with the red rose. But, another suitor, the Chamberlain’s nephew, has sent her jewels, which are more valuable than flowers, so she says she will dance with him instead at the ball that night.

The Student denounces the girl for her fickleness, and she calls him rude. He throws the red rose into the gutter, where a cart rolls over it. As he walks home, he decides to reject Love in favour of Logic and Philosophy, which have a more practical use.

Source: https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-nightingale-the-rose-summary.html

 

 

Aloysius College Anuradhapura GCE OL English Literature

 The Vendor of Sweets by R.K. Narayan

The novel begins with Jagan talking to his “cousin,” a man who claims kinship with Jagan despite a lack of true clarity surrounding the matter. They live in the small Indian town of Malgudi. The two discuss various philosophical and everyday matters as Jagan gets ready to go home. They continue talking and part ways and Jagan eventually arrives home. The chapter concludes with Jagan looking at a box of cash that he has saved in a drawer as he feels content about his life and prospects.

After some reflection, Jagan returns home and talks with his son Mali. Mali appears disturbed and Jagan cannot figure out why. He talks to his cousin about the frustration and disillusionment that Mali has been displaying. They talk about his father’s job and Mali appears reviled by the notion of monotonous daily work. Mali tells him he has grown tired of his schoolwork and wants to become a writer. He describes his plan to enter a local novel-writing contest. His father agrees to support him in this goal. It is revealed that Jagan's wife, Mali's mother, died from a brain tumor and Jagan has done his best to care for Mali as much as possible.

Mali becomes very distant from Jagan in this period and Jagan is too nervous about upsetting him to request any updates about the progress of his work. Jagan talks to his cousin, seeking information about Mali's writing and learns that Mali has said that he must go to America in order to truly become a real writer. He also learns that Mali has been taking money from him, as he knows where he keeps his savings stashed. He is not upset by this information and agrees to support him financially in his journey. Mali departs for America.

Mali writes to Jagan frequently with updates about his time in America. Jagan gets excited every time a letter comes in the mail, reading and rereading them more frequently than he reads the Bhagavad Gita. Eventually, Mali returns to India. He is constantly critical of the country, saying he believes it is backwards and slow, hurting Jagan a great deal. He also brings Grace, a half-American/half-Korean woman whom he claims is wife. He also says that he now eats beef, which goes directly against one of the most important tenets of the Hindu faith. Jagan is shocked by all of this change and struggles with this new information.

Mali tells his father he has something of great urgency to discuss with him. Jagan agrees to talk with him, but is so excited that he is home that he does not listen closely. Later, after clarifying with his cousin, Jagan learns that Mali intends to open a factory that manufactures story-writing machines. His son says that he needs a loan from Jagan in order to get the business off the ground. Jagan hedges his answers as Mali and Grace both pursue him relentlessly about the matter. Eventually Jagan makes it apparent that he will not give Mali the loan, but offers him his sweetmeat business, an offer that Mali harshly rejects.

Later Jagan meets a bearded man, who asks for his assistance making a sculpture of the goddess Gayatri. Jagan travels to the quiet spot where he works. Jagan admires the serenity of the artist's solitary life and makes him reconsider his life and goals. He decides to become the artist patron and renounce most of his work and material wealth. This decision shocks many of the people in the town, but he remains steadfast in his decision, finding peace in this rejection of money and worldly possessions.

Later, Jagan learns that his son has separated from Grace and that he was never married to her in the first place. This fact fills him with shame, as it means they have been living together out of wedlock. He then reflects on his marriage for a lengthy period of time, recalling his happy courtship of his wife and the joyous day of Mali's birth.

The novel ends with Jagan learning that his son has been arrested for public drunkenness. Jagan talks to his cousin about this matter and shocks him with his response. He tells him to take over his sweetmeat business and that Mali would do well to spend some time in jail, as it might teach him some discipline. He also says, out of affection for her, that should Grace ever want to return home to her family, he will happily pay for it.

Source: https://www.gradesaver.com/the-vendor-of-sweets/study-guide/summary


English Classes from Grade-1 to Grade-13 and Cambridge University Courses YLE KET PET FCE IELTS English Literature from Grade-9 classes English Literature for GCE OL and GCE AL Spoken English for both young learners and adult learners conducted by Dr. D.N. Aloysius Senior Lecturer in English (BA/PGDE/MA/M.Phil/Ph.D) Visiting Lecturer Postgraduate Diploma in Education Unit Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Head/Aloysius College Anuradhapura. First Term Test Higher Marks for English Language 99/97/96/93/91/marks for English Language. English Literature Marks not given yet. Congratulations, Grade-9 Sneha/Grade-6 Visula/Thenuja/Mihisara/Yenul/ Grade-8 Shenitha/Grade-9 Thisum/