Abstract:
In a context where the increasingly
competitive labour market demands individuals to
captivate significant skills in the English Language,
the role played by the ELTDs in Universities is
challenged. A university is a cross-section of a
larger society that consists of undergraduates
from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Thus,
English language skills possessed by this diverse
group vary at the entry and exit. Even though the
responsibility of propagating the English
Language proficiency of undergraduates lies in the
hands of ELTDs, relevant literature suggests that
ELTDs of the Sri Lankan government universities
are lagging behind in achieving the set goals.
Besides, this study meticulously explored the
factors behind this failure in order to recommend
remedial measures to be taken. The sample
consisted of 112 third-year students out of 226 of
the Faculty of Science, University of Ruhuna. A
convenient sampling method was used to
determine the sample and a questionnaire
comprising open-ended questions was
administered to accumulate data. Moreover, to
derive a better understanding of the phenomena,
semi-structured interviews were conducted with
12 lecturers of the DELT. It was particularly
evident that low proficiency of English at the entry,
absenteeism, passive involvement in learning,
ragging, and subculture, preconceived notions of
students towards English, priority given to corecourse
units, lack of intrinsic motivation,
compartmentalization, the mismatch between the
lesson materials and students’ desires, make
teaching English a struggle at university. Thus, it is
argued that the role of ELTDs should be reconceptualized
to equip the undergraduates with
the required English language proficiency by
introducing innovative teaching methods and
incorporating technology, which will in return help to create a conducive English language
learning environment.
