A Study of the Relationship between English Literacy and Academic Literacy among Undergraduates in Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka.

Abstract

The economy of the country rewards from education. When it comes to producing arguments about one's own and the nation's future, education is a very cruicial matter. Scholars around the world are keen to undertake researches in the field of academic achievement. Limited research has specifically addressed the relationship between English language literacy and academic literacy among students in Sri Lankan higher education institutions, particularly in the context of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. This study focused to address this gap by examining the interplay between English language proficiency and academic literacy within Social Sciencs academic setting using mix method approach. In order to examine the relationship the between academic literacy and English language literacy between students in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, this study employed a mixed approach which combined quantitative surveys and qualitative studies. The students in the faculty were given a questionnaire to assess their reading, writing, speaking, and phonemic awareness of the English language and their academic performance in the during a semester. The questionnaire was assembled with closed-ended and open-ended questions. The results of the Pearson’s product moment movement correlation test indicated a moderate positive relationship between English language proficiency and academic proficiency among students. The findings of the study proved that there was a need to improve students speaking and writing ability in English. On the other hand, the usage of English was very poor. English is an ideal component of a perfect graduate. So, it is an important point to revise the attention again in to practical aspects of English teaching and learning process with special reference to faculty of Humanities and social sciences in University of Ruhuna.